More than 20,000 students from across the state are expected to participate in the March for Higher Education at the State Capitol Monday morning to protest proposed budget cuts and fee increases to higher education.

The march is an annual event organized by California State Student Association (CSSA) and Student Senate for California Community Colleges.

“This march is about students coming out and really saying to the rest of the state that we’re worth the investment, and that if you invest in us, we will give you a return on your investment in the future,” said Olgalilia Ramirez, CSSA director of government relations.

The march will begin at 10 a.m. at the California Automobile Museum on Front Street. From there, participants will march to the Capitol Mall and on to the state Capitol. There will be a press conference on the west steps of the Capitol facing 10th Street after the march.

ASI Secretary of State Affairs Brandon Sisk, senior government major, is expecting the march to draw in more students than ever before.

“We actually did a very similar event last year and we got about 13,000 students to show up,” Sisk said. “We did it the year before that and we got about 5,000 students to show up, so it’s been growing each year.”

Sisk has been participating in organization of the march for several years. Although the march is protesting a serious issue, he said the march itself is a fun experience.

“A couple years ago, I organized the event and it was primarily a community college event, and for me, it was really amazing to stand at the Capitol and just watch waves of people just chanting, passionate as all hell, continuing to march on to the Capitol,” Sisk said. “It was like, you thought it was over and it looked like it was over, but they just kept on coming. It was actually really cool, a really cool experience.”

Community college students are expected to make up a large percentage of participants in the march.

“(Community colleges) bring students like no other,” Sisk said. “They have about 2.8 million students and they do a really good job at bringing students forward.”

The reason for the march is to get the attention of the governor, legislators and the public.

“We want the public to understand that what affects higher education will also affect them and the future of California’s economy,” Ramirez said.

Ramirez said if we continue to disinvest in higher education, by 2025, California will be short one million college graduates to do the jobs that nurses, engineers, agriculture workers and teachers currently hold.

“We’ve seen the trends for the last 10 to 11 years where student fees have gone up,” Ramirez said. “We’ve seen access to the Cal State universities basically denied last year. We turned away about 40,000 students and that was because there was basically no funding for those students.”

Ramirez said she believes higher education in California is going backward when it should be going forward.

“If we continue to move backward, the state of the economy is not going to get any better,” Ramirez said.

Sisk said investing in higher education is what will actually boost California’s economy.

“We say that for every dollar that you put into higher education, or into the CSU system in particular, the California economy receives $5.43 in return,” Sisk said. “That’s an amazing return on investment so it just doesn’t make any sense to divest from higher education.”

Sacramento State studentsshould participate in the march because the lack of funding for higher education is what impacts them the most, Sisk said.

“I have friends in particular who have been pushed out of the system for a semester or two, which has delayed their graduation by that much, because of the tuition or fee increases, as a result of massive budget cuts over the last few years,” hesaid.

Alexandria Rosalia Ybarra, Sac State junior communication studies major, is going to participate in the march because she said CSU budget cuts have impact her personally.

“It has affected me financial-wise,” Ybarra said. “I’m not getting financial aid, a lot of classes are being cut, work-study jobs are being less, and I don’t think it’s good that education is getting a budget cut.”

Ybarra said going to the march is one way she can contribute to the higher education cause.

“By me going, at least I can make a mini difference,” she said.

Comparedwith other schools, Sisk said Sac State student attendance at these types of events has been low in the past few years. However, he encourages students to attend the march even if it means skipping classes that day.

“There are some students who absolutely can’t get away, they’ve got a lab that they can’t get out of or something like that,” Sisk said. “But for the most part, the professors are pretty understanding about this stuff so if they just talk to their professor beforehand and say “I’d like to go to this march,’ I have a pretty good feeling their professor is going to be understanding enough to let them go.”

To help alleviate transportation issues and limited parking, Sac State is providing free bus transportation to the march’s starting location. Students who would like to utilize this service should meet in the Library Quad between 8:30 and 9:45 a.m. on the day of the march.

Students who simply cannot skip class to attend the march can still get involved in the higher education cause by calling and writing letters to their legislators.

Although quantifying the results from the march may be difficult, Sisk said he believes the march does make a difference.

“It really does send a clear message to the legislators. They hear it loud and clear,” hesaid. “They hear it inside the building, which is an amazing thing. It’s always been the biggest rally at the Capitol every year so they’re really impressed by it. I’ve spoken with legislators who were like, “You’re going to do it again this year and it’s going to be amazing.'”

There is a reason why the march in done in March.

“It’s actually great timing because they’re trying to pass the budget on March 15 so the day before, we’re telling them to prioritize higher education,” Sisk said. “The next day, hopefully they actually make that prioritization.”

Be sure to follow us on Twitter for live updates from the march.

Inna Gritsak can be reached at [email protected]