After effectively shutting down and preventing employees from starting the workday at the Hahn Student Services building at UC Santa Cruz starting at 5am on November 28, students held a rally at Quarry Plaza at noon followed by a general assembly at 2pm. After discussion of agenda items, students reached consensus on holding the remainder of the GA at the Hahn building to support those who were still maintaining the shutdown. At Hahn, it was decided on that the building would be entered and occupied.

The occupation of the Hahn building began at about 4pm, and the general assembly was moved to the second floor balcony. Some students listened to the proceedings from inside the offices. While occupying the building, students utilized conference rooms for working group meetings, and the restrooms were briefly re-identified as "gender neutral." The general assembly was to be reconvened at 7pm so that students could break into specific working groups. The main office cubicle area was eventually transformed into a study area that students used as the evening's general assembly stretched late into the evening. By 11pm, and 4 hours into the resumed GA, students had reached consensus on how to proceed if the police arrived and asked them to leave the building. In addition, the group decided on the location of an encampment should they leave Hahn.

The day of actions at Hahn Student Services was held in solidarity with students who faced police brutality and repression of student free speech at UC Davis. Throughout the day, students maintained their three specific demands, that UC Davis Chancellor Katehi resign immediately, that all police be removed for UC campuses, and that fee hikes be eliminated.

Read and view more photos | UCSC Students Shut Down Hahn Administration Building | Demands | Purpose and Explanation

On the afternoon of Friday, November 18th, UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi ordered the UC Davis police to clear student protesters from the main quad on campus. Many of the students had participated in a rally on November 15th against tuition increases and police brutality on UC campuses. The rally took place in solidarity with students and faculty who were bludgeoned with batons, hospitalized, and arrested at UC Berkeley on November 9th. Those protesters had linked arms and held their ground in defense of tents they set up beside Sproul Hall. In a gesture of solidarity with those students and faculty, and the national Occupy movement, students at UC Davis set up tents on the main quad. Police in riot gear arrived to remove the tents, and students responded by sitting in a circle and linking arms around the tents. Without provocation, police pepper-sprayed the students.

Chancellor Katehi's actions have been met with international shock, outrage, and condemnation. The Davis Faculty Association Board has called for the immediate resignation of Chancellor Katehi, stating, "The Chancellor’s authorization of the use of police force to suppress the protests by students and community members speaking out on behalf of our university and public higher education generally represents a gross failure of leadership. Given the recent use of excessive force by police against 'occupy' protestors at UC Berkeley and elsewhere, the Chancellor must have anticipated that, by authorizing police action, she was effectively authorizing their use of excessive force against peaceful UCD student protestors. The Chancellor’s role is to enable open and free inquiry, not to suppress it."

UC Davis students, alumni and others will converge on Monday, November 21st at noon on the quad to show solidarity and support for the students who were beaten and pepper-sprayed, and for a conversation about the university’s future.

Open Letter to Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi | No Cops, No Bosses | Ten Things You Should Know About Friday’s UC Davis Police Violence | UC Davis Students Call Strike in Wake of Police Pepper Spray Attack

Occupy CSU Monterey Bay will hold a rally, march and general assembly on Tuesday, November 15th starting at 1pm at Library Plaza on Divarty St and 5th Ave at CSUMB. A flyer for Occupy CSUMB states, "The California State University system is infected with the same disease as the rest of our sick society. It is designed to allow a small group of people to enrich and empower themselves at our expense. So as our tuition rises every year, and the staff and faculty are denied promised raises, the top administrators throughout the system receive outrageous salaries and benefits.

"But it's not just about money. Its about power; its about control. None of us have any meaningful control over our education. Students choose courses that we did not help create. Staff and faculty are forced to carry out policies that they did not help create. We are all forced to eat food from companies that we did not invite onto our campus. Even the “shared governance” that is offered to the faculty is a sham. The Academic Senate now meets only once a month, and they still have to work within the parameters that are set up by the Chancellor’s office and the CSU Board of Trustees (BoT)." Read more

Students at UC Berkeley walked out of classes on November 9th to protest budget cuts and rising tuition, and to support the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations. The rally protested economic inequality and its impact on students, the poor and the young — in the words of the occupy movement, a protest by the 99% of the people who are exploited by a system that only benefits the top 1%. Later that night, students were beaten by police batons as they tried to set up tents in Sproul Plaza, and six students and an assistant professor were arrested. Students continued to occupy the plaza without tents, however.

Occupy UC Berkeley was given terms from the UC which severely restricted the students' rights to assembly and free speech. The terms the UC tried to place on the students went beyond no tents. Students were denied sleeping bags, and even denied the right to sleep at night. Even in the event of rain, no tents would be allowed, only tarps. The protest was only permitted for one week. Amplified sound was only permitted three hours a day; from noon until 1PM, and from 5PM to 7PM. Further restrictions came from the police, including no signs or banners, and no bullhorns (even if not in use).

UC Berkeley police also searched any large backpacks and demanded the ID from individuals wearing large backpacks. UC police stopped and searched at least one medic. The police believed the red cross symbol to be a ruse, and thus searched through the medic's supplies.

