> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Governor to speak at SMC - URL: https://www.smdp.com/smc-salutes-student-accomplishments/ - Published: 2005-06-08T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T07:14:06.000Z - Author: Ryan Hyatt - Tags: Education, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Community, students and unions promise to protest* SMC — Not all Santa Monica College students will be cheering if the governor gives this year’s commencement address. More than 20 community members, faculty, students and union representatives came out in protest Monday night of SMC officials’ intention to have Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger speak at graduation. The majority of individuals who spoke at SMC’s board of trustees meeting said they were “disgusted” and “ashamed” that the state’s foremost leader — who they argued has failed to adequately fund education in California — would be keynote speaker at their ceremony on June 14. “The governor has declared class warfare,” former Santa Monica Mayor Paul Rosenstein told SMC officials. “This is a mess you have gotten yourselves into. You must find a way to disinvite him and not bring shame to this community.” The protesters said they formally requested that trustees reconsider the speaker on Monday night’s agenda, but the trustees did not honor their request. As a result, these individuals — who said they represented a litany of organizations — spoke for more than an hour during the public comment portion of the meeting, and promised to protest the graduation ceremony, scheduled for 7 p.m. next Tuesday on SMC’s football field. SMC officials have previously stated that the governor’s invitation to speak has been in the works since Schwarzenegger took office more than two years ago. The idea was first pursued by former college president Dr. Piedad F. Robertson, who retired on Jan. 31. Schwarzenegger is known to have taken general education courses at SMC in the ’70s and, according to a profile, is said to have had a good start in his business career, due in part to the real estate ties he has in Santa Monica. SMC’s officials said the commencement speech speaker is a choice traditionally made by the college’s administration. Tom Donner, SMC’s interim president, looks forward to the governor addressing local graduates. “The college is honored that Gov. Schwarzenegger will be our commencement speaker,” Donner said. “He is an alumnus of Santa Monica College, and he has been very supportive of community colleges. “His budgets reflect that support.” Donner said the governor has pushed a budget that, if approved by the legislature, would increase “equalization” funding by $40 million, which would directly benefit SMC and other community colleges. Those protesting the invitation at Monday night’s meeting disagreed with Donner’s assessment. They said the governor’s budget will continue to undermine public and higher education throughout California, and the $141 million set to support community colleges this year is dramatically less than what would have gone to coffers if Gov. Schwarzenegger decided to not suspend Proposition 98 guaranteed funding. Calls to the governor’s office to clarify the issue of community college funding were not returned. Although the majority of public comment speakers said they were against the governor speaking at the graduation ceremony, some felt the ceremony was not an appropriate occasion for a protest. “If it wasn’t for the fact this is our graduation, I could see why people would want to protest,” said Jeronimo Saldana, president of SMC’s student body. “I do not agree with the governor’s politics, but this event is a celebration, and it is prestigious that the governor is coming to our campus. “I look forward to hearing what he has to say.” Saldana said he was surprised and a little dismayed by the controversy being stirred by the governor’s invitation. Bruce Smith, SMC spokesperson, said he could not recall there being a protest over a guest speaker in the 17 years he has been affiliated with the college. Carl Gettleman, president of SMC’s classified employee’s union, said the divisiveness around the invitation was significant enough that officials ought to reconsider the choice of speaker. He compared SMC’s invitation to a car running with an indicator light flashing. “If you assume that the indicator light is faulty, you just keep on driving and wait to see what happens,” Gettleman said to SMC officials. “But there’s a risk in assuming that the indicator light is faulty, because if it’s not, then your car might cease to function altogether. “And you could have prevented that.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/060805-02_01.jpg) SMC interim president Tom Donner and vice-chair trustee Nancy Greenstein fielded public comments at a Monday meeting, where Gov. (Photo: Nicky Five Aces/Five Aces Photo) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 8, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/060805.pdf?ref=smdp.com)