Higher education, the California dream for well over 2 million undergraduate students, is turning into a nightmare. The Golden State's promise of unparalleled access to community colleges and universities is fast becoming a tarnished relic of the past. And this state of affairs is occurring at a time when the demand for higher education has never been greater. Increasingly, it is coming from segments of society that have historically been shut out for a variety of reasons. Students of color, low-income students, first-generation college students, immigrants, and special needs students--the very future of California--are primarily those being turned away from the citadels of higher learning. In the light of the governor's recently released budget for 2004-2005, the CCLC anticipates that an additional 100,000 students will not take part in community college education next year. These numbers are staggering. Longer-range projections are even more disheartening. But the numbers alone do not reflect the whole story. Many more students have had to delay accomplishing their educational goals because they cannot get the courses they need in a reasonable time frame. This article is divided into the following sections evaluating this issue: California's Historic Commitment to Access; Tidal Wave II; The Current Situation in California; Recapturing the Spirit: The Campaign for College Opportunity; and Conclusion.