A thousand students attending the University of California’s annual Students of Color Conference marched on the Los Angeles federal building on Sunday to protest proposed cuts to public higher education in the state.

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently proposed more than $100 million in mid-year cuts to the UC and Cal State systems, prompting university officials to float the possibility of enrollment cuts.

Law student Lucero Chavez, the president of the University of California Students Association, told the crowd that “rising fees are one of the largest barriers facing low-income and minority students,” and the group accordingly called for a five-year freeze on in-state tuition.