Feature Archives

On Wednesday, September 16, Maya Wind and Netta Mishly from the refusenik group "Shministim" spoke at the MLK, Jr. Building at UC Berkeley. Maya Wind and Netta Mishly both signed the 2008 Shministim Letter: a declaration by Israeli high school students that they would not enlist in the IDF to occupy Palestinian territories and rule over Palestinian life. Since military service is mandatory for Israeli Jews upon completing high school, Maya, Netta, and many of the dozens of teenagers who signed the letter have been sentenced to military prison, sometimes for multiple terms.

On August 3rd, Kevin Kumashiro spoke with Teachers for Class War on Free Radio Santa Cruz about reframing education debates, politics of education and realities of classrooms from grade 2 through teacher training programs, looking at intersections of race and sexuality for youth, as well as Asian American experiences.

On July 13th, defense attorneys for Joseph Buddenberg, Maryam Khajavi, Nathan Pope and Adriana Stumpo (the AETA 4) presented oral arguments on their motion to strike down the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA). The AETA 4 are being represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), Civil Liberties Defense Center (CLDC), and other well-respected civil rights attorneys, including Tony Serra. The defense demanded that AETA be struck down as unconstitutional before Judge Ronald Whyte of the United States District Court, Northern District of California in San Jose.

On July 6th, Ellen Newberry, a lecturer and Merrill College writing coordinator at UC Santa Cruz, was a guest on Teachers 4 Class War. Newberry is an out faculty member at UCSC. In the interview, Newberry addresses ways to support GLTB folks at work and at school.

On Wednesday, July 8th, the Radical Teachers Alliance will host Jeff Duncan-Andrade from 5-7pm at UC Santa Cruz. The event is open to students, educators, and community members and will engage in ideas of critical pedagogy, student identity and education in urban settings. This is an opportunity to discuss ideas of theory connecting with actual classroom practices -- educators taking action to work towards equitable and empowering educational spaces.

On June 24, nearly five months after opening an investigation of University of California sociology professor William I. Robinson for alleged faculty misconduct, university officials abruptly announced that they have dismissed all charges and terminated the case. Robinson has been targeted by the Anti-Defamation League for forwarding images that made a historical comparison to the state violence of the Israeli military actions in Gaza with that of German Nazi Wehrmacht in Warsaw.

On June 17th, community members, organized by the newly formed Alliance Against Gang Enhancements, rallied and handed out flyers on the steps of the Santa Cruz County Courthouse and the corner of Ocean and Water to educate the public about the realities of gang enhanced sentences. Organizers say that the sentencing "enhancements" [sic] broadly criminalize youth and do not deter future gang crimes. Rather, they result in huge costs passed on to taxpayers and overcriminalize youth in marginalized communities.