Feature Archives

An eight-way race for three seats on the Northern Humboldt Union High School District Board resulted in the election of recent high school graduate Shane Brinton. Running on a progressive platform of “Education not Indoctrination,” Brinton opposes military recruiters in schools. “We need to be educating the future doctors and teachers of America, not sending them to die in Iraq or some future quagmire,” said Brinton.

Brinton is a life-long resident of Humboldt County, and has volunteered with many local groups, including Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County, Humboldt Senior Resource Center, Humboldt County Democratic Central Committee, the Redwood Peace & Justice Center, the Placebo, Tenants Union of Humboldt County, Food Not Bombs, and as an assistant soccer coach for the Humboldt Youth Soccer League. Brinton recently represented the US as a delegate to the World Festival of Youth and Students in Venezuela, with 15,000 other young people.

See voteshane.org

Poor News Network describes a disturbing state-wide education policy impacting low-income youth and immigrant youth across California. According to Olivia Araiza, Program Director with Justice Matters Institute, the new high school exit exam imposes a penalty beyond anything mandated by the infamous No Child Left Behind act; it is estimated that the examination will deny diplomas to over 100,000 high school students in 2006, "creating a permanent underclass ... mandated by the state." The Governator recently vetoed AB 1531 and SB 385, which respectively would have allowed school districts to develop alternatives to the mandatory high school exit exam, and allowed students to take the exam in their first language instead of only English. Full story: A State-Mandated Underclass

5/20/2005: This evening in the midst of commencement on the UCB campus, Chapela, Iain Boal, Gray Brechin, and Dan Siegel spoke to a crowd of supporters, and slide projections shed some light on the hulking, new Bioengineering edifice which is under construction, and slated to serve as a world center for corporate biotech research—in the proud tradition of UC's uranium cyclotron, nanotech lab, and nuclear weapons laboratories.

This week, the Dean of the College of Natural Resources at Berkeley communicated to Ignacio Chapela the intention of the new Chancellor of the University of California to grant tenure to Chapela's position at Berkeley. Profesor Chapela says, "This decision is a clear message of vindication not only of myself, but also of the innumerable individual and collective efforts put into this process by all of you. You have generously added your voices to the many questions raised around my tenure review and demanded a process free of conflict of interest or undue influence, and for this I am thankful."

Chapela continues, "Tenure should not stop our questioning - yours and mine - any more than rain has stopped our circulation of meaning around and about the bioengineering edifice this week. Please come to any of the remaining cycling events, or to the gathering on Friday evening, to celebrate." Read more of Chapela's statement

Each day during the week of May 16th–May 20th, Chapela supporters and biotech foes bicycled around the Bioengineering Building, 7–8 a.m. and 8–9 p.m., and at 9 p.m., congregating in the grassy amphitheatre across the street. On Friday evening May 20th, 9–10:30 p.m., this week’s Dreams of Reason protests culminated in a gathering outside the building, featuring projections and speeches by Chapela and his attorney. From 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., Enemy Combatant Radio webcast the events on campus.

In honor of the historic Brown v. Board of Education verdict on May 17th, 1954, Oakland observed Take Back Our Schools Day on May 17th, 2005. Organizers said that "a growing tide of youth, educators, parents, union members, and community organizations are calling for an end to the destructive takeover of the Oakland schools." The Oakland City Council unanimously passed a resolution in support of May 17th's events. The day's events included a rally at Frank Ogawa Plaza (outside of City Hall), teach-ins, and a rally at the State Building. Photos and Report: 1 | 2

Take Back Our Schools Day demands included: non-compliance with No Child Left Behind; restoration of local control to Oakland schools, including an accountable schools governing board; full funding of Prop 98; and no high school exit exam. More information about the May 17th events, including curriculum for classroom visits, can be found on the Education Not Incarceration website. Articles about the destructive effects of the State Takeover are on the Oakland Rising site. May 17:Take Back Our Schools Day is a project of Organize Da BAY, Education Not Incarceration, Oakland Education Association, Oakland ACORN, AFSCME 257, Oakland AFT and many other organizations from the Coalition to Defend and Improve Public Education

The Alliance for a Better California, which is a statewide organization that includes labor unions of educators, public service workers, and service employees, called for an Action Day for a Better California to demonstrate against the governor's so-called "reforms." Rallies were held on May 25th in Sacramento and Los Angeles. Photos from LA protest | Report, Photos from Sacramento | Photos from Watsonville anti-Arnold protest: 1 | 2

ABC has united, it says, "to protect our state, while the governor continues to raise more special interest contributions than any governor in state history. We don't need to waste $70 million on a special election that no one wants with initiatives that no one supports. We need real reforms that will move California forward, rather than the governor's broken promises and short-sighted proposals that will further damage California public schools. Help send a message to the governor that the 'special interests' he keeps referring to are thousands of ordinary citizens and workers concerned about public school children, hospital patients, and overall public safety."

More About the 5/25 Sacramento Rally, which begins with entertainment at 3:30pm

Ignacio Chapela, the controversial biology professor at UC Berkeley, announces Dreams of Reason, a weeklong event around and about the new biotechnology building being built at University of California Berkeley. In 2001, Chapela and his graduate student David Quist discovered genetic contamination from GMO corn into native maiz species in Oaxaca, Mexico. The organized corporate attack resulted in the denial of tenure to Chapela despite overwhelming support from his colleagues.
During the week of May 16-21, Chapela is inviting the Bay Area community to join him in resisting the corporatization of public education and science. Photos from 5/17

From the event announcement: "Please receive this message as an invitation to participate in this time of reflection upon the hull of the bioengineering building. In order to make visible a development which has grown mostly out of public view, I invite those who might agree with me that the time has come for Biology either to follow the path of secrecy, big-money and dogmatic thinking, or to imagine itself as a project of diversity and life.
At the start and close of every day during the week of Monday, May 16 - Friday, May 20, we will circulate our meaning about the Bioengineering Building, 7 - 8 am and 8 - 9 pm. Some of us will ride our bicycles, carrying questions to the Biotech Dream. Please bring your bike, if you so wish, for either a morning or evening ride. With the onset of darkness, starting at 9 pm, we will congregate for performances and thoughts across the street. Please bring light with you, and any refreshment you might wish to share."
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Download Flyer | Previous Indybay Coverage of Chapela Tenure Case

5/12/2005: In cities across the state, thousands of California Teachers Association members took part in scores of events on May 11 to celebrate teaching and to protest the governor's broken promises on education as part of California's 23rd annual "Day of the Teacher" celebration.

In San Francisco, the United Educators of San Francisco celebrated California's official "Day of the Teacher" by rallying and lining the streets at the corner of Van Ness and McAllister to educate the public about their contract fight and the governor's attacks on public education. About 300 UESF members and supporters lined Van Ness at McAllister after school, building power for upcoming battles with both the state government and local contract negotiations. Signs and chants mostly focused on Bodybuilder-turned-rightwing-populist-politician Arnond Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger is currently pushing for a special election on which to place 2 ballot measures: one which would eliminate teacher tenure and another which would make huge cuts to all state workers retirement packages.

Photos | List Of Statewide Protests | May 25th Rally to Defend Public Education