Feature Archives

On March 21st, students, teachers, workers and other members of the Napa community came together for a rare march through downtown Napa to raise awareness about cuts to education. The marchers rallied on he sidewalk of Soscol Ave for about an hour, where protesters waved signs and chanted slogans such as "What do we want? Education! — When do we want it? Now!"

On April 7th, UC Santa Cruz issued a statement that the undergraduate Community Studies major has been suspended. The suspension restricts new admission to the major for at least two years. Professor and Department Chair B. Ruby Rich notes that, "Community Studies has roots back to the early days of [UC Santa Cruz] and a devoted following among students, alumni, and community organizations." In an interview with campus radio station KZSC, Community Studies Lecturer & Field Study Coordinator Mike Rotkin stated, "I don't want to be cynical, but there's been a number of programs that have been put on suspension in the past, none of them have ever come back."

On Monday, April 5th, dozens rallied at UC Berkeley to protest the university's crackdown on student protests. Over 100 students are facing possible suspension for participating in last semester's protests against budget cuts, furloughs, and tuition hikes -- among them, participants in last November's occupation of Wheeler Hall and last December's Open University.

On March 29th, Teachers for Class War interviewed students and teachers marching up the Central Valley from Bakersfield to Sacramento. They are making their voices heard to protect funding for public education in California, from kindergarten through university. The Teachers spoke with Jenn, Manny, Clay, Naomi, and Jose about why they're marching.

On March 23rd, students from across the UC system protested the UC Regents meeting at UCSF Mission Bay and their proposal to rewrite the UC’s fee policies with little to no public input. Currently, a student can reasonably expect that the fee levels when one enters school will stay consistent throughout one’s education. However, the new policy would give the Board of Regents the right to “establish fees at any level it deems appropriate.” This new policy will have implications for the future accessibility of the UC system.

On Wednesday morning, March 17th, the words “f**k black people” were found chalked on the sidewalk outside the Otter Express at CSU Monterey Bay. This follows an incident the night before where an African American student was called the N-word by a student she did not know who later claimed to be "joking." The hateful words of Wednesday morning underscore that racial insensitivity is never a joke. By Thursday night, members from all racial communities came together in solidarity with the African American community that was the target of this particular racist incident.

The 6th International Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) is taking place across the globe from from March 1st to the 14th. Since it was first launched in 2005, IAW has grown to become one of the most important global events in the Palestine solidarity calendar. Last year, more than 40 cities around the world participated in the week's activities, which took place in the wake of Israel's brutal assault against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. IAW continues to grow with new cities joining this year.