Feature Archives

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.

On March 9th at Golden Gate National Recreational Area's Fort Baker in Marin County, nearly one hundred UC service workers, students and supporters from UCB, UCSF, UCSC, and UC Davis entered the hired meeting space of Blum Capital Partnership, the Cavallo Point Lodge, and picketed the street in front. Richard Blum is a UC regent and the husband of California Senator Diane Feinstein.

Students, faculty, and workers gathered at UC Santa Cruz on March 4th to protest the privatization of public education in California. They used their bodies to block the streets at the intersections of High & Western, Hagar & Coolidge, and the west entrance of campus. UCSC was shutdown throughout the day, with traffic prevented from going up to campus. As of 7am, hundreds of students, faculty and workers had gathered at all entrances to campus.

As part of the March 4th day of action for public education, hundreds of students and supporters rallied at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California. On February 11th, around 40 students, faculty and staff met to discuss how Cabrillo would get involved in the movement to defend public education. There was overwhelming support for the March 4th protest against the budget cuts in the California public education sector.

On March 4th, the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers, along with Viernes Cultural, parents, students, and community partners, held a rally in the Watsonville plaza and a symposium to support public education and bring the community together to call for "No more cuts to education!"