Seventy-two people were arrested in a long day of protests on Monday in Sacramento, Calif., over cuts in education, according to the Associated Press. Thousands of students swarmed the state Capitol, leading to 68 arrests after protesters refused to leave the scene. Four other arrests occurred earlier in the day. Protesters chanted, "We're doing this for your kids" as they were led away by cops in handcuffs and put into vans.
Other protests took place on campuses across California, according to the Associated Press. Students are furious over the steep tuition increases and fewer courses at California's public universities and colleges. Tuition has nearly doubled in the past five years.
"We were expecting to have a good future, but things are looking uncertain for a lot of families," Alison Her, 19, a nursing student at California State University, Fresno, told the Associated Press. "I'm the oldest in my family, and I want my siblings to be able to go to college, too."
Gov. Jerry Brown released a statement saying that the protests highlight a need for a tax increase to help with college costs. "The students today are reflecting the frustrations of millions of Californians who have seen their public schools and universities eroded year after year," said Brown, a Democrat. "That's why it's imperative that we get more tax revenue this November."
Brown's initiative would fund education and public-safety programs by temporarily raising income taxes on people who make more than $250,000 a year and increase the sales tax by half a cent.
Read more at USA Today.
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