Student government leaders at Fresno City College hope to spend $7,500 in order to give students and staff a chance to attend the March in March rally in Sacramento.

Participants in the March 22 event will protest against state funding cuts to colleges and universities. The marchers are scheduled to leave FCC for the Capitol Building at 5 a.m. and return at 6 p.m. Sign-ups are being taken at the Associated Student Government office, above the bookstore.

“There is strength in numbers and we feel the more students who participate, the more it will help our cause,” ASG Senator Tony Capetillo, said.

ASG President, Sergey Saluschev, agreed.

“It is important for students to participate in the decision-making process at the capitol in order to assure higher education stays affordable and accessible,” Saluschev said.

Funding for the event will be provided by the $1 student rep fee that each FCC student pays when registering for classes each semester. According to education code 76060.5, the governing body of the student body association may order the use of these funds as long as they are used toward governmental affairs at the local and state levels.

After ASG approves an order for the funds, the approval first goes to Interim Director of College Activities Sean Henderson. Second, the funds must be approved by Dr. Christopher Villa, the Vice President of Student Services. Lastly, the FCC business office processes the transaction.

The funds will go toward transportation, food, and T-shirts for FCC students and staff who attend the event. According to Saluschev, the preliminary estimate of funds ordered for the March in March event is around $7,500.

According to the Web site, IWillMarch.com, the event will protest against state legislatures for slowly allowing public colleges to be privatized, which, according to the Web site, has forced students to pay more and more for their public education.

Participants of the march will demand that the legislature return to its 1960 Master Plan for Education, which, according the University Of California Web site, was put in place to differentiate the roles of the UC, CSU, and community college systems, reinforcing community colleges as places where accessibility and admittance would be for “any student capable of benefiting from instruction.”

“We want to hopefully get legislators to place a higher priority on education funding, especially in a time of high unemployment because investing more into education will help people gain the skills they need to get a job,” Saluschev said.

According to Saluschev, ASG hopes to join with the Sacramento district’s foundation and grant development executive director, Gurdeep Sihota, to organize a meeting with state legislators. This would give ASG members a chance to represent FCC students directly.

ASG Senator, Tony Capetillo, stressed the importance of the event. “It shows that we do care about our education,” Capetillo said.