Protesters vs Arnold

Arnold Schwarzenegger will never forget the events of today, and neither will I.

The graduation of the new class here at Santa Monica College was just an opportunity a certain person had to use to his advantage. The current governor of the state of California was going to be the commencement speaker for the ceremony. Some students, faculty, and family members had more than a few words to say to our governor who has spoken at the graduation ceremony that has ended not to long ago.

Arnold Schwarzenegger received an Associate of Art degree from Santa Monica College and this is also why he was picked to speak at the ceremony. Students chanted out words like "Kindergarten Cop sucked", that were brought up by Saladin Thomas, an SMC student who was in the stadium seating area.

Many different groups showed up to voice their opinion. Some were against the governor, some were for him. For example, the Lyndon Larouche Youth Movement arrived at the graduation and took up a place right next to where the friends and family of graduating students had to enter through the grandstands, and chanted loudly. However, an unidentified group of protesters chanted "pendejo" which means "dumbass" in Spanish.

Some people who protested were removed from the graduation ceremony and one person in particular was taken away by the Santa Monica College Police for battery. The suspect was not arrested, but the report will be given to the District Attorney's Office and if they believe there is a case they will issue a warrant for the suspect's arrest. The reason for the suspect not being arrested on the spot was because of lack of resources available at that current moment. However, Sergeant Jay Moroso from the Santa Monica Police Department said, "It does not matter if he gets arrested today or later".

Jerry Rubin, former Corsair reporter back in 1984, was attending the event as an Arnold opposer and had a shirt that said "Recall Arnold" and "Special Interest Junkie."

Not everyone was against the governor. One such person was SMC Student Jason Troutman who had picked his politician without a doubt. "I think it's stupid that everyone is making such a big deal about it and I think he's not coming here as the governor, but he is coming here as an alumni. It's his alma mater, let him come support the graduates."

Santa Monica College professor Frank Dawson said that the "governor did not have much to say that benefited the students. It was all about him."

It was a graduation that will never be forgotten. The protesters made listening to the governor speak about himself and his career very hard to understand.