OXNARD — A town hall to support Prop. 30 will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23 at the South Oxnard Community Center, 200 E. Bard Road, Oxnard.
Presented by Future Leaders of America, the event supports the initiative that will prevent $6 billion in budget cuts next years in the state school system, organizers reported in a media release.
Students have been increasingly involved in efforts to support education this election season, David Gonzalez, a community leader and a senior at Pacifica High School, stated in a release.
“Last Thursday, in a completely student-led effort, over 50 students at Pacifica High School marched after school to rally at the intersection of Rose & Gonzalez in Oxnard, for Prop 30.,” Gonzalez said. “As students, we are all fed up with budget cutbacks at our schools, hearing about the rising college tuition and cuts in admissions that make it much more difficult to purse higher education. Although we have so much at stake in this election, most of us are too young to vote. As lead organizer of the rally, I decided we could make a difference by taking our message to the voting people of Oxnard. Our signs asked them: ‘We care, do YOU?’ When we arrived at the site of the rally, the students spread across all four corners of the busy intersection, so we could be heard by the thousands of cars passing through. My fellow student activists chanted ‘When they say cut back, we say fight back!’ and were met with overwhelming support from drivers who filled the streets with honks and cheers.”
Gonzalez said he approached the Central Coast Alliance for a Sustainable Economy and Future Leaders of America and other community organizations to provide students with information on how to organize a rally.
“I recruited friends to help me make announcements in various classes, collected hundreds of signatures in support of the rally, called through the list and passed out fliers to turn students out to take action,” he said. “I also contacted the media, resulting in an interview with a reporter from the Ventura County Star (article) who covered the demonstration.”
Other students joined the student effort after the rally, he said.
“Following up the action, eighteen youth, some who attended the rally and others who heard about it volunteered to take the next step and walk neighborhoods in Oxnard with CAUSE to talk to people in our community about how budget cuts are affecting us and convince them to support Proposition 30,” Gonzalez said. “I’m looking forward to see more of my generation participate in this election and for us all to really take ownership of shaping our future. On behalf of the students of Pacifica High School and all of us young leaders working to sustain a quality education system, I want to thank you for your support. Together we can win!”
About 50 students from Pacifica High School in Oxnard took part in a rally on Oct. 18 in support of education. Courtesy photo.
Following a rally at Pacifica High School in support of education, students organize to go door-to-door to get out the vote in support of Prop. 30. Courtesy photo.