By Oswaldo Sergio Sanchez

I agree with your message, but not with your method.

We should protest fee hikes, but protest in ways that do not interfere with our ability to have normal classes. In other words, stop the walkouts and find new ways to protest.

It seems that everyone, not just college students, are walking out these days.  Even kids from an elementary school in Oakland, California staged a walkout.

With tuition steadily increasing every semester and deep cuts to education budgets, it is easy to see it has become difficult for some students to pay for their education. This is a big deal.

But if this is the case, then why isn’t going to class the highest priority? Is walking out of class the solution to this situation?

There are a couple problems with the walkout.

It affects every classroom and every student. Even the students who are not willing to protest are affected. Most students go to class to learn and do not like to be interrupted. The recent walkout consisted of students wandering inside classrooms and chanting loudly, “Walk Out!”

It forced professors to yell and created a hectic learning environment. Some professors even cancelled class in advance so students would participate in the walkout. These professors robbed all their students the opportunity to learn on what would have been otherwise a normal school day.

There is a contradiction in the walkout as it pertains to education. The protest organizers said the goal of the protest was to extend access to education by preventing fee increases. They then said students should walk out of their classes, or in other words, walk out on a day of their education.

But if education is at the heart of the protest, then how can the protest organizers tell us to sacrifice our education?

I understand this protest is also for future generations and their ability to have access to education, but why must I sacrifice my education?

This is a question numerous students asked themselves on March 2. Instead of asking students to make sacrifices or spend the day thinking about making sacrifices, the protest organizers should have found another way of engaging students to support their cause.

Walkouts are divisive and they turn students away from participating in the protest. I believe if students heard how the state is not focused on education and how they are willing to increase fees they would likely be supportive of the protest.

These points combined turn people off to the idea of protesting. A non-protestor doesn’t protest because he or she isn’t aware of the issues but because they don’t agree with how the protest is being run.

The resentments I hear from my fellow classmates expressed about the protest are never aimed at the issues, but rather at the method.

– Oswaldo Sergio Sanchez is a 21-year-old senior with a double major in music composition and philosophy