Feature Archives

March 4th at CSU Monterey Bay started out with a banner drop at the library. Around noon, students, staff and faculty participated in a walkout and marched from either end of campus to a rally in front of the Student Center. Students, staff, and faculty members spoke about cuts to public education and related issues, from spending money on wars and prisons, to the systemic injustice that prevents so many people from attaining higher education.

A protest was held on February 24th at UC Santa Cruz in response to racially themed parties held at UCs San Diego and Santa Barbara, and in response to the state of diversity at UCSC.

On March 4th, students and educational workers rose up against budget cuts, layoffs, fee hikes, and the system that prioritizes war and prisons over schools. Demonstrations took place in Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, Concord, Vallejo, Santa Cruz, Aptos, Watsonville, Monterey, Davis, Sacramento, Stockton, Fresno, Los Angeles, and numerous other locations across California and the U.S. Actions included rallies, marches, and occupations of buildings and freeways. One hundred and fifty-seven people were arrested at I-880, an Indybay reporter amongst them. Most were charged with unlawful assembly and obstruction of a public place (misdemeanors). All have been released by now. Arraignments for I-880 arrestees are set for April 2nd and April 5th. A local high school student, Francois Zimany, is recovering from a 25-30 foot fall off of I-880.

In anticipation for the statewide strike and day of action on March 4th activists have stepped up their actions with a renewed round of occupations in California. An occupation of a construction site at UC Berkeley resulted in a "mass riot" on Telegraph Avenue with hundreds of youth fighting the police. March 4th actions are planned throughout the Bay Area, California and beyond. In the East Bay strikes and walkouts are planned to converge in Downtown Oakland and an evening rally is planned for San Francisco.

In anticipation for the statewide strike and day of action on March 4th activists have stepped up their actions with a renewed round of occupations in California. An occupation of a construction site at UC Berkeley resulted in a "mass riot" on Telegraph Avenue with hundreds of youth fighting the police. March 4th actions are planned throughout the Bay Area, California and beyond. In the East Bay strikes and walkouts are planned to converge in Downtown Oakland and an evening rally is planned for San Francisco.

On February 25th, a banner was placed on the Humanities 2 building at UC Santa Cruz displaying support for the upcoming March 4th strike. The banner reads "Strike March 4. Stop Privatization!" and criticizes the trend the UC has taken of prioritizing building construction over student instruction. The action also serves to mobilize protestors for March 4th, the statewide day of action against the privatization of public education.

A National DREAM Week of Action kicked off on February 22nd and will last until Friday, February 26th. Students across California and 16 other states are organizing in support of the DREAM Act, a piece of federal legislation that would provide a pathway to legalization for undocumented students educated in the U.S. Every year, 65,000 undocumented students graduate from U.S. high schools, but these students face serious barriers to higher education.