Tag Archives: U of California

#Berkeley and the myth of the activist life #highered #occupyeducation #criticaled #edstudies #ubc #yteubc

Alexandra McGee, Counterpunch, February 14, 2014– On February 13th, 2014, I attended a UC Berkeley protest against the appointment of Janet Napolitano as President of the UC system.* The qualms against her appointment fall outside of my purview to describe here. This piece is much larger than Napolitano, or the protest itself. Instead, lets look at how systemic economic inequality has affected the mentality (and thereby the capability for action) of my generation.

Organized by the Associated Students of the University of California, the protest attracted upward of 500 people, purported thousands if you count onlookers and those who bore witness momentarily. With protest signs, cloth banners, megaphones and fists of solidarity, this crowd of young students had been protesting since 10 am. I started asking onlookers what their motivations were for being there and what they thought of the movement until I realized, this was no real protest.

Napolitano was in Sutardja Dai Hall. Protesters had taken the nearby Blum Center For Developing Economies. We stood, fists held high and shouting into a megaphone, all pointed in the opposite direction from our supposed target. Sutardja Dai Hall was inconveniently guarded, with five large men guarding the bottom entrance, doors locked on the second floor, three cops with shiny sunglasses glaring down at us from the top floor and two cops on bikes circling the building. News reporters stood aside, pointing their video camera into the disjointed group, many of whom were unaware of what our strategy was, or what our demands were.

Why aren’t we occupying Sutardja Dai Hall?

I began to ask those around me. The ASUC had emphasized that they were “not going to negotiate with Napolitano on the issue of her resignation.” But how would occupying a nearby building do anything at all? Why are we not engaging in constructive dialogue? “El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido!” But how will chanting together do anything but stroke our own egos? “But this is Berkeley, radicals. All of us!” Pure ideological masturbation unless you do something provocative to cause change.

I am frustrated that Berkeley continues to perpetuate the myth of its activist lifestyle for economic gain. It sells an image of the rebel protester, the ideological martyr, to a generation of youth that cannot find their way four blocks north without GPS, never mind find their way past the bureaucratic labyrinth to create substantial change. With their tuition and the gradual privatization of education (see: millions of dollars from ecologically destructive corporations like BP), they perpetuate the inequality of wealth and even endorse human rights abusers, as they have by allowing Napolitano to be their system president.

If Mario Savio were amongst us, he would hang his head in absolute shame. Not just at the cafe on campus toting his name as a publicity stunt, but at our failure to question the status quo. To disturb the system, you don’t occupy a building which poses no strategical advantage, you don’t chant just to make yourself feel good, and you do not boast that you are creating community when really all you’re doing is attracting people who want to update their facebooks with a new “rebel” profile picture.

This frustration is also fueled by great hope that I once had in the Occupy movement. Surrounded by well-intentioned, intelligent people, I was sure that change was in our grasp, but we were outlasted in our patience, overcome by our fragmentation, and overconfident in our abilities. Now, I was ready to rush the police to occupy a space of power for those who couldn’t. To represent those who had been deported from their country because of Napolitano’s discriminatory policies. To recognize our own humanity in a space where we would not be welcome. To demand recognition and respect as a human being rather than an authorized citizen.

But doing so would require facing down strongmen of the establishment. To do so would put in jeopardy our clean police records with some nonsense charge of non-compliance. As a fellow protester said, she worried that if we actually tried to change something, she wouldn’t be able to get a job because it would show up on her record. She didn’t actually think anything would change.

Bulls eye. Compliance to capitalism fueled by fear. The threat of economic punishment if we are labeled as radical.

Read More: Counterpunch

#Berkeley protests and #occupy Napolitano #highered #edstudies

Doug Sovern, KCBS, February 13, 2014– University of California President Janet Napolitano spent Thursday meeting with students and faculty at UC Berkeley, though many were not pleased she was on campus.

A small, but noisy band of protesters shadowed Napolitano during her day of meetings on campus.

