Feature Archives

On May 21st, the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Civil Liberties Defense Center joined in a defense attorneys’ motion in the San Jose district court to dismiss U.S.A. v. Buddenberg, a federal prosecution of four animal rights activists in California for alleged conspiracy to commit animal enterprise terrorism. The four have been charged with First Amendment protected activities such as protesting, chalking the sidewalk, chanting and leafleting. The motion asks the Court to strike down the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) as unconstitutional.

On Tuesday May 26th, the California Supreme Court's ruled in favor of Proposition 8 banning future same-sex marriages but upholding existing same-sex marriages. Street actions to protest discrimination are taking place throughout the day in California and elsewhere in the nation. In San Francisco, police arrested more than 150 protesters for blocking an intersection near City Hall shortly after the ruling was announced.

On Saturday, June 6th at 6pm at Santa Cruz Barrios Unidos, author, elder and activist Betita Martinez presents the film made as a companion to her book, "500 Years of Chicano History: Viva la Causa." The film is an introduction to Chican@ history from the point of view of the people who lived it. This film is sympathetic to the issues of oppressed peoples, without flinching for the difficulties facing “el Movimiento” including class, sexism, interracial unity, and homophobia.

The Rock n' Roll On the Knoll Benefit Concert scheduled to occur on the UC Santa Cruz campus on Sunday, May 17th has been canceled. This was announced with very short notice on the afternoon of May 14th. Apparently, UCSC had to export some of it's police force to a graduation ceremony at UC Merced where Mrs. Obama will be speaking.

Robert Norse writes: "Over six months ago on Sunday, November 2nd, 2008, I was approached by a Metro security guard at the Metro Transit Center in downtown Santa Cruz. I was interviewing two homeless men for Free Radio Santa Cruz. The guard insisted I leave. I declined to do so. He called the police."

The Santa Cruz County Task Force for LGBTIQ Youth presents the 12th Annual Queer Youth Leadership Awards on Saturday, May 16th, at Scotts Valley High School. The event begins with a community resource fair at 5pm, followed by dinner and an awards ceremony. A community dance with DJ Eko follows the show.

UCSC is seeking to meet budget deficits by cutting health care coverage and benefits to its graduate students, including those with families and dependents. These cuts could increase the cost of co-pays for doctor visits and emergency care, decrease life-time coverage limits and probably, and most significantly, increase co-pays for prescription drugs, even those taken on a regular basis for chronic conditions.