And HERE is a thread about the first pre-FReep coverage of this event.
Backers, Foes Await Governor at Local College
[Schwarzenegger at Santa Monica College]
abclocal.go.com ^ | June 14,2005 | KABC-TV and the Associated Press
Posted on 06/14/2005 12:31:15 PM PDT by RonDog
Backers, Foes Await Governor at Local College
 More controversy for Governor Schwarzenegger as he comes to the Southland today to deliver a commencement address in Santa Monica. His visit comes the day after his call for special November election.
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(ABC7 EYEWITNESS NEWS FILE)
SANTA MONICA — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will deliver the commencement address today at Santa Monica College, where two groups plan to protest his appearance while a third holds a rally to show it supports him. Schwarzenegger, who attended Santa Monica College from 1971-74, is expected to speak for 10-15 minutes to about 600 graduates and a capacity crowd of about 5,000 at Corsair Field, according to Bruce Smith, the school's public information officer.
An aide to Schwarzenegger declined to reveal the topic of the speech.
His appearance in Santa Monica comes one day after Schwarzenegger called a Nov. 8 special election to decide the fate of initiatives he backs that would limit state spending, take reapportionment out of the hands of the Legislature and increase from two years to five the time needed for a teacher to receive tenure.
Today's speech comes eight days after about 35 people, including staff members and students, asked the college's Board of Trustees to rescind its invitation to Schwarzenegger.
They would have preferred a "champion of community colleges" to speak instead of the governor, according to history professor Kenneth Mason. Policies backed by Schwarzenegger have made community college education "much less accessible," Mason said.
The plea to rescind the invitation to the governor was merely symbolic because the matter wasn't on the meeting's agenda. Under state law, trustees couldn't vote on matters not on the agenda.
The group, which includes the college's faculty association, various Democratic Party, labor and self-described progressive organizations, plans a march from St. Anne's Church to the school and hold a rally at a campus parking lot at the corner of Pico Boulevard and 20th Street.
A second protest, organized by the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition-Los Angeles, is planned for the corner of Pico and 17th.
The Santa Monica College Republicans plan a rally at Pico and 16th "to show that the ceremony should not be politicized," said club president Ben Eisenberg, who called Schwarzenegger "a positive role model, an example of just how far someone can go with an SMC education."
Club members also plan on handing out buttons and to be at the graduation, for which tickets are required, "trying to cheer the governor on and support him," Eisenberg said.
"Some of the students and faculty members here have tired to make it seem as though there is unanimous opposition to Arnold speaking at graduation. That's just not the case," Eisenberg said. "It's really only a very small minority that has these objections, but they're determined to ruin graduation for everyone."
Santa Monica College interim President Tom Donner said the college is honored to have Schwarzenegger as the commencement speaker.
"He is the governor of the state of California, he is an alumnus of Santa Monica College and he has been very supportive of community colleges. His budgets reflect that support," Donner said in a statement issued before last week's meeting.
Figures from state officials contradict Mason's claim that Schwarzenegger's budgets have made community college less accessible.
H.D. Palmer, deputy director of the state Department of Finance, said Schwarzenegger's proposed 2005-06 budget provides $436 million more for community colleges than the current year. Student fees won't increase, and they remain among the lowest in the nation, Palmer said.
The proposed budget also calls for an additional $10 million for community colleges for the current fiscal year, Palmer said.
Enrollment at the state's community colleges has gone from the equivalent of 1,092,622 full-time students in the 2003-2004 academic year to an estimated 1,134,360 in the 2004-2005, according to Ron Owens, the public information officer of the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office.
Enrollment for 2005-2006 is projected at 1,168,391, Owens said.
The 2004-2005 budget signed by Schwarzenegger provided for a 3.65 percent enrollment growth, while the proposed 2005-2006 budget provides for 3 percent enrollment growth, Owens said.
"Our analysis indicated that this will fully meet access needs for the colleges," Owens said.
Last Updated: Jun 14, 2005
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