Thursday, March 4, 2010

University of California, Santa Cruz

UC Santa Cruz students block all access to campus to protest cuts to public education

Students to Sacramento and UC admins: “We strike to restore California’s commitment to public education for all people!”

CALIFORNIA STRIKE! We strike in solidarity with students, workers, teachers, and all Californians who support public education against elected officials and UC administrators who have gutted funding, threatened accessibility, and damaged the quality of California’s education system, from pre-K through community colleges, CSU, and UC.

In order to truly appreciate just how absurd the Regents’ and UCOP’s austerity program at the UC really is, just consider several facts that state and UC leaders would rather you not think too much about:

1. The UC Regents have ultimate control of over $8 BILLION in investments that they’ve chosen not to use to save public education at UC

2. Between 1996 and 2006, UC administrative positions have increased an eye-popping 118% compared to a 34% increase in faculty positions and 33% increase in student enrollment over the same period. There are 3,600 positions in the UC that earn more than $200,000, yet here at UCSC, we’re being told our foreign language instructors must be laid-off, workers must take furloughs, and classes must be eliminated or maxed-out in enrollment to operate more “efficiently.”

3. In the midst of the UC’s financial crisis, UC actually loaned $200 million to California to help cover the state’s budget deficit!

4. Despite UCOP’s resort to high-power media consultants who are trying to convince the public that their celebrated “Blue and Gold” financial aid program will offset the 32% tuition increases, the truth is that the “high tuition, high aid” model that UC is pursuing has a negative affect on accessibility for lower-income students, especially those from under-represented groups, in part because students are more likely to apply to schools based on the published tuition rates, not on how much aid they think they might get.

5. In California, the rich continue to get richer: Governor Schwarzenegger’s “Commission on the 21st Century Economy” baldly proposed in late 2009 an income tax cut for the wealthiest 3% that amounted to $7.5 billion in savings, while the bottom 81% of the population would realize only 10% of the total savings in their “reform” plan. Households with $1 million incomes would save $109,000 in tax cuts, whereas those making between $40,000 and $50,000 would only save $4. This is not a typo.

So it is quite obvious that the cuts to public education in Sacramento are another form of class war by the rich against the middle and lower classes, with a disproportionate burden falling on students of color, workers, and those who can least afford it. The UC Regents, most of whom are counted among California’s super-rich, are dancing to the same tune as Sacramento by protecting UC’s Wall Street investments instead of protecting the system of public education they oversee.

What we want (demands voted on by the March 4th Strike Committee):

From Sacramento:

* Reverse the cuts, lay-offs, and fee hikes—no more cuts to education

* Progressive taxation on the wealthy and corporations to fund education and social services, not war and corporate bail outs

* Reject Schwarzenegger’s plan to fund education by privatizing prisons

From UC system:

* Stop the privatization of education

* Stop the resegregation of education—full funding for student services and support programs, especially for students of color and underrepresented communities

* Democratize education—student, teacher, and worker control in the schools

* Drop all charges against student activists—stop UC and police harassment against activists

March 4 actions:

* Picket lines at all campus entrances from 5 a.m.

* Rallies at the main entrance (Bay and High Streets) at 9 a.m. and noon

* General Assembly at 5 p.m. at the main entrance

Strike blog:

http://slugorganizingcommittee.wordpress.com

To: The UCSC Community

From: Some UCSC Faculty (signatures below)

We write to object to CPEVC Kliger’s report issued on Thursday March 4 at 9:50 am regarding the demonstration.

It is true that the demonstration successfully stopped “business as usual” on the UCSC campus. While this may have represented an inconvenience for some, it perhaps bears repeating that no significant social change occurs without some inconvenience.

Many faculty participated in the campus closure, some for the entire day, starting early in the morning. A number of us who were present at the two main entrances and at key intersections throughout the day can say with confidence that metal pipes, clubs, and knives were nowhere to be seen.

Further, the many health care workers who arrived at the two entrances were allowed to enter campus with almost no delay. Indeed, the student organizers had created an orderly and respectful protocol for speaking with people in cars who were attempting to enter the campus. Testament to their understanding of the complexities of choosing to close campus, the strike organizers had made arrangements with Family Student Housing for easy and safe access and egress. Additionally, we did not witness anyone being prevented (by protesters) from leaving the campus.

The students organizing the campus closure also made arrangements for incident monitoring and witnessing. Several received training from the National Lawyer’s Guild; there were also NLG legal observers whose role it was to remain neutral and to document. We hope these observers will attest to the specifics of reported incidents.

Some of us witnessed drivers aggressively trying to break through lines of protesters, a dangerous reaction to peaceful protest that the administration has referred to as “road rage.”

To our knowledge, administrators from Student Affairs were nowhere to be found. Campus administrative leadership was also notably absent.

