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.