Students Vote for Discount Transit Passes

(reposted from a Press Release from Assembly Member Sandré Swanson’s website. Original article by Semaj D. La Niger for the Laney Tower)

Students of the Peralta Colleges were joined by Assembly Member Sandre Swanson (D-Oakland) as well as Peralta and AC Transit officials to celebrate the passage of AB 1980, the Peralta Colleges Transportation Accessibility Act July 24 at Laney College. The bill was signed into law by governor Schwarzenegger last week.

“At a time of rising gas prices, this bill will bring economic relief for hardworking students,” said Swanson, an alumnus and former student body president of Laney College. “It will also contribute to a greener economy and healthier environment by taking more cars off the road.” Continue reading →

YES on Prop. 92: would insure investment in success and a skilled workforce

(This op ed was printed in the San Jose Mercury News on January 31, 2008)

by Nicky Gonzalez Yuen

Voting for Proposition 92 in the Feb. 5 primary is not only the most important thing voters can do to improve the lives of 2.5 million community college students in California, it is also the most important thing voters can do to revitalize our ailing economy. The only question is this: Will voters be able to see through the campaign of disinformation and outright lies being put forward by opponents of Proposition 92? Continue reading →

Printed in Berkeley Daily Planet: Good for Students, Good for California

(This essay was printed in the Berkeley Daily Planet on January 29, 2008)

Berkeley citizens are among the most active and contentious in the world. So are their elected officials. So, it’s not very often when they agree on much. An extraordinary thing has happened in this Feb 5 primary though. Every single locally elected official in Berkeley agrees: Vote yes on Proposition 92, the measure to save our community colleges. Yes, unanimously, Mayor Tom Bates, Supervisor Keith Carson, the entire Berkeley School Board and full City Council, City Auditor Ann-Marie Hogan, the whole Rent Board, Representatives to EBMUD, the Parks District, BART, AC Transit and of course the Peralta College Board— all of them agree, Prop. 92 is good not just for Community Colleges but also for the City, the state and all citizens. Continue reading →