According to UC police Capt. Margo Bennett, "the individuals who linked arms and actively resisted, that in itself is an act of violence...I understand that many students may not think that, but linking arms in a human chain when ordered to step aside is not a nonviolent protest."

Occupy Cal, in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street and the Arab Spring, have called for an open university strike on Tuesday, November 15th following the actions of police brutality on non-violent civil disobedient protesters on November 9th.

Videos | Photos: 1 | 2 | Audio | see also: UC Santa Cruz Students Join Occupy Movement with "Occupy Education" Protest

On November 9th, over 500 students at the University of California, Santa Cruz joined various local workers' union members and Occupy Santa Cruz protesters for "Occupy Education," a protest against corporations and corruption in education. Protesters gathered at noon for a rally on the UC campus before taking to the streets. The group marched down Bay and Mission streets, blocking traffic on several major streets along the way.

Demonstrators made their way to the US Post Office downtown where another rally was held. UC students gathered with various union leaders, K-12 teachers, and other community members to demonstrate against the latest proposed tuition hikes. The UC Regents are meeting on November 16-17 at UCSF Mission Bay to vote on a tuition increase of 16% each year for the next four years. The resulting price for one year's tuition would be about $21,800.

At the same time, students at UC Berkeley were beaten by police batons as they tried to set up tents in Sproul Plaza, and six students and an assistant professor were arrested. Students continued to occupy the plaza without tents, however.

UC Santa Cruz Students Join Occupy Movement | UCSC Day of Action Unites Local Movements | more photos: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | see also: The Budget Cuts and the Privatization of the University of California

On October 29, the 18th Annual Peace & Unity March was held in Watsonville. The march was organized to honor victims of gang-related violence in Watsonville and to push for an end to the violence in the community. Sandino Gómez, historian for the Watsonville Brown Berets, recounted how the march began in 1994 to honor Jessica and Jorge Cortéz, 16 and 9 years old, who were gunned down because they had witnessed a gang–related crime. Gómez emphasized that “violence is not the solution” and that everyone present “must be part of the solution”. A representative of the mothers of victims, Rose de Ramirez, who lost her son to gang-related violence sixteen years ago, emphasized, “We need support from the community to stop violence”.

The march is part of multiple efforts on the part of the Watsonville Brown Berets and other community groups to stop gang-related violence in the Watsonville area. According to Brown Beret Diego Espinoza, one challenge is that public after-school programs have been cut and there are limited spaces for youth to express themselves besides getting involved in gangs. The Brown Berets seek to fill this gap by providing an open space at the Bike Shack in Watsonville for youth to participate in workshops on Youth & Power, art and music, indigenous and Latino culture, and to organize around important community issues, such as the struggle to ban the use of methyl iodide on crops in California.

Read more and view photos | previous coverage: 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009

Disorientation Guide Collective writes: The UC Santa Cruz Disorientation Guide is an annual student publication to incite critical thought and action through radical grassroots education.

This is an introduction to the side of this school that you might have heard about but won't find in your glossy orientation materials. This guide is designed as a resource, inspiration, and catalyst for you as you discover and get involved in the creative, radical communities and projects that thrive here in Santa Cruz.

Read More | Download the 2011-2012 Disorientation Guide (pdf) | The Budget Cuts and the Privatization of the University of California

An Incomplete History of Activism at UCSC | previous Disorientation Guides: 2009-2010 || 2007-2008 || 2006-2007 || 2004-2005

On September 22nd at UC Berkeley, between 100 and 200 students marched from a rally in front of Sproul Hall and entered Tolman Hall to protest austerity measures cutting public education throughout the state of California. Demonstrators entered the lobby of the building only to be met by police batons and pepper spray.

Police claim that pepper spray was used in response to someone grabbing a magazine clip from one of the officers, but at least one witness says that these were two separate events, and that the magazine clip was only found later after a police officer dropped it.

Students were able to hold room 2308 and other parts of the first floor through the afternoon and into the evening until police evicted them from the building. Two protesters were arrested. The arrested students are seeking financial support to help cover the cost of posting bail.

The occupiers released a statement which reads in part: "We’ve come together today to call for a halt to the destruction of our public schools, and to insist that education be universally accessible and free. But today we are not simply pressing demands; we’re also working collectively to reclaim our campus, to make it a little more public and a little less estranged from us. Starting this afternoon, we’re opening up a university building to be used as an organizing and educational space; for teach-ins, film screenings, planning meetings, and whatever else we students, workers, and debtors at large decide will help us more effectively resist austerity."

