Santa Monica tuition protesters pepper-sprayed

In this photo provided by David Steinman, Nnaemeka Alozie reacts with milk on his face after being sprayed with pepper spray during a protest on April 3, 2012, in Santa Monica, Calif. / AP

(AP) SANTA MONICA - Campus police pepper-sprayed as many as 30 demonstrators after Santa Monica College students angry over a plan to offer high-priced courses tried to push their way into a trustees meeting, authorities said.

Raw video posted on the Internet Tuesday evening showed students chanting "Let us in, let us in" and "No cuts, no fees, education should be free."

Students were angry because only a handful were allowed into the meeting, and when their request to move the meeting to a larger venue was denied, they began to enter the room, said David Steinman, an environmental advocate who is running for Congress as a Green Party candidate.

Two officers were apparently backed up against a wall, and began using force to keep the students out of the room. Steinman said both officers used pepper spray.

"People were gasping and choking," Steinman said.

Marioly Gomez, 21, said she was standing in a hallway outside the meeting with several hundred other students who wanted to get into the meeting.

"I got pepper-sprayed without warning," she said.

Santa Monica College spokesman Bruce Smith said he believed it was the first time pepper spray had been used to subdue students on campus.

"It was the judgment of police that the crowd was getting out of hand and it was a safety issue," he said.

Trustee David Finkel called on campus officials to look into Tuesday evening's events.

"I think it gave the college a black eye which I know it didn't deserve and certainly didn't need," he said.

Video of a similar incident at UC Davis in November, in which an officer doused a row of student protesters with pepper spray as they sat passively, drew worldwide attention. It became a rallying point for the Occupy movement.

Firefighters were called to the campus at about 7:20 p.m. Five people were evaluated at the scene and two were taken to a hospital, Santa Monica Fire Department Capt. Judah Mitchell said. Their conditions were not known, but the injuries were not believed to be serious, Mitchell said.

Students have been upset over a new plan that involves the formation of a nonprofit foundation which would offer core courses for about $600 each, or about $200 per unit - about four times the current price. The program is designed to cope with rising student demand as state funds dwindle.

The move has raised questions about whether it would create two tiers of students in a system designed to make education accessible to everyone and whether it's even legal under state education law.

Community colleges statewide have lost $809 million in state funding over the past three years, causing schools to turn away about 200,000 students and drastically cut the number of classes offered.

Trustee Louise Jaffe said during the meeting that she doesn't believe the students want to listen.

"We spoke for four hours and we weren't understood," she said.

[hockeymom441]

Bottom line - you can't bum-rush into a room and exceed capacity.
If the students want to be taken seriously, they need to act like adults. It's a shame things got out of hand and people were hurt.

[aubfmet]

St Petersburg College has cut many of their courses from 17 weeks to 8 weeks. You get the same number of credits for about the same money, but only half the hours in a classroom. Your degree should be only half as much.

[cbsnews_viewer]

The story said, "turned away about 200,000 students" . What part of the system being broken are people not seeing. People are desperate

[credibility2]

Glad they got pepper-sprayed. Too bad their angry over tuition costs. Why should the choice of being a college student be any different than what the rest of us had to go through or are still going through? These protesters clearly were creating illegal acts and wouldn't disperse when asked to, so good, let the spraying continue until they get it through their thick skulls that you either obey and play by the rules, which includes unlawful assembly, or you pay by getting sprayed.

[madjek]

Millionaires riot when asked to pay more in taxes in order to support this great country they are trying to ruin. No pepper spray was used.

[cbsnews_viewer]

This is a situation between haves and have-nots. The country is not so great anymore. How goes California is how much of the country will go. This is a broken system.

[Huntx]

For those of you interested, here is a video(s) that I took of students protesting in the school board meeting following the pepper spraying incident by Santa Monica College police:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMd8o-ix8YQ
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE2F58A0BDB971965

[KnowerseekerReturns]

It's getting to where being a cop isn't the slightest bit honorable anymore, and I have no respect for them. The police's image has come a long way since 9/11, with Occupy being the tar pit that they've fallen into.

[ConSense]

Tell you what. You're not allowed in my home. You don't own it. You can't come in. Now, please try to force your way in and tell me you have a "right," because you're "protesting" something. But, before you do, understand, I don't use Pepper Spray.

[stormerF69]

Looks like he got hit with a milk carton,off the nanny state free lunch truck.

[chavezm562]

Why aren't students demanding to see the schools budget? They would all see that 80% of the budget is faculty salaries, pension payment, benefits, and the list goes on. Only 20% actually goes to the student. Second do they realize that the state is giving away money to illegal's neglecting legal born students. The unions are at fault. Come on student's if you guys plan to protest get your facts right before looking like idiots.

[stormerF69]

Welcome to the real world. You protesters need to protest to Obama,he is the one who keeps slaming the rich,but throws more money at the educators,who never lower the tuition rates,yet make 100's of thousands of dollars for not.

[phaedro]

If you went to college you should ask for your money back.

[cbsnews_viewer]

The system is broken. As far as protesting Mr Obama. We need to protest Mr Obama,r McCain, and Mr Romney. They spend billions on overseas wars, yet, they can't fix the education system in their own California. Wake up, USA. Ron Paul is the only one that makes sense.