[progchat_action] California knows how to party - students strike across UC system
Steven Robinson
by Isaac Solidarity Webzine November 20, 2009 -
Building on more modest actions one month ago, California's statewide
public university system has exploded in protest as thousands of
students rally against outrageous tuition hikes. Tactics have ranged
from mass rallies to five building occupations. At UCLA and UC
Berkeley, the professional union UPTE staged a one-day strike
Wednesday, followed a day later by a rally of 2,000 students
encircling the Board of Regents meeting as they voted on the monster
32% fee increase.
Under a call for "No Business as Usual," the student activists have
united around several demands:
1. That the Regents vote no on the proposed fee increases.
2. That the UC stop cuts and layoffs, and end its aggressive
union-busting tactics.
3. Transparency of the UC budget, including complete figures on how
much of the additional revenue from fees will be diverted for
construction and used as bond collateral.
4. Expand enrollment of underrepresented groups and ensure equal
access to education for all by maintaining all educational institutions
as sanctuary spaces for undocumented students and workers and by
providing adequate financial aid for undocumented and underrepresented
students.
5. An explanation for the failure of the UC leadership to make an
effective case for public higher education. As both students and
taxpayers, we demand leaders who can make that case, and an
administration whose transparency can once again inspire the
confidence of the state and its citizens.
Intimidation of the protesters has ranged from tasering of
African-American UCLA students to slapping one demonstrator at
Berkeley with the major charge of inciting a riot, and rumors of
threats of tear gas. Student occupiers at UC Santa Cruz have included
in their demands the disarming of campus police - which is the case
in many countries throughout the world.
While this round of demonstrations is not yet concluded, the Regents
decision is a real blow to education access. However plans are
underway for more action this spring, as California students lead
the way in refusing to pay for the fallout of the capitalist crisis.
For on the scene information:
* UC Strike - http://www.ucstrike.com/ * Occupy California: UC Santa
Cruz- http://occupyca.wordpress.com/
http://www.solidarity-us.org/node/2522
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