WHEREAS, The Cabrillo College Stroke and Disability Learning Center is an integral resource for the Santa Cruz County community, offering a dedicated facility and comprehensive programming that supports the mental, physical, and emotional development of its students; [1]

WHEREAS, The California Community College system serves 2.2 million students, yet Cabrillo College remains the only community college in California, out of the 116, to provide a specialized Stroke and Disability Center to this degree; [2]

WHEREAS, Food insecurity among students is a significant issue, with many facing challenges in accessing nutritious meals, which can adversely affect their academic performance and overall well-being;

WHEREAS, Extracurricular activities, including school events and clubs, play a crucial role in student development, fostering a sense of community, and enhancing educational experiences; and

WHEREAS, Access to consistent, nutritious food is critical for California Community College students to maintain the physical health, focus, and energy necessary for academic success, which is directly aligned with the basic health principles established by the World Health Organization [2] and along with the daily supplement of around 2000 calories for the average adult in the U.S. as recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [3];

WHEREAS, California community college students face severe and compounding financial pressures due to persistent inflation, rising housing and food costs, and declining job availability, with statewide and national research indicating that nearly half of community college students experience food insecurity, over half experience housing insecurity, and a majority must work while enrolled—often exceeding 30 to 40 hours per week—thereby creating structural conditions in which unpaid student leadership roles are increasingly inaccessible [2][4][7][15][16];

WHEREAS, The California Community Colleges system serves over 2.1 million students annually, with more than 70% identifying as students of color [1, 2], and has committed through its systemwide Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement to ensuring equal educational opportunity for all students and to eradicating institutional discrimination and implicit bias from the system [3, 4]; 

WHEREAS, California is home to approximately one million individuals reporting Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) ancestry, with over 112,000 individuals in San Diego County, including 28,000 in East County [2][3][4] and in the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District, 3,275 students (16% of the total student population) reported Middle Eastern race/ethnicity [5]; however, all of these numbers are undercounted due to delayed and inconsistent data collection standards, for instance, the California Community College system only began offering a “Middle Eastern” race/ethnicity catego

WHEREAS, "Catalog rights" are a critical protection that allow California Community College students to finish their degrees based on the requirements in place when they first started, ensuring they do not have to take extra classes if graduation rules change later;

WHEREAS, To keep these rights, the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) and other districts require "continuous attendance," which usually means a student must attend at least one term every calendar year;

WHEREAS, More than 17,000 international students are enrolled in the California Community College system across campuses statewide [1], making up a large and vital part of the California Community College system;

WHEREAS, Art programs are available at most California Community Colleges [1];

WHEREAS, Other majors have the opportunity to study spaces that allows them to prepare and progress on assignments on campus [2]; and

WHEREAS, The Department of Education states that students should spend about 2-3 hours of study time per credit hour, the lack of dedicated study spaces makes this difficult for art students to meet [3]; Now, therefore, be it

WHEREAS, AB 1705 (Irwin, 2022) mandates that California Community College STEM majors be placed directly into transfer-level Calculus I beginning July 1, 2025, as the point after which colleges may not recommend/require transfer-level preparatory courses based on placement rules unless they have validated those sequences; colleges must also ensure STEM students have access to STEM Calculus I, thereby significantly increasing the demand for concurrent academic support services [1][6];