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Santa Cruz Indymedia - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area
On November 19th at around 2:45 PM, UCSC's Kerr Hall, which contains the offices of the administration, vice-chancellors, and chancellors, was occupied by students. Hundreds of students who are occupying the lobby created a list of demands which was read and given to UCSC's Executive Vice Chancellor David Kliger and Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Felicia McGinty. The prior day, November 18th, hundreds of students occupied the Kresge Town Hall.
Thus far, police have not taken action to end either protest and the overall attitude of the students has been passionate but calm. Students hope their actions will gain them more solidarity with the rest of the campus, Santa Cruz, people throughout California and beyond.
 UCSC Expands Occupations | UC Santa Cruz Students Occupy Kerr Hall
Previous Indybay Coverage: Hundreds Demonstrate at UC Santa Cruz Against 32% Fee Hikes
11/20 8:14pm: Occupiers are out, giving speech. 11/20 7:41pm: Protesters are slowly being released from Wheeler Hall; large crowd still gathered at the scene. 11/20 7:21pm: From Fresno: Over 100 students and supporters occupy the closed library at CSU Fresno. 11/20 6:50pm: Peter Glazer, poli sci professor, was part of negotiations and reports that police will bring protesters out without handcuffs and only misdemeanor charges. 11/20 5:01pm: SWAT team is attempting to enter the blockade in Wheeler Hall. 11/20 4:56pm: Reports indicate police have started using rubber bullets. 11/20 1:45pm: At least 40 students have occupied Wheeler Hall on the UC Berkeley campus and have requested supporters to come to the hall. UC Police have surrounded the building as a "crime scene". More updates
On Thursday, November 19th, the University of California regents approved a 32% increase in undergraduate fees, pushing fees to over $10,000 a year for the first time. Protests, including the occupation of four buildings, have taken place November 18th and 19th at UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis, San Francisco State and San Francisco City College.
In a little-noticed hearing coming up Thursday, November 19th at 7pm at Santa Cruz City Hall Chambers, the Planning Commission will continue consideration of a staff-concocted ban on all additional marijuana clubs and growhouses in Santa Cruz. The meeting will be open to the public. Only one item will be on the agenda--the Marijuana Club Ban,--continued from an earlier Commission meeting two weeks ago.
The result of a New Club Ban would be to give a monopoly inside City limits to the two existing clubs-- Greenway Compassionate Relief Inc. and Santa Cruz Patients Collective. Read more
Previous Indybay Coverage: Prohibition on New Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Passed by Santa Cruz City Council
On November 14th, students in the EA Hall Middle School MEChA Club held a free community arts event at the Brown Berets Bike Shack warehouse in Watsonville. The event was initially supposed to be held at the city owned Youth Center, however City Staff were opposed to a fee waiver for this event due to the "political nature" of the bands lined up to perform. This has created a stir with some conservative people in the community who are afraid of anything that promotes Mexican or Xicana/o identity.
Boca Floja, Para La Gente, Poetic Stimulator, Shannon Michelle, the Guerrilla Queenz and the young MC's from EA Hall brought together folks of all ages from the community. Parents, students, teachers, and others came out to do graffiti art, listen to music, eat and build solidarity with the MEChistas from EA Hall. It was a positive, powerful and peaceful event.
 Read more and listen to audio
On November 5th, Adisa Banjoko of the Hip Hop Chess Federation hosted a panel at O'Connell High School in San Francisco's Mission District that included Immortal Technique, Cesar A. Cruz and the Watsonville Brown Berets. The panel addressed issues on US imperialism, police abuse and murder, black & brown youth repression, indigenous resistance and hood liberation.
On November 13th, students at UC Santa Cruz conducted a study-in at the Science and Engineering Library. Due to budget cuts, both of the large UCSC libraries have severely reduced hours which detrimentally affects employee pay and students with study needs late at night.
Students attempted to enter the building during normal library hours, but were denied access without handing over student ID to administrators at the door to keep until their later departure. People are not typically required to provide identification when entering the library.
 Read more and watch video | newUC
Danny Blackgoat, a longtime Dine' (Navajo) resister of forced relocation, will be traveling from his home at Big Mountain (AZ) this weekend to speak in Santa Cruz on Friday, Nov. 13th and San Francisco on Saturday, Nov. 14th. He will be screening a new 24 minute film featuring Pauline Whitesinger, and giving an hour long presentation about relocation, coal mining, and recent happenings at Black Mesa.
