Santa Monica students pepper sprayed

Santa Monica students get pepper sprayed by cops after trying to enter a Trustee meeting.
"Let us in, let us in," the students shout,  "No cuts, no fees, education should be free."

Two cops were backed up against the wall and obviously felt they were in a situation that force was necessary.  When was the last time we heard of cops being attacked?  The problem is that the state, which stands behind the police demands of its body's or armed men and women (the police) complete loyalty.  The Trustees are carrying out the policies of the corporations and the 1% and the police must ensure that they are allowed to do this without hindrance. As one college spokesperson said, it is a "safety issue" not that the students were threatening violence on individuals.  It is the "safety" of the process of dismantling public education, of privatizing it, that is threatened.  Hence, "extreme force" is allowable if this process is interrupted by its victims, in this case, our youth.

Our community colleges have lost $800 million in state funding denying 200,000 students an education. The plan the students are resisting,  "involves the formation of a nonprofit foundation that would offer core courses for about $600 each, or about $200 per unit — about four times the current price." reports the Associated Press.  Here's another clip from after the pepper spraying as students got inside.