Feature Archives

ANSWER has called for March 20th to be a day of youth and student resistance to imperialism. The Campus Anti-War Network called for March 13th through 17th to be a national week of campus action, with March 20th as the "spring break alternative."

Some local 3/20 events: 11am at Sonoma State | 11am at San Jose State | 12pm at UC Berkeley. Organizers encouraged students to hold events at high schools and colleges around the country to demand an immediate end to the occupation of Iraq and money for young people's education, not military recruitment. The Monday events follow the global day of protest on March 18th, when the world observed the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq and demanded that the troops be brought home. Also on March 20th, there will be a 7am takeover of Montgomery and Market, which is a central intersection in downtown San Francisco, to protest the continuing U.S. occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, and US torture all around the world. A counter-recruitment action will take place at 4:00pm at the Stonestown Mall Marine Recruitment Center .

SF ANSWER | International ANSWER | Campus Antiwar Network

Students from UCSD, UCR, UCSB, UCSC, UCB and UCD crashed UCOP to meet President Dynes in person and demand an end to the use of sweatshops to produce UC apparel and uniforms. Students occupied the president's hallways for one hour. They were promised a meeting with Dynes and then later chose to leave the building once they were satisfied. Read more and view photos

see also: Students Strip for Sweat-Free UC || UCSC students fight for sweatshop free apparel || Creative Activism Raises Issues at Denton's Investiture Friday || Students and Workers Demand a Sweat-Free UC

The first of California State University Monterey Bay's (CSUMB) three Presidential candidates visited the campus on March 6th. The arrival of the candidates is the culmination of a long selection process begun when Dr. Peter Smith, the University’s only President since its inception in 1994, left the job in early 2005. The three member committee to select the President is now allowing the candidates a chance to articulate their views and present themselves before a final decision is made, following final interviews on March 13.

As is the norm regarding Foundation/Student relations at CSUMB, the students have largely been kept in the dark regarding the selection process. Additionally, the building of social structures that function to disallow the free flow of information from the University to the students is a strong signal that either the decision making bodies are uninterested in facilitating community participation, or actively attempting to conceal its true motives.

As with all issues of governance at CSUMB, the process is marked by a significant debate about the direction the university will go in the future with respect to its founding vision. Founding faculty, reduced in number severely during Smith’s tenure but still retaining positions of great influence within the decision making structure, are deeply concerned with how the new President will respond to the vision statement and its devotion to multiculturalism and representation of the traditionally underprivileged. Read more

see also: CSUMB holds "Funeral for the CSU"

On March 8, more than 100 students held a rally outside the UC Santa Cruz Academic Senate's quarterly meeting to demand the prioritization of the language program at the university. They expressed frustration over lucrative salaries and perks for top-administrators, and excessive amounts of money going towards war in Iraq, while students and workers are told there is a 'budget crisis' that requires cuts to needed programs.

Wednesday's 'Save Our Languages' rally marks a second consecutive year of student protests to secure funding for UCSC's language program. While students noted that the current level of funding has been secured for next year, they continue to struggle to ensure that languages are prioritized permanently and that students are not turned away from classes. They insist the UC is in the midst of a 'priorities crisis,' rather than a 'budget crisis.' Read more and view photos

On the night of March 7, custodians of AFSCME 3299 and their families, along with student and worker supporters, marched to the gates of UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Denice Denton's on-campus home. The more than 200-strong crowd demanded the Chancellor support workers' struggles for dignity and justice, including wage parity with other regional colleges where workers make dollars more per hour for the same (or less) work.

The march, organized by AFSCME 3299 in coordination with MEChA de UCSC and the Student and Worker Coalition for Justice (SWCJ) continues the legacy of labor struggle at the UC Santa Cruz campus. On April 14 of last year, over 1,000 students and workers shut down the campus for the day as a part of a state-wide AFSCME strike for justice. Days later, the workers won a significantly better contract.

In the past year, student and worker solidarity and militancy has lead to significant gains for AFSCME, CUE (clericals), and Santa Cruz County bus drivers, represented by UTU. The struggle continues... Read more and view photos

Stripping down to their skivvies, students at UC schools protested sweatshop-made UC collegiate apparel. Bearing the slogan: “We tried to find sweat-free clothes in our bookstore and this is what we came out with” (i.e. nothing), students highlighted the widespread practice of producing collegiate apparel in factories with poor labor standards.

A few dozen spirited students turned out at UC Santa Cruz ( Photos: 1 | 2, Audio), more than 50 at Berkeley and another 50 at San Diego ( SDIMC Story, Photos, Videos). Protests were reportedly held at Santa Barbara, Irvine and Riverside as well. Regardless of the school, few clothes were to be seen.

Read more of this story on Santa Cruz Indymedia

Every Saturday in Oakland is "supermarket Saturday," where Oakland Education Association union members and allies go out to major supermarkets in Oakland and spend the day handing out information about their contract. Oakland's teachers have been working for more than a year and a half without a contract. 30% of Oakland's teachers leave the school system every year. This is seen as one of the most significant factors that lead to a destabilized learning environment that drives 73 of 100 African American students out of the Oakland schools before graduation. The teachers may vote to authorize a strike in the next few weeks.

Read more of this story on Indybay's Labor and East Bay News Pages