Two were hospitalized after police used pepper spray during a protest against high-priced summer college courses at Santa Monica College in California, the San Jose Mercury News reports.

"No cuts, no fees, education should be free," students chanted in a video posted online. The students were angry because only a few of them were allowed into a meeting of trustees. Their request to meet in a larger space was denied.

Up for discussion at the trustees meeting was a plan to charge $600 for some core courses offered during the summer — about four times their regular price. It would allow more students to take in-demand classes that filled up quickly.

When students entered the meeting room, two officers backed against the wall attempted to keep them out, then used pepper spray on as many as 30 students.

Bruce Smith, a spokesman for the college, told the Mercury News he believed it was the first time pepper spray was used to subdue students on campus.