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The dozens of student protesters who were pepper-sprayed by police at a California community college weren't just angry about not getting into a meeting of school trustees. They were fuming about a new Santa Monica College plan that would let students who did not get into a needed, high-demand course take the class anyway, but only if they paid hundreds of dollars more.
On Tuesday night, the emotions boiled over at the meeting. And a day later, the state agency that oversees the state's community colleges called on the attorney general to judge whether the plan was legal. Agency officials also called for the college to temporarily halt the program. The college has said the summer pilot program is an attempt to create new ways to fund some popular state-required classes in an era of declining state education aid. Critics say the plan will create a caste system favoring wealthy students and runs contrary to the idea of community colleges as a gateway into the middle class.
The clash, parts of which were videotaped and posted online, occurred in a narrow hallway packed with shouting protesters. The videos show a chaotic scene with some struggles between them and police.
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," he said.
Jasmine Delgado, vice president of the college's Associated Students, said she tried to restore calm shortly before officers used the pepper spray.
Delgado said she was pushed to the ground by an officer where she landed on her right arm. She said she suffered a contusion and her arm was in a sling Wednesday. "I think this shows how much students are willing to go through for their education," she said.
School officials said an overflow room was available to students but the demonstrators wanted to get inside the main meeting space.
In a statement, college President Chui Tsang said that despite people engaging in unlawful conduct, including setting off fire alarms, police made no arrests. He said the college was investigating the incident.
The American Civil Liberties Union issued a statement Wednesday calling for a thorough investigation, saying students have a right to make their voices heard.
Video of a pepper spray incident at University of California, Davis, in November drew worldwide attention when an officer doused a row of student protesters with pepper spray as they sat passively. It became a rallying point for the Occupy Wall Street movement.