Feature Archives

University of California patient care and service staff announced the results of a statewide strike vote that took place between May 17th and May 22nd. Results were tabulated at midnight on May 22nd, and an overwhelming majority of voters voted to authorize the strike. The workers gave UC Executives notice that a strike could begin as soon as June 4th for the 20,000 workers at the University's five hospital/ten campus system.

The campaign against science experiments on animals at the University of California continues to grow stronger, but not without opposition. Over the last several months, activists have been conducting frequent demonstrations outside the homes of UC animal researchers -- a handful of people with signs, a bullhorn and some literature to hand out to neighbors.

Free Skool Santa Cruz writes, "Saturday May 24th join us for our Free Skool Community Picnic at noon at Ocean View Park. This is our quarterly potluck where students, teachers, organizers, and community members get together to enjoy food, music, and companionship with new and old friends. The next day, Sunday May 25th, we are hosting our Running a Free Skool workshop from 11am to 2pm at the Big Yellow House."

On May 17th, Act Against Torture, World Cant Wait, Code Pink, and Vet’s for Peace participated in a demonstration at the UC Berkeley School of Law graduation to demand that Professor John Yoo, author of the legal memo justifying the Bush administration's use of torture, be fired, disbarred and prosecuted for war crimes.

There is a story that the UCSC tour guides still occasionally tell about the founding UCSC Chancellor Dean McHenry: Allegedly, during initial construction in 1964, any tree on campus over 12 inches in diameter had to have the chancellor's personal approval before it could be cut. In the construction of the road to the small parking lot behind the main library, there was a spot where the road was squeezed between a second growth redwood and a steep bank. The construction crew and campus planners asked the chancellor for approval to cut the tree, and he allegedly refused and told them to find another way.

On the heels of University of California's ongoing executive pay scandals, UC's Administration is once again being denounced for misplaced priorities. For ten months, 20,000 UC medical and service workers have been trying to protect quality patient care and CA communities, reporting that lack of competitive wages is impacting the University's ability to retain its best staff. After ten months of negotiating for equal pay for equal work, they have reached impasse, and the workers announced they will take a strike vote, running from May 17th-May 22nd.

On May 8th on the Cal State East Bay (CSUEB) campus, the Queer/Straight Alliance (QSA) sponsored a Mock Marriage for Marriage Equality and a LGBT Resource Fair. Five couples, of varying sexes, genders, and sexualities were mock married and three ceremony types were utilized: a Jewish ceremony, a Pagan hand fasting, and a Christian ceremony. There were also participants of varying ethnicities within the ceremonies.