Save Community Studies! Emergency Meeting

I'll be transferring to UCSC next year... that is, I've been planning on transferring up to this point. Now I hear the program in which I was so interested might be cut from the university. I can tell you, although you probably already know if you're defending this program, that it is actually a distinguishing factor about UCSC and Santa Cruz in general. Programs like this (and Feminist Studies, for that matter) do not exist at other universities, including my own, and they're a big draw for progressive thinkers. I've read some nay-saying comments (one from a science major a couple days ago) who believe the Community Studies major is a "joke" and its graduates don't go on to do anything important. I thought this was an unfair statement - wasn't the (former?) mayor of Santa Cruz a Com Stud graduate? Isn't one of the members of the UC budget committee himself a Com Stud graduate. And through the field studies program, don't countless volunteers go directly into the community to help those in need of social justice. I certainly think science is insurmountably important to development of humankind, but social progress is just as important in its own sphere, and brave and educated activists are needed.

Anyway, if there is any way I can help with the meeting tonight by writing a letter from my perspective as a prospective student, or anything else, feel free to drop me an email or something.

Chels