By Sukhmani Kaur Batra and Rachel Ocampo, Courier Staff Writers
Monday’s declaration of “the State of New California” marked the latest in more than 200 attempts to split California into 2 separate states. So far, all of these attempts have failed for one reason or another.
This call for a 51st state stems from the aim to divide the large rural areas of California from the urban coast. For supporters: a formal secession requires approval from both Congress and California’s legislature.
The founder of New California, Robert Paul Preston, believes that the state has been “ungovernable for a long time.” As stated in his website, he believes that the current state government has established “Tyranny over the counties of New California.”
The organizers of New California write that “the nature of the State becoming ungovernable has caused a decline in essential basic services such as education, law enforcement, fire protection, transportation, housing, health care, taxation, voter rights, banking, state pension systems, prisons, state parks, water resource management, home ownership, infrastructure and many more.”
His solution for this problem is to split California into two states; most of the rural counties will be governed in the new state while urban coastal counties will be left alone in the current California state.
Kelly Lan, a senior, said “I would prefer that it doesn’t happen. I like california’s size and its shape. I, also, like the idea of 50 countries. It’s a really nice number. However, if we have to split the state, i would not mind because the rural counties are very different from the urban areas” when asked about her opinion on the issue.
Natasha Lopez, another senior, said “I think it wouldn’t be a good idea. I think it would be hard for both states given their economic standing.”