It is time once again for the Student Senate
for California Community Colleges’ annual
Spring General Assembly. The Student Senate is
recognized by the Board of Governors as the official
representative of California’s Community
College students and was established to promote
student interests and the student voice across
the state. With over 2.9 million students enrolled
each year, the California Community Colleges
are the largest and most diverse system of higher
education in the nation. The Student Senate works
directly with student leaders at each of the
112 colleges within the system. In light of the
continued struggles we are facing as students
and as a system, it is crucial for your college
to join us and participate in the discussions
at our Spring 2010 General Assembly!
The Student Senate has continued to make major
strides forward in becoming an effective shared
governance and student advocacy organization.
We have worked to build and strengthen strategic
partnerships (within our system, intersegmentally
with our UC and CSU colleagues, and within the
Legislature), effectively influenced legislation
for the benefit of our students, testified in
key hearings before the Legislature around the
review of the Master Plan for Higher Education,
participated in statewide discussions about improving
transfer and increasing student success, and
on March 22, 2010, with all of your help, we
successfully organized and executed the largest
March in March in the Student Senate’s
history. With nearly 10,000 students rallying
on the steps of the Capitol in Sacramento, we
reminded the Legislature of the critical investment
that MUST be made in California’s Community
Colleges for the future of our State. With proposed
fee increases and continued budget cuts on the
table once again, the Student Senate will continue
to pack the committee rooms and the halls in
the Capitol to ensure that our voices are heard.
We are thrilled to once again, bring together
nearly 600 student leaders and advocates from
across the state for our Spring 2010 General
Assembly. We will be gathering April 30 – May
2, 2010 at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in downtown
Los Angeles with the theme The Road to Access
and Success: Detours Ahead. We will feature a
rich mixture of activities and topics that address
our most current and pressing issues. You can
talk with students from around the state as you
develop resolutions for Sunday’s voting
session where we debate and adopt policy. We
will also hold our annual elections for many
of our ten regions as well as the ten At-Large
Senator positions on the Student Senate Council
for 2010 – 2011.
The Student Senate is also very pleased to
welcome Moreno Valley and Norco Colleges as our
newest Member Colleges! In January 2010, Moreno
Valley and Norco Colleges received their initial
accreditation and the Student Senate is excited
to have their local senates join us as recognized
delegates for the first time at the Spring 2010
General Assembly. We hope that you will all join
us in congratulating the students, faculty, staff,
and administration in the Riverside Community
College District for their hard work and dedication
over the past several years to make this a reality.
Together we must continue to build an effective
organization for the 2.9 million students and
demand that California recommit to its promise
of an accessible, quality higher education for
all!
In unity,
Reid E. Milburn
President, Student Senate for California Community Colleges
