Imagine your car breaks down and you’re forced to spend four hours a day on Los Angeles’ bad public transportation system to get to school. On top of that, you must use every single paycheck to cover food, rent and bus money — your school ID is only good for free rides on Long Beach Transit buses. Sounds like the typical life of a college student, right?
Well that’s the life of Indira Carmona. Despite the fact the Spanish major must deal with various challenges most college students don’t really face. How many students do you know that spend so many hours on the bus? She’s found time to immerse herself in organizing various student movements. Did I mention that she’s taking 19 units and tutors kids twice a week?
Carmona, along with a handful of other students, is part of Students for Quality Education. The mission statement of SQE is to raise awareness and inform students about current budget cuts that all California State University campuses are facing. It’s sort of the student version of the California Faculty Association. It was created by the CFA as a coalition for more student involvement and 16 of CSU campuses have a chapter.
Her hunger for organizing came after an internship with the Service Employees International Union last summer.
“I believe that it shouldn’t be that hard for students to get a quality education,” Carmona said about CSU budget cuts.
During Week of Welcome, Carmona said she received mixed reactions from students, who were sometimes oblivious that current cuts directly impact the lack of classes we have this semester, which will probably stay the same if we don’t act soon.
Carmona compared the obliviousness to the same state of mind Americans have gone through for the past eight years under the Bush administration.
“People kept ignoring the facts,” Carmona said. “They don’t want to understand.”
She says if students don’t become more familiar with decisions being made for them, the results could be pretty harsh. With fewer available classes, students are already suffering the consequences of bad decision-making.
But it’s not too late to get involved. The SQE will be having a student mixer on Feb. 26 at 6 p.m. in FO4 Room 180 to create a plan of action.
Carmona said, “There is a momentum building and the time to act is now.” Or whatever.
-Julio Salgado
Wow Indira. . . you Big Time Now!