A Real World Civics Lesson : Gerardo Pinedo, the student body president at East L.A. College, rallied his constituents, and the district rethinks its stance on funding.

When Gerardo Pinedo discovered recently that East Los Angeles College might get only a small portion of the funds it will need next year to support a substantial enrollment increase, he decided it was time for action. Pinedo, 20, president of the community college’s 16,000-student body, organized a protest that prompted the board of trustees to reassess the budget allocation. He talked with writer Catherine Gewertz about why he fought to protect the school’s money and his views on student activism.

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East L.A. College has increased enrollment about 8% in the last two academic years. That also translates into a significant increase in the funds we are supposed to receive from the (Los Angeles Community College) district to accommodate the added enrollment.

But the district looked at all the colleges in the (nine-campus) system and said East L.A. has to share its wealth. Its enrollment went up, and two colleges stayed the same and the others decreased. They recommended that we receive about 37% of the funds which we were expecting to get.

I called several offices on campus, and officials confirmed for me that the reduced money with increased enrollment meant that there would be longer registration lines and fewer classes for students.

I had a meeting with the chancellor (Neil Yoneji). We talked for two hours and he was very cordial, but he said he had to do what was best for the majority of campuses. So I got on the agenda for the next (L.A. Community College District) board of trustees meeting.

I gave a five-minute presentation. I told them I was upset and scared that our college wouldn’t get its share of funding. I told them how demoralizing it was to my campus. I pleaded with them to reconsider.

I was shocked at how disrespectful they were. I was interrupted five or six times. Trustees debated with me instead of letting me finish. Some were shaking their heads no. One of the trustees covered his ears. So I made up my mind I would go down there again with as many students as I could gather.

I went gung-ho passing out flyers and giving speeches to get students involved. Some people couldn’t go to the board meeting, so I asked them to call the chancellor’s office and write letters. I made my phones here at the (student government) office available for students.

We used money from our student government budget and paid $476 to rent two buses, and we took about 100 students Downtown to the trustees meeting on March 29.

At the meeting, we were chanting about East L.A. spirit. It was very emotional. We had picket signs talking about fairness and equity, but the security guards made us take them off the sticks in the boardroom. So we held them up with our hands. I addressed the board for five minutes, and several other students did too.

I am happy because the message got across and there was no disturbance. I think we were successful. We saw the tables subtly turn. At the previous meeting, there was only one board member arguing on behalf of East L.A. College. At the meeting on the 29th, there were two, then three, then four. We got a majority (of the seven voting trustees) to at least reconsider!

By the end of the meeting, the board of trustees had directed the chancellor to come up with several alternative spending options.

I did this because I felt there was no equity in the situation. My parents weren’t activists. They didn’t have much schooling. But when I was growing up (in Koreatown), they taught me to stand up for what I thought was right.

In my two years here, I’ve seen how a lack of funding affects things. I had to wait three semesters to get into freshman English, and as a result I couldn’t take other classes for which there was a prerequisite. Many students prolong their education here by two or three years because they can’t get the classes they need. Some can’t afford to do that and just can’t finish.

For many students, East L.A. College is their only chance for success. If they don’t get the classes, no university will let them in and give them a chance to prove themselves. If I can leave here knowing that next year there will be one or more classes because of my efforts, I will feel satisfied.

Editor’s note: The Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees is scheduled to address the funding issue again at its May 17 meeting.