De Anza College students faced harsh elements and an array of wildlife last Sunday through Thursday, in their Main Quad campout, Tent City, to spread awareness about the coming elections.

Since 2003, members of the De Anza student body have gotten together with students from across the state, fighting for an affordable and accessible education. Points outlined in the landmark California Master Plan for Higher Education (also known as the Donohue Higher Education Act of 1960), promote a larger number of schools teachers and services necessary to accommodate California’s immense population that boomed after World War II.

“We are educating students and other people on campus about budget cuts and how they are affecting De Anza. We are also raising awareness of the growing movement to help fight against the budget cuts. Student Rights Services deals with a lot of student concerns, so we are probably the closest committee to interacting with the students … we are the ones who students talk to and complain to,” said Nevin Sarina, member of De Anza Restoring Education, and the Student’s Rights and Services Committee of the DASB Senate.

For the last three years, students of De Anza have staged a sit-in style protest meant to promote and spread knowledge about the issues and solutions California’s education system faces. On Oct. 4 in the Main Quad, the DASB, Students For Justice and SRS held an open forum in which  students could voice their opinion or worries. 

“We do a lot of work in collaboration with DARE we just want to get more people involved in the issues,” Alandra Juarez, co-president for Students for Justice, said. 

According to former DASB president, Robin Claassen, “There’s going to be another march in March if there are more cuts, and California is facing an $800 million shortfall, so it’s highly likely. “