Cuts Are Crippling Community Colleges

Re “Cutbacks Sting Community College Students,” March 17: I went to a community college because it made economic sense. I could work enough to pay for my classes to get the education I needed for a better job. With these new cutbacks, doors to better jobs are being slammed shut on a great many people, some of whom will end up stuck in poverty-level jobs for good, with no time or money for schooling.

Training and education are fundamental to upward mobility. Even with just a two-year degree, to land a job in a skilled trade will make for a decent living. The cuts are hard to take, but coupled with having to watch the federal government handing out tax breaks to the wealthy is doubly cruel. We’re watching “reverse Robin Hood-ism” on a grand scale, and it hurts sorely as a grievous wound to any concept of social justice.

Cullen Davis

Sherman Oaks

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Your article was quite disheartening. As a student at Glendale Community College, I have seen firsthand how these cuts affect our educational system. This semester I attempted to enroll in three classes that apply toward my English degree. Two were canceled. In the third class I sit in a lecture hall so crowded that students are forced to sit on the floor. Many schools are crowded beyond capacity. The facilities at Santa Monica College were originally built to accommodate about 10,000 to 15,000 students. There are around 30,000 currently enrolled there. I don’t know how they plan to make these cuts and still maintain any semblance of quality education.

Ben Levin

Los Angeles