Campus organizations from colleges across the city are joining together to gather on the steps of City Hall at noon on Oct. 15 to call attention to the mayor's office the fact that higher education was not a topic in the gubernatorial campaign.

The "Take a Stand" rally is the last event planned for this week's political days of action, October 14 and 15 that tried to bring further attention to this year's budget cuts to higher education across California.

"We expect upwards of 500 students, faculty and staff," said Brigitte Davila of the raza studies department, who is helping organize the event.

Participants of the rally include SF State's California Faculty Association chapter, Students for Quality Education, City College of San Francisco, Education Budget Advocacy Committee-SFSU and the California State University Employees Union-SFSU.

"The plan is to go to Gavin Newsom, who is the Democratic candidate for governor along with Jerry Brown, and demand that public higher education become a topic of the gubernatorial campaign," said Ramon Castellblanch CFA President for SF State.

Organization leaders from the CFA and SQE have been posting fliers about the rally in hallways across SF State. They held meetings about the rally in hopes of gathering enough support from students and faculty to bring the issues of education to the election agenda.

"They have positions on health care, on prisons, on roads, but they did not even have public higher education on the list of things they are asking these candidates about," Castellblanch said, after reading a list of gubernatorial issues in the San Francisco Chronicle last month.

The furlough days and budget cuts for this year have already been implemented, but these groups are demanding leaders, particularly those in the race for Governor, be ready with a plan of how they are going to prevent further cuts in the coming years

"We also want him to support AB656, a bill that will tax oil extraction in the state of California. The bill is asking for a 9.9 percent tax and the revenue created would go towards public higher education," said literature and raza studies major Samantha Adame of the SQE. California is the only state that does not enforce a severance tax, a state tax on natural resources, on the oil and gas that is extracted from its land and water.

On Oct. 14, the CFA raised awareness of the rally by installing an "Art and Activism" exhibit in Malcolm X Plaza. The exhibit displayed contributions from SF State professors, including music by Prof. Jose Cuellar, and from the library department, Jeff Rosen's photography capturing labor and education.

"It is a part of the SF State Fair Arts Festival and focuses on the creative protest against the budget cuts to higher education," Davila said.

CFA leader Ramon Castellblanch met with other chapter presidents early last month to discuss preparations for these events, including the creation of a communal Web site that will provide a space for different groups to get on the same page and have an idea of how to get involved.

For more information or to get involved contact SFSU.SQE@gmail.com or http://www.TakeaStand4PublicEd.org.