THIRD ANNUAL AB 540 SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS BANQUET
TO BE HELD AT LOS ANGELES MISSION COLLEGE

Los Angeles Mission College (LAMC) M.E.Ch.A. (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan) is organizing the Third Annual AB 540 Scholarship Awards Banquet. The theme for this year's event is "United For Education." City Councilman Antonio Cardenas will give the keynote address at the banquet. Special guest speakers will include Los Angeles Community College Board Member Warren Furutani. There will be food from around the world and entertainment. The banquet will take place on Friday, May 13, 2005, at LAMC's Campus Activities Center from 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm.

The AB 540 law, authored by Assemblyman Marco Antonio Firebaugh and enacted in January of 2002, exempts eligible high school students from paying non-resident tuition in California's public institutions of higher learning. That same year, LAMC's Associated Student Organization (ASO), M.E.Ch.A. and Political Science Club took the initiative – out of all public institutions of higher education in California – to establish a scholarship fund for eligible students. The AB 540 Scholarship Awards Banquet is the primary vehicle for raising the funds needed which will then be awarded as scholarships to eligible AB 540 students. There is a great need in our community to provide this valuable support for our students, since most AB 540 students are not eligible for federal funding or most other sources of financial aid, regardless of their academic potential.

Please save the date, and join us for this special event. The AB 540 Scholarship Awards Banquet will take place on Friday, May 13 at Los Angeles Mission College from 6:00 to 11:00 p.m. To RSVP or to request additional information, please contact Salvador Rodriguez, President of LAMC M.E.Ch.A. at (818) 897-6155, or Melissa B. Sanvicente, Chair of the Third Annual AB 540 Scholarship Committee, or José A. Maldonado, Instructor of Chicano Studies and M.E.Ch.A. Faculty Advisor at (818) 833-3412.

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