Feature Archives

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.

For the 5th year running, the burning of American flags took place on July 3rd at Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz. Organizers say they raise the burning flag up as a sacred symbol representing their highest ideals as Americans, and that the "American Flag is so great a symbol that it represents the right to burn it."

Robert Norse comments, "Burning a flag in solidarity with the Honduran people on July 4th makes more sense to me than burning a flag as a celebration of the First Amendment. Divorcing flag-burning from its visceral ('Yanqui, go home!') content is a way of stripping the action of its force."

Shortly before midnight on Sunday, June 28th, a demonstration will begin at Vandenberg Air Force Base to protest the U.S. launch of a Minuteman III nuclear missile. The target of the rocket is the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site, Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, South Pacific.

On June 23rd, the Santa Cruz City Council passed a 45-day moratorium on new medical marijuana dispensaries in the city limits. Councilmembers said they needed the moratorium because they claimed there was a flood of daily inquiries to the city's Planning Department about opening medical marijuana centers. The are two pending applications for dispensaries on the Westside of Santa Cruz.

The Santa Cruz City Council Measure K Oversight Committee held their most recent meeting on June 15th. As directed in Santa Cruz Municipal Code Section 9.84.060, the Committee is charged with overseeing the implementation of SCMC Chapter 9.84 which makes "Adult Marijuana Criminal Offenses" the "Lowest Law Enforcement Priority."