MJC rallies the troops

     Defend the schools and proclaim the right to be a student without breaking the bank. On March 4, 2010 Modesto Junior College conducted a rally to promote the march against the budget cuts.
     “Our main purpose is to raise awareness and get students to sign up and go to the march for the budget cuts on March 22,” said Mégane Quéromès Director of Political Development and Region V Secretary Student Senate for California Community Colleges. Quéromès was in charge of putting the event together.
     MJC is facing $2.8 billion in cuts this year. A $5000 dollar budget was allowed specifically for March 22 and four buses are scheduled to take students to Raley Field where all 110 community colleges are said to meet and march together to the capital. 500 students have already signed up to attend but, only half are expected to confirm.   
     The march to the capital’s purpose is to “open the minds of the legislature” with the slogan being, “Yes to invest,” said Quéromès.
     Five people wrote letters to the legislature and MJC has a scheduled time during the March 22 rally to meet with Dave Cogdill’s (California State Senator) representative. Among the schools that will be attending are Delta Community College (Stockton) and Fresno Community College; both will have their own marches before March 22.
     The event was held in the MJC Student Center, due to rainy conditions, on the East campus with live Jazz entertainment and free refreshments for the students. The main goal of the rally was to make students more aware of the budget cuts and the student government by keeping an ongoing sense of awareness.
      Students monitoring booths provided information for anyone who was interested on what MJC has to offer throughout the day. There was a main booth which had students sign up for the “March in March” by writing down their name and email address so that Quéromès could contact them and give them further details. Other booths included information on health services, promotion of the student government, and an area where students could write a letter to the legislators.
     Many clubs attended the event; include, the Black Student Union (BSU), Pre Health Professionals, Phi Theta Kappa, Student Environmentalist Organization, and Kappa Kappa Psi. Each club participated in the event while promoting their respected organizations. 
     The rally lasted from 10am until 4pm and had about 300 students in attendance, which was a better turnout than last year’s event.

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