Cal graduate Justin Chiang said Napolitano’s tenure as head of Homeland Security, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, makes her the wrong choice to lead the UC system.

We want to demand that the UC Regents, who hired Janet Napolitano, to remove her immediately, and replace her with a great educator, who can really champion public education,” he said.

Napolitano said she was too busy to respond to KCBS personally, but her spokeswoman, Dianne Klein, said she is not about to resign because of these kind of protests, and that it comes with the job.

“Berkeley is a cradle of free speech, as is the University of California in general,” Klein said. “This is part of the fabric of the university.”

Napolitano’s visit was her 10th and final stop of a UC campus listening tour that began last year, and she has been met with protesters throughout her tour of the system.

U. of California at San Diego Settles Racial-Harassment Complaints

U. of California at San Diego Settles Racial-Harassment Complaints

The University of California at San Diego has reached a settlement with the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education after an investigation of racial-harassment complaints on the campus.

The complaints stemmed from several incidents, including public displays of hanging nooses and a Ku Klux Klan-style hood, that began last year and seemed to take aim at African-American students. The incidents prompted student protests, and the president of the University of California system, Mark G. Yudof, responded to the apparent racism on his Facebook page. “It has no place in civilized society, and it will not be tolerated—not on this particular campus, not on any University of California campus,” he wrote.

Op-Ed: ‘Sympathy’ For Pepper-Spraying Policeman

NPR’s Talk of the Nation

A video showing an officer methodically spraying pepper spray in the faces of seated protesters has created an uproar. While some say the incident represents a wider problem with the way police confront protesters, Santa Clara University professor (and founding editor of Workplace: A Journal for Academic Labor) Marc Bousquet argues that misses the point.

Police club and pepper spray students and professors at the University of California #OccupyCal

Police club and pepper spray students and professors at the University
of California

Nov. 18, 2011: letter from English professor Nathan Brown to Chancellor Katehi:

http://bicyclebarricade.wordpress.com/2011/11/19/open-letter-to-chancellor-linda-p-b-katehi/

Nov. 18, 2011: UC Davis students pepper sprayed:

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Nov. 9, 2011: police club UC Berkeley professors and students:

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Nov. 9, 2011: UC Berkeley students drive out police:

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UC Berkeley professor on her arrest:

http://utotherescue.blogspot.com/2011/11/why-i-got-arrested-with-occupy-cal-and.html

UC Berkeley bloated, wasteful, consultants say

San Francisco Chronicle: UC Berkeley bloated, wasteful, consultants say

For a world-class university studded with Nobel laureates and innovative research, UC Berkeley manages its finances a bit like a sloppy undergrad, a new report suggests.

The campus could save about $75 million a year by streamlining purchases, concentrating job duties and laying off “redundant” managers, according to consultants hired last fall to help the school become a leaner operation

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/04/12/BAIH1CTI5M.DTL#ixzz0kzxgNagR

Students, Teachers Take Part in Nationwide Protests Against Education Cuts

Democracy Now!: Students, Teachers Take Part in Nationwide Protests Against Education Cuts

Hundreds of thousands of students and teachers took part in protests Thursday as part of the National Day of Action to Defend Public Education. Much of the day’s focus was on the university and state college campuses of California, where students face a 32 percent tuition hike. Thousands of California students staged a one-day strike and took part in rallies from San Diego to Sacramento to Humboldt County. Actions were held in at least thirty other states, including here in New York, where protesters rallied outside the offices of Governor David Paterson. It was the largest day of coordinated student protest in years.

March on Everywhere!

Inside Higher Ed: March on Everywhere!

BERKELEY, CALIF. — In an unprecedented day of national protest across all sectors of education, the epicenter proved to be this college town where the seeds of student activism were sown more than 40 years ago.

