It has always been San Jose City College’s (SJCC) top priority to serve all students equitably. We, the Associated Student Government of San Jose City College, see the upcoming November 2020 election as an opportunity to reinforce SJCC’s goals and aspirations. As a representation of our student body, we passed a resolution in support of California Propositions 15-18 in the best interests for our student body.
We see these Propositions as a way to increase the availability of college resources for all students, elevate our most at-promise students, and advocate for more students to have voting rights.
Proposition 15 reevaluates property taxes for large commercial and industrial properties with a value of over $3 million every 3 years. This replaces an outdated property tax proposition from the 1960s, Proposition 13. This does not impact property taxes for small businesses, agricultural businesses, or civilians. Proposition 15 is estimated to generate between $8 billion and $12.5 billion for community-oriented public affairs, including an estimated $1.2 million for the San Jose Evergreen Community College District (SJECCD).
Propositions 16 and 17 positively impacts students who are disenfranchised due to deeply entrenched systemic racism. Specifically, Proposition 16 would allow diversity as a factor in Public Employment, Education, and Contracting Decision and Proposition 17 allows felons to vote after completing their sentence. As statistics have shown, black and brown students of color have always received less or not the same education in comparison to students that are able to receive better or more education, feeding into what several renowned academic researchers refer to as the school-to-prison pipeline. These Propositions are small steps towards achieving equity in education, and in turn, across the United States.
Proposition 18 allows citizens who are seventeen (17) years old the right to vote in primary and special elections only if they will be the age of eighteen (18) by the next general election year. SJCC has many students who fall under this category due to the younger students enrolling in our college. We hope they will feel empowered to use this to their advantage, if this proposition passes.
To our student body: We urge you to consider voting YES on Propositions 15-18 for the reasons as we have described above. We need to support each other in meaningful ways especially through times like this election.
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