[Occupymendocino] Stand with C/R students - demand a decent Junior College for the North Coast!!

[Jessie VanSant]

Earlier this year, jobs were lost at Fort Bragg C/R as people were laid off.  The Library was shut down; the Bookstore was closed. Services were limited.  Positions in administration were planned to /not/ be renewed for next school year.  I've known for months that bits and pieces have been being chewed off of the Coast campus and students have been struggling to get an education.

Now there is information that (some) C/R property is being marketed as RENTAL!!!

So?what's really going on??

In my personal experience, as a AA graduate of Fort Bragg C/R, I remember even /waaaaay back then/ the frustration of not being able to really piece together a schedule of classes that made efficient use of my time as a student and that the support from Eureka was inconsistent or was provided via benign neglect.

Now, many years into the future it appears the C/R in Fort Bragg is being scavenged and undermined by the administration in Eureka via lay offs, eliminating services and not making a full true junior college class offering available.

Fort Bragg needs a junior college to make the path to university possible for young people who are not wealthy.  I don't understand why the Fort Bragg city government hasn't gotten actively involved with developing a plan or pressuring Eureka to do much, much better with its Coast obligations.

It makes /me/ mad!!  How do you feel??

A group of graduating students are organizing a street rally 4 May --  11 to 1 on Highway One where you turn to go to CR or Harvest Market to bring attention to this continuing  degradation of the Coast C/R.  These students are demonstrating because they want to help the people still going to school at the college and are struggling to make a degree program and because they want to see a college continue on the Coast.  That's pretty honorable isn't it??  They could easily just graduate and walk away - they are finished at C/R but they are trying to keep a school for present and future young people trying to get an education and make better lives for themselves and their families.

Let's try to help them!!