Since 1974, federal relocation policy has forced 14,000 Dine' people from their ancestral homeland in Arizona. This genocidal policy was crafted by government agents and energy company representatives in order to gain access to the mineral resources of Black Mesa - billions of tons of coal, uranium and natural gas. For over 30 years, traditional Dine' at Black Mesa have lived in resistance, steadfastly refusing to relocate as strip-mines rip apart their sacred lands and generating plants poison the desert air.
Both events are benefits for the 2009 Fall Caravan to Black Mesa.
Rainbow Theatre, the only multicultural theatre arts troupe in the UC system, will be kicking off their 16th season on November 5th and continuing through November 15th. In the tradition of Teatro Campesino, the San Francisco Mime Troupe, and Theatre of the Opressed, Rainbow strives to bring the untold stories of people of color to light. This year Rainbow's plays are feminist oriented, focusing on issues of queer identity, domestic violence, rape, abortion, interracial relationships, and homophobic violence.
Read more | Descriptions
On October 26th, Free Radio Santa Cruz hosts The Maestr@s spoke with James Loewen, a researcher, author, teacher, and history-doer. His latest book is a how-to guide for teachers, with the aim of reclaiming history from boring dates and names, and replacing a vibrant sense of connection to the past. Teachers for Class War airs every Monday at 6pm on FRSC 101.1 FM.
Jim Loewen is best known as the author of Lies my Teacher Told Me, a hugely influential look at 12 leading high school history texts comparing what they prioritize, what they leave out, and what they just plain make up. He's also the author of Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism. Lowen's latest book is called Teaching What Really Happened: How To Avoid the Tyranny of Textbooks and Get Students Excited About Doing History. Read more and listen to the interview
On October 30th, Doug Zuidema, Director of Judiciary Affairs at UCSC, notified a collection of students that they were potentially subject to disciplinary proceedings. Occupy California writes that, "The University increasingly functions like a police apparatus: taking surveillance photos at protests, compiling dossiers on individuals, modifying response protocols and manufacturing phony charges against students and workers for kangaroo courts." Read more
See also: A Three Day Student, Worker and Faculty Strike Starting on 11/18
On November 1st, the 16th annual Peace & Unity March took place in Watsonville with over 100 people in attendance, including many families of victims who have died from violence. The march was started in 1994 after the tragic deaths of two local youth; Jessica (age 9) and Jorge (age 16) Cortez. The march was started by youth who wanted to send a message of barrio unity throughout Watsonville. Photos
On Free Radio Santa Cruz, The Maestr@s spoke with a fellow media activist, Oaxaca City resident, and parent of a school aged daughter about the state of education in Oaxaca, Mexico, where teachers mounted and led a massive uprising in 2006. They discuss the effects on schools and school children, three years later.
Read more and listen to the interview
UC Financial Crisis: Big Picture and Practical Actions is a public forum occuring at UCSC's Classroom Unit 2 on Thursday, October 29th from 7-10pm.
Two of the featured speakers have been particularly devoted to investigating the University of California's finances. Stanton Glantz of UCSF, is the author of The Cigarette Papers, which has played a key role in the ongoing litigation surrounding the tobacco industry. He is now working with the Keep California's Promise, an organization to restore the Master Plan for higher education, and has turned his investigative skills to the administration and financing of the UC.
Robert Meister is the President of the Council of University of California Faculty Associations (CUCFA) and director of the Bruce Center for Rethinking Capitalism at UCSC. For a decade he has been an active critic of the privatization trend at UC and an advocate of the shared governance tradition. His open letter to UC students "They Pledged Your Tuition" and subsequent writings have been widely circulated. Read more
See also: Monday, Nov. 2: Worker & Student March Against Budget Cuts
On October 24th, as part of the worldwide action on climate issues, activists rallied throughout Northern California. In Santa Cruz, marchers carried placards through town and held a mock trial of the automobile. In Humboldt County, demonstrators chose the ancient redwood forest in Richardson Grove as their protest site because it is threatened by Caltrans’ proposal to widen highway 101. In San Francisco, Justin Herman Plaza was filled with an enthusiastic crowd, while in nearby suburbs residents gathered to share planet-saving tips with neighbors.
On October 19th, in a federal court house in Los Angeles, Alex Sanchez was once again denied bail. Sanchez, a nationally recognized activist and peacemaker, is accused of maintaining ties to his former gang and participating in a conspiracy to murder. Bail was denied after Judge Real suppressed testimony from father Greg Boyle, an expert in Los Angeles gangs.
11:30AM Saturday Dec 5
Human Rights Fair
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