Student Protest and Pepper Spray at Santa Monica College

Students protesting Santa Monica College's plan to institute a two-tiered tuition policy tried to storm a meeting of the college's board Tuesday night, and were met with campus police and pepper spray, The Los Angeles Times reported. Several protesters suffered minor injuries and others were overcome with pepper spray. The college says its plan is a creative way to deal with deep budget cuts. But students say that the plan effectively favors those who can afford to pay more, and abandons the community college traditions of equity and access.