Cerritos College students protest proposed summer cuts - Kelly Puente, Contra Costa Times

Wearing T-shirts that read "Spending on Education is Saving for the Future," students gathered at Cerritos Community College on Wednesday to protest the college's plan to cut summer courses. The Norwalk-based college, which serves 16,000 students, will offer 215 courses and one less summer session this year -- a more than 80 percent reduction compared to the 1,119 courses it offered in 2008. Gathered in the college's Falcon Square, concerned students were calling for the Cerritos College Board of Trustees to reinstate the more than 600 summer courses it offered just last year. The students took their concerns to the evening's Board of Trustees meeting with signs in tow. "If it weren't for summer school, I wouldn't be able to transfer to UCLA this fall," said student Joseph Silva, who helped organized the demonstration that drew a few dozen students.