By Khalida Sarwari
Campuses across the South Bay this morning were quietly preparing for the statewide ‘Day of Action’ demonstrations against education cuts.
San Jose Unified School District spokeswoman Karen Fuqua said teachers and some students at Pioneer High School and Merritt Trace Elementary School began gathering for the rallies around 7 a.m. prior to the beginning of classes.
The California Faculty Association has planned a march beginning at 11:30 a.m. from San Jose City Hall to Seventh Street Plaza at San Jose State University, according to university spokeswoman Pat Lopes Harris.
At the campus, several speakers will address a crowd of students and educators, including representatives from the California Faculty Association and Students for Quality Education, a coalition of student groups at San Jose State and a local community college.
As of this morning, about 300 people had confirmed their attendance for the event on its Facebook page, Harris said. She said campus security is on stand-by to assist protesters at street crossings.
“We don’t anticipate any behavior that hasn’t been planned, but we’re always prepared for anything,” Harris said.
Students at De Anza College were preparing for a 12:30 p.m. bus trip to the City College of San Francisco to converge with the students there for a larger rally at 5 p.m., school spokeswoman Maris Spatafore said.
Earlier this week, De Anza students set up tents on the campus’ main quad to make a statement about the state’s budget cuts to education, Spatafore said.
Students have been spending the night in the tents in preparation for today’s event, she said.
“They’ve taken outstanding initiative and we support them completely,” Spatafore said.