Feature Archives

Ignacio Chapela held a press conference on Monday, April 18th to announce his lawsuit related to denial of tenure with the Environmental Science, Policy and Management Department at UC Berkeley. On the steps of Hilgard Hall, where he still holds lab space, Chapela and his lawyer Dan Siegel, who is known for his participation in the UC Berkeley Free Speech movement in the mid 1960s, detailed the three major claims in their lawsuit to be filed this week in Alameda County Superior court. Chapela's claims are: discrimination against a whistleblower since Chapela was retaliated against for calling attention to the transmission of pollen from genetically engineered crops into nearby fields planted with native crops; Fraud, because the university had not disclosed thathe would likely never obtain tenure due to his intellectual convictions and scholarly focus if people in power at the school disagreed with his research agenda; and discrimination on basis of national origin, as he claims that the university has a record of unequally granting tenture to candidates from different background with equivalent publication records and demonstration of permit

Ignacio Chapela has a career history working in agricultural biotech research at the USDA, with Sandoz Pharmaceutical, limited in Basel switzerland, and as a visiting fellow in the Dept. of Plant pathology at Cornell University. Colleagues in his department overwhelmingly recommended tenure for him. His last day teaching at UC Berkeley was December 9th. The court case is expected to last as long as 18 months. Read more

Tenure Justice Website | Pulse of Science, which includes more lawsuit details | Chapela Tenure Case

Students all over the state and in all levels of education demonstrated their outrage at the Governor's continued attacks on education funding today during a statewide day of action for education. The protest happened simultaneously in over a dozen campuses, including Long Beach State, City College of San Francisco, University of California Santa Cruz, and others. College campuses across the state responded to a call for a day of action by Action In Defense of Education (AIDE), a statewide network of colleges working to transform the educational system.

Protest organizers said, "Over the past two years, the State has continuously shorthanded education and limited access to those more in need." They demanded that real solutions to the "so-called" budget crises be implemented. Among their demands were full funding of Proposition 98- a state law which guarantees funding to California schools, taxing of the top 1% of wealthy people in California, and no further cuts to the education budget. Read more

In Berkeley, students, faculty and community members gathered at People's Park to participate in a walk-out. They marched to Sproul Plaza and set up a Freedom School at Sproul Plaza. Photos Four hundred people gathered at Community College of SF for a march and rally. Photos Hundreds rallied and marched in Santa Cruz and hundreds rallied before a breakaway march at San Diego City College.

4/19 Update: 18 people who were arrested at the Tent University spent the night in jail after riot police stormed the site with little warning from the school administrators. The Tent University will continue today, and Action in Defense of Education organizers are looking ahead to tomorrow's state-wide day of action to protest cuts to higher education, continuing fee hikes, and holding back Proposition 98 funds for K-14. ECR Interview With AIDE, including info about the protest in Berkeley on 4/20.

4/18: Approximately 20 participants in the Tent University protest and teach-in at UCSC were arrested this evening by university police. Information on the arrests has not yet been released by UCSC police or the Santa Cruz Sheriff, but according to reports on Santa Cruz Indymedia, arrestees were dragged and clubbed by police and subjected to pain compliance and chokeholds. With a large crowd gathered and an increasing presence of cameras documenting the police brutality, university authorities eventually made a concessionary deal with organizers allowing a small number of participants to camp on the field, according to reports on Free Radio Santa Cruz. The arrestees were transported to the Santa Cruz county jail, where a large crowd was gathered in support as of 1:30 a.m. 4/19.

Inspired by the original Tent State University in New Jersey symbolizing the displacement of higher education, UCSC students organized Tent University Santa Cruz (TUSC) in response to the budgetary injustices facing California's education system. TUSC, described as the largest political gathering in the recent history of UCSC, will address the ongoing workers' struggle, the anti-war movement, the walk-out to defend public education on April 20, and the racial justice movement, according to organizers. A few days ago, the University posted "No camping" signs and warned organizers that its no-sleeping policy would be strictly enforced.

On April 14, campus workers will go on strike to fight for their rights and for a fair contract. Read More

At noon on April 1st 2005 over one hundred labor activists and students gathered in front of UCB's California Hall to protest the UC Regents' bad-faith negotiations with unionized workers on campus. The protest has an "April Fools" theme with a flyer reading:
UC diverts funds from executive salaries to raise worker wages.... April Fools! UC says it values its work force but while UC has plenty of money for its "priorities," it does not have a dime for unionized workers?! How much longer can UC get away with this bad joke?

For years unionized workers at UC have been suffering stagnant wages. In addition, continuous and drastic work force reduction have resulted in an increased workload for rank and file workers. Workers say that this has led to declining quality of education or services in classrooms, libraries, laboratories, dining facilities and administrative offices.

Photos | Previous Coverage Of UC Service Workers | Coalition Of University Employees

On March 28th 2005, a forum on the topic of academic freedom was held at UC Berkeley. The primary focus was on the case of Ward Churchill at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He and Natsu Saito were on this panel along with Prof. Carlos Munoz, Dean of Arts and Humanities Ralph Hexter, and the head of the UCB Ethnic Studies Department Ling-chi Wang.
Churchill described the distinction between first amendment freedom and academic freedom. He also repeated his explanation of the Eichman comment, talked about a bar in the financial district that displays the teeth that Custer knocked out of his indian sex slave's mouth, and touched on his opinion of Thomas Brown, John Lavelle, concern over his ethnicity, and his income. The Dean commented on the difficulty of prescribing 'balance' in the classroom because how would one define the center of balance. Saito covered a few legal topics relating to academic freedom, and discussed personal political expression by professors, and what speech isn't covered by first amendment.
Audio & Report | Photos | Ward At The Anarchist Bookfair: 1 | 2 | 3 | Previous Coverage Of Ward: 1 | 2 | Audio Of Ward In 2002

3/15/2005 Hundreds of people gathered outside of the State Building in Oakland late this afternoon to protest the issuance of layoff notices to Oakland teachers. Several teachers who have already received their "March 15th Layoff Letters" were present- they included instructors in music and art, as well as adult education. Photos

School funding is in a statewide crisis, and Governor Schwarzenegger wants to further cut funding for the 2005-06 school year.

Pre-event press release | Stop Randy Ward website | Oakland Education Association | California Teachers Association | California Federation of Teachers | EdSource

At 3:45 p.m. today, six Oakland residents began a sit-in in the office of the state administrator of the Oakland schools after their demand for a meeting with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell was refused. About 75 students, parents, teachers and labor activists rallied outside. Photos

The people who engaged in the sit-in issued four demands of Superintendent O'Connell:

1. The immediate restoration of local democratic control over the Oakland Unified School District,
2. No school closures and no charter conversions,
3. No layoffs, and
4. An immediate meeting with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell to discuss the implementation of these demands.

Read more | Breaking news article about the protest

The Oakland Coalition to Defend and Improve Public Education is sponsoring a large Town Hall meeting for Tuesday, March 8th, 6–8 p.m., at the First Congregational Church (2501 Harrison St). The Oakland Education Association has called for a major rally at the Oakland State Building (1515 Clay St) for Tuesday, March 15th, at 4 p.m.