The event was an impressive example of the ability of our students to educate themselves and others about the state of the California budget and the increasing privatization and corporatization of the UC and public education in California generally. Further, the event demonstrated students’ capacity to build coalitions among various university groups and with other sectors of public education and organized labor, which were represented in the rallies on campus and in downtown Santa Cruz on Thursday.

We think that the administrative leadership of UCSC should recognize the students’ commitment to defend public education in calling attention to the ongoing crisis with a day of public action.

Sincerely,

Jordi Aladro Professor, Literature

Mark Anderson Assistant Professor, Anthropology

Anjali Arondekar Associate Professor, Feminist Studies

Noriko Aso Assistant Professor, History

Gopal Balakrishnan Associate Professor, History of Consciousness

Karen Bassi Professor, Literature and Classics

Hunter Bivens Assistant Professor, Literature

Margaret Brose Professor Emerita, Literature

Giulia Centineo Lecturer, Languages

Alan Christy Associate Professor, History

Vilashini Cooppan Associate Professor, Literature

Cindy Cruz Assistant Professor, Education

Nathaniel Deutsch Professor, History and Literature

Timothy P. Duane Associate Professor, Environmental Studies

Dana Frank Professor, History

Carla Freccero Professor, Literature

Rosa-Linda Fregoso Professor, Latin American and Latino Studies

Ron Glass Associate Professor, Education

Deborah Gould Assistant Professor, Sociology

Chris Hables Gray Lecturer, Crown College

Herman Gray Professor, Sociology

Miriam Greenberg Assistant Professor, Sociology

Jody Greene Associate Professor, Literature

Kirsten Silva Gruesz Professor, Literature

Gildas Hamel SOE Lecturer, History

Donna Haraway Distinguished Professor, History of Consciousness

Christine Hong Assistant Professor, Literature

Emily Honig Professor, History

Sharon Kinoshita Professor, Literature

Norma Klahn Professor, Literature

Regina Langhout Assistant Professor, Psychology

H. Marshall Leicester Professor, Literature

Leslie Lopez Lecturer, Latin American and Latino Studies, Writing

Helene Moglen Professor Emerita, Literature

Juan Poblete Associate Professor, Literature & Provost, Kresge College

Eric Porter Professor, American Studies

Catherine Ramírez Associate Professor, American Studies

Renya Ramirez Associate Professor, American Studies

Craig Reinarman Professor, Sociology

Don Rothman Emeritus SOE Senior Lecturer, Writing

Danilyn Rutherford Associate Professor, Anthropology

Felicity Schaeffer-Grabiel Assistant Professor, Feminist Studies

Zack Schlesinger Professor, Physics

Vanita Seth Associate Professor, Politics

Deanna Shemek Professor, Literature & Provost, Cowell College

Dana Takagi Professor, Sociology

Richard Terdiman Professor, Literature

Megan Thomas Assistant Professor, Politics

Rob Wilson Professor, Literature

Karen Tei Yamashita Professor, Literature

(50)

The undersigned, though not present when these events took place, would like to add their names in support of this letter:

Christopher Connery Professor, Literature

Shelly Errington Professor, Anthropology

Barbara Epstein Professor, History of Consciousness

Susan Gillman Professor, Literature

Gail Hershatter Distinguished Professor, History

Robert Meister Professor of Social and Political Thought

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March 4, 2010

To: UCSC Community

Fr: Campus Provost David Kliger

Re: Update on Campus Protest

Earlier this morning, protest activity at both campus entrances rendered our main campus inaccessible to vehicle traffic. Reports of protesters carrying clubs and knives, smashing a car windshield with a metal pipe, denying a resident of faculty/student housing the right to exit the campus, and keeping a campus health care worker from getting to work, escalated this morning’s protest into behavior that is disruptive, intimidating and destructive.

Behavior that degrades into violence, personal intimidation, and disrespect for the rights of others is reprehensible, and does nothing to aid efforts to restore funding to the university.

These actions should cease. University police, Student Affairs staff, and others are doing their best to manage this situation. In the meantime, we commend members of our community for their patience.

Please continue to check the campus website http://www.ucsc.edu/news_events/protest/03-10/ for updates.

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Message from the Chancellor

As the campus returns to full operations, I want to acknowledge the toll yesterday’s protests took on the campus community and renew our commitment to the students we are here to serve.

Thousands of UCSC students, faculty, and staff were impacted by yesterday’s demonstrations, which were part of a national Day of Action in Support of Public Education. It was a difficult day for many, and I thank you for your patience and understanding.

Many people went to extraordinary efforts yesterday to fulfill myriad aspects of the university’s three-part mission of teaching, research, and public service. Under trying circumstances, faculty and staff made numerous adjustments, and I appreciate their professionalism and flexibility. Ultimately, students bore the real brunt of yesterday’s events, as they were inconvenienced and many were unable to attend their classes.

There’s no question that the state’s reinvestment in public education is critical. I urge you to join me in advocating on behalf of UC Santa Cruz as we refocus our attention on continuing the upward trajectory of this great institution.