With the smell of burning sage and the occasional hint of weed in the air, an impassioned throng of students from the University of California’s Berkeley campus marched to Oakland (where the university system’s headquarters are located) in opposition of budget cuts and tuition hikes they say are crippling one of the nation’s premier public institutions.

Parents in California Start to Mobilize Against Tuition Hikes

Los Angeles Time: Parents in California Start to Mobilize Against Tuition Hikes

The budget crisis afflicting California State University could not have come at a worse time for Berenice Vite and Rafael Curiel, whose son Alonso is a sophomore at Cal State Long Beach. As the university was imposing a 32% student fee hike this year, Curiel underwent two shoulder surgeries and lost his job at a medical equipment firm.

8 Arrested After Protesters Attack Berkeley Chancellor’s House

The Chronicle: 8 Arrested After Protesters Attack Berkeley Chancellor’s House

Protesters at the University of California at Berkeley smashed windows and threw torches at the home of the chancellor, Robert J. Birgeneau, late on Friday night, marking a violent turn for student protests that have roiled campuses around the state.

A group of 40 to 75 protesters stormed the grounds of Mr. Birgeneau’s house on the campus at about 11 p.m., yelling “No justice, no peace,” police officials said

As UC Berkeley Investigates Police Brutality Against Students Protesting Fee Hikes, a Report From Inside the Takeover of Wheeler Hall

After Media Success, U. of California Protesters Look Ahead

The Chronicle: After Media Success, U. of California Protesters Look Ahead

Even in this deficit-riddled state, the sheer size of the University of California’s tuition increase last week was enough to spark a collective wave of anger and disbelief among many students, escalating protests that have been simmering throughout the system for months.

Protesters occupied buildings on four campuses to protest the higher tuition, drawing large crowds and causing hundreds of classes to be canceled. At Berkeley, a group of 40 students and their supporters barricaded themselves inside a major academic building for 11 hours, and top university officials were sent into the building as crack negotiators to end the standoff.

Library sit-in at UCSC

Contra Costa Time: More than 100 students stage protest in UCSC library

SANTA CRUZ – More than 100 students occupied the UC Santa Cruz Science and Engineering Library Friday night in protest of budget cuts and the decision to close the library at 5 p.m. on Fridays and all day Saturdays.
According to student protester Brian Glasscock, the protesters had permission from library administration to do the overnight sit-in. As students flo

UC Berkeley faculty wants sports subsidies stopped

AP: UC Berkeley faculty wants sports subsidies stopped

BERKELEY, Calif. — Faculty at the University of California, Berkeley, are crying foul about the millions of dollars in subsidies directed to the school’s athletic department.
The campus Academic Senate on Thursday voted 91-68 in favor of a nonbinding resolution calling for an end to campus support of the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and requiring a plan for paying back loans already made.

CALL: March 4 Strike and Day of Action To Defend Public Education

On October 24 more than 800 students, teachers, and other workers met to plan how to advance the struggle to defend and transform public education in California and beyond.

The 10/24 conference endorsed the U of California and California State U strike and mobilization on Nov. 17th– 20th and decided to call for statewide solidarity actions on these days.

In addition, Conference participants also called for a “Strike and Day of Action that is inclusive of all different tactics, including: walkouts, rallies, march to Sacramento, teach ins, occupations, and all other forms of protests chosen by schools and organizations.”

CALL: March 4 Strike and Day of Action To Defend Public Education

On October 24, 2009 more than 800 students, workers, and teachers converged at UC Berkeley at the Mobilizing Conference to Save Public Education. This massive meeting brought together representatives from over 100 different schools, unions, and organizations from all across California and from all sectors of public education – Pre K-12, Adult Education, CC, CSU and UC – to “decide on a statewide action plan capable of winning this struggle, which will define the future of public education in this state, particularly for the working class and communities of color.”

