Feature Archives

Hundreds of UC students and workers from around the state joined together during the November 16th through 18th Regents meeting to protest proposals that they say will harm the public mission of the University of California. They are demanding no fee hikes for all students and no more cuts to staff, many of whom earn below a living wage. At the November 17th meeting, over three hundred protesters confronted a line of police at the Mission Bay campus in San Francisco, where the regents were meeting. Police used pepper spray and 13 protesters were arrested.

On November 8th, more than 50 people protested at the San Francisco Consulate General of India against India's banning of Richard Shapiro. Since 2006, Shapiro has regularly traveled to Kashmir, and interacted with various human rights defenders, scholars, and youth to bear witness and to learn from their experiences. Friends and Allies of Richard Shapiro point out that when academics, writers, and journalists are banned, such actions speak to the intent of the Indian State in maintaining impunity, and in deliberately isolating Kashmiris from the world, and the world from Kashmiris.

On October 7th, students, workers, & faculty gathered in solidarity to defend public education across the U.S. At UC Berkeley, supporters gathered in Sproul Plaza, marched, and later occupied the North Hall Reading Room at Doe Library. At San Francisco State, supporters rallied, with speakers including Oscar Grant's Uncle Bobby.

At the August 25th Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting, district nurses used their allotted time during open comment to make an organized, collective presentation to the school board and community regarding the imminent safety of PVUSD staff and students. The presentation School Nursing Services in Hard Times by school nurses Kathleen Kilpatrick, Elizabeth Thorne and Judy Schwartze shared important information about the state of school medical services in PVUSD.

Student organizers handed out literature and dropped a banner during the "Presidents Barbeque" at CSU Monterey Bay on Sunday, August 22. This year a group of students contributed to the event by passing out copies of CSUMB’s Otter Disorientation Guide, a guide to a more realistic college experience. It also echoed the recent statewide call to action to defend public education on October 7th.

On June 25th, United Public Workers for Action (UPWA) called for a demonstration against the privatization of public education when it was announced that US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan would be the keynote speaker at Foothill Community College's graduation ceremony. After the UPWA initially received permission from the college administration to stage a peaceful protest, Foothill College president Judy Miner called organizer and Skyline Community College instructor George Wright to ask that he cancel the planned demonstration. Wright was also contacted by counsel at the office of the Education Secretary.

A proposal at the Peralta Colleges in the East Bay to establish “free speech zones” has evoked Orwellian visions of the campuses' futures. Yet others see the proposal as a necessary procedure to protect free speech. Speakers would be limited to the 150 foot x 150 foot main quad at Laney College, as well as the outdoor quads at College of Alameda and Merritt College, and the Student Lounge on the fifth floor at Berkeley City College. Fliers would be restricted to bulletin boards. All fliers would also require an English translation.