Feature Archives

On November 18th, hundreds of students rallied at the two entrances to the UC Santa Cruz campus, shutting them down for several hours. The demonstration was in conjunction with statewide actions against a 32% increase in undergraduate student fees, effective fall 2010, which was approved the same day at UCLA by the Committee on Finance of the UC Board of Regents.

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.

The imaginary committee writes, "University students and workers in California must organize immediately to occupy, blockade and strike on all campuses November 17-19. We call for a wave of occupations and blockades to bring the university to a halt. The proposed fee hikes of 32 percent, to be ratified November 17-19, are only the latest indication that the California university system is bankrupt. We cannot allow it to continue through the end of the term."

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.

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.

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.

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."