On Thursday March 12, amid warm sunny skies which matched both their spirit and drive, community college students, faculty and staff from around the state gathered at Sacramento’s Southside Park, then marched to the state capitol to demand increased funding for student basic needs, protections for students who are immigrants and the preservation of academic freedom – at a time when all are under attack.

CCA Vice President Kashara Moore

Ace Acklin-Ricardson of San Bernardino City College got on a bus at midnight so that he could make the Know Your Rights, Dealing with ICE and Student Advocacy trainings starting the following morning. For Ricardson, an African American transgender student struggling to live in a religious household, community college has given him a sense of connection and reason to keep fighting. Still, lack of funding has left him housing insecure. Other students echoed the challenges of affordability and ICE threats.

Penhos and Southwestern College students call on lawmakers for more support.

CCA member faculty from more than 14 districts – from Southwestern College in the South to Shasta in the North – marched and shouted boisterously with students: including CCA Women’s South Director Jacqueline Penhos and CCA Vice President Kashara Moore. An Afro-Latina faculty member at Southwestern College, Penhos spoke of growing up undocumented, as well as her experience as a part-time faculty member with lack of healthcare, asserting that all students and faculty should have it. Moore spoke powerfully in defense of academic freedom and democracy, adding “we’re raising our voices to unite, not with anger, because when one of us rises, we all rise!”

What is the March in March?

Faculty, students and community rallied and marched to the State Capitol.

CCA Boardmembers Geoffrey Johnson, Jacqueline Penhos and VP Kashara Moore

First held in the late 2000s, March in March is a long-standing California movement where community college students, faculty and advocates come together at the State Capitol to defend access, affordability, and public investment in higher education. Over the years, it has mobilized thousands statewide and remains one of the most visible demonstrations of the power and unity of the California Community Colleges system.