Read more | Video | Occupy California | Reclaim UC

See also: UC Berkeley Republicans to hold racist, sexist 'bake sale' September 27th

In the culmination of a week of protests against proposed budget cuts to education, protesters gathered in the state capitol building in Sacramento on May 9th. Demonstrators chanted slogans such as "They say cut back, we say fight back." Students lead the way and two hundred others joined in, including teachers and community leaders. Students had come from up and down the state, including a large contingent from UC Santa Cruz. Following the chanting, sixty-five protesters committed nonviolent civil disobedience by sitting down and refusing to leave the Rotunda after the Capitol closed to the public for the day. All sixty-five were arrested. Those arrested were held overnight, and were kept with their hands handcuffed behind their backs for the first six hours of their detainment. Only three of those arrested were charged with resisting arrest, while the rest were charged with misdemeanor trespass.

Video: 1 | 2 | Read More

Previous Related Indybay Feature: May Day 2011 for Labor and Immigrant Rights

The California budget crisis continues to be played out on the backs of poor and working people. Billions of dollars have already been cut from education, healthcare and vital social services. Additional cuts will close more schools, community clinics, childcare facilities and services for the most vulnerable sick, disabled and elderly persons. The State continues to sacrifice programs that support communities in exchange for tax policies that favor the wealthy, corporations and the largest, costliest prison system in the world.

On May 13th, several thousand teachers, students, and parents rallied to defend public education in San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza. Many participants said that they are tired of fighting education cuts every year and are now ready to fight back. The rally was sponsored by the California Teachers Association (CTA), the Parent Teachers Association (PTA), and student groups, amongst others. Labor unions and community organizations were also represented among the diverse crowd.

Gail Mendes, Secretary/Treasurer of CTA, exhorted the crowd and praised and thanked all those teachers, students and parents who protested throughout the past week of action across the state, including at the capitol building in Sacramento. She specifically praised those protesters who got arrested. Hydra Mendoza, President of the San Francisco Board of Education, also publicly thanked those who have been protesting saying, "you are making a difference."

Video | Photos: 1 | 2 | CA State of Emergency

On May 12th, Oakland Education Association (OEA) teachers and their supporters protested at the Wells Fargo bank on Broadway and 12th Street to demand that the bank use its wealth to stop the cuts in Oakland schools. Several staged a sit-in inside the bank branch and were arrested.

In announcing their action, Oakland Teachers declared: Oakland teachers are sick and tired that our schools suffer while the banks get a bailout, and we're fighting back. Wells Fargo received $25 Billion in bailout money. Wells Fargo made $12 Billion in 2010 and paid no taxes. Wells Fargo owns part of the debt of the Oakland Unified School District, a debt that increased drastically when the state took control of the district due to financial problems, leaving the district in worse financial shape than before the takeover.

Photos | Protest Announcement

Previous Related Indybay Feature: We are One Rallies in Solidarity with Wisconsin on April 4th

For the past two years, California has been in an ongoing struggle against cuts to education and public services. On March 4th, 2010, students, teachers, faculty, workers, and supporters statewide held coordinated Strike and Day of Action in defense of public education and public services. This year, California's new governor, democrat Jerry Brown, is planning to cut $1.4 Billion from public higher education, and students across the state demonstrated in coordinated actions on March 2nd and over the following days.

In Berkeley on March 2nd, UC students occupied Wheeler Hall, resulting in 17 arrests. On March 3, the number of protesters grew several fold after 9 students walked out on a fourth-story ledge of UC Berkeley's Wheeler Hall and locked down in the early afternoon. Oakland on March 2nd, Laney Community College students marched on the district office demanding to meet with the Administration and to have their concerns heard. One student was violently arrested by Alameda sheriffs. In San Francisco, hundreds of SFSU students and faculty marched and held a rally inside the Cesar Chavez Student Union. In Monterey, students, staff, faculty and community members gathered in the main quad of CSU Monterey Bay for a scheduled “Speak-Out”, then marched to the administration building for a sit-in and discussed education issues with the Provost and several other administrators.

Berkeley: Fee hike protest: Not Egypt but expanding; thoughts on framing | 9 Students locked down at UC Berkeley's Wheeler Hall

Oakland: Support Needed: Police Repression of Laney Education Defense Queer Activists

San Francisco: SFSU Students, Faculty and Staff Protest Attacks On Education

Monterey Bay: Rally and sit-in at CSU Monterey Bay

2010 Indybay Feature: Students and Education Workers Take a Stand on March 4th

On March 8th, several hundred Modesto Junior College students responded to a call for a walkout against budget cuts that would result in the gutting of various departments and the laying off of faculty. Students rallied and gave impromptu speeches on how the cuts and layoffs would affect them. Also speaking at the rally were several faculty members who expressed solidarity with the students for standing with them. After rallying, students marched around campus, drawing in more students, with staff voicing their support.

The students then decided to move downtown. Unknown to the students, the mayor of Modesto was also hosting a 'protest' at the time, attended by various city bureaucrats, head police, and area mayors, to protest Governor Brown's taking away of funds for city redevelopment. On the very same day, it was announced that Modesto City School would lay-off 32 teachers, while administrators continue to make salaries in the hundreds of thousands. The few people speaking at the event and in the audience wrapped up their event (not being able to be heard over the large group of students) and disappeared.

Read More | Walkouts: A Tool of Students in Struggle | Modesto Junior College Students at Breaking Point