Cerritos College should not offer free classes for returning students. There are other ways of assisting these students while remaining fair to others who are not returning students.

Education is important for students of every age and we all deserve classes.

We should be receiving more affordable classes, but in this hard economic time our tuition is being raised, and the prices are higher than an average college students’ budget. With this in mind, it seems foolish to allow some students to take a free class, when all want it.

And what criteria allows returning students to possibly receive free classes?

What allows them the opportunity for this service that other students don’t have, other students who are struggling to pay for one or two classes, students who seek help and find relief in financial aid.

We are all Cerritos College students and we all have the opportunity to apply for financial aid to pay for classes, returning students can do this too, which would eliminate the need for free classes.

With the time away, these students are at a disadvantage in the new material at college, it’s not that they don’t deserve support, they just need the right kind, and its available.

Cerritos College has a Re-Entry Resource Program that offers returning students the assistance through out their education with services such as scholarships,free success workshops and support groups.

The help is there, why would an addition of free classes be necessary?

With all the recent protests across the state at colleges regarding tuition, it wouldn’t be wise to offer free classes.

That decision may present the thought of expense. Colleges are cutting programs and taking away classes and Cerritos College might eliminate an entire summer semester for 2013.

With that being said, free classes for returning students should be out of the question, it could cause more harm than good.

To offer free classes to some students and not all would not sit well with the students who are not receiving these benefits.

We as students should stand together and fight the raised tuition, because we will never receive free classes but we can fight for them to be more affordable.

We are all students of Cerritos College and we should all be treated equal.