After hours of open collective discussion, the conference democratically voted, as its principal decision, to call for a statewide Strike and Day of Action on March 4, 2010. The conference decided that all schools, unions and organizations are free to choose their specific demands and tactics – such as strikes, walkouts, march to Sacramento, rallies, occupations, sit-ins, teach-ins, etc. – for March 4, as well as the duration of such actions.
We refuse to let those in power continue to pit us against each other. If we unite, we have the power to shut down business-as-usual and to force those in power to grant our demands. Building a powerful movement to defend public education will, in turn, advance the struggle in defense of all public-sector workers and services.

We call on all students, workers, teachers, parents, and their organizations across the state to endorse this call and massively mobilize and organize for the Strike and Day of Action on March 4.

Let’s make this an historic turning point in the struggle against the cuts, layoffs, fee hikes, and educational segregation in California.

To endorse this call and to receive more information, please contact march4strikeanddayofaction@gmail.com and consult www.savecapubliceducation.org

California’s Crisis of Higher Education

IndyMeida: California’s Crisis of Higher Education

On October 21, 2009 – hundreds of students at Fresno State walked out of their classrooms and held a rally at the university’s Peace Garden to protest the massive cuts to higher education and the California State University system. Students voiced their concerns with the unprecedented tuition increases, canceled classes, furloughed faculty and staff, and reduced enrollment opportunities. They then took their message to the sidewalks and streets of the campus calling out to students, faculty, and staff to take a stand and join the walk out. Many did. By the time the march reached Shaw and Cedar Avenues, all four street corners were overflowing with students speaking out on behalf of themselves and the future of higher education in the state. “I hope that this walkout will increase community awareness that the budget cuts to the CSU are delaying our graduations, forcing would-be students out, and creating a precedent that “its ok” to cut education when really funding education gives back in more ways than one,” explained Whitney Thompson, a women’s studies major at Fresno State and a spokesperson for Students for Quality Education, the organization spearheading the event. At the end of the march, the students presented Dr. Welty with a list of demands, which Welty indicated he would address at a later meeting.

Schwarzenegger Vetoes Limits on Administrators’ Pay

Inside Higher Ed: Schwarzenegger Vetoes Limits on Administrators’ Pay

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Sunday vetoed a bill that would have barred most salary increases and bonuses for executives at the University of California and California State University systems in bad budget years, such as this one. In his veto message, the governor criticized the measure as too broad and intrusive. “A blanket prohibition limiting the flexibility for the UC and CSU to compete, both nationally and internationally, in attracting and retaining high level personnel does a disservice to those students seeking the kind of quality education that our higher education segments offer. The regents and the trustees should be prudent in managing their systems, given the difficult fiscal crisis we face as a state, but it is unnecessary for the state to micromanage their operations.” The veto drew a sharp response from Sen. Leland Yee, sponsor of the bill and a leading legislative voice for closer oversight of the university systems. Yee noted that well compensated executives have continued to receive bonuses and raises even as the university systems face unprecedented budget cuts. “It is deeply disappointing that the governor wants to ensure top executives live high on the hog while students suffer,” Yee said. “The governor’s veto is a slap in the face to all UC and CSU students and the system’s low wage workers. His veto protects the UC and CSU administration’s egregious executive

“OCCUPY AND ESCALATE”: INSIDE THE BARRICADES AT UC SANTA CRUZ

howtheuniveristyworks.com: “OCCUPY AND ESCALATE”: INSIDE THE BARRICADES AT UC SANTA CRUZ

During last week’s massive 10-campus walkout, several dozen students and workers occupied the Graduate Student Commons at the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC), issuing statements frankly acknowledging their intention to escalate the conflict: “Occupation is a tactic for escalating struggles,” they note at their website, “We must face the fact that the time for pointless negotiations is over.”

UC Walkout: Social networking website for materials on the U of California walkout

UC Walkout: This social network website is a place for gathering materials about the UC Walkout on Set.24th, and beyond. You are invited to join and post your own photos, videos, blog posts, etc. Please note: I will moderate posts generously and for appropriateness only, and welcome all political positions on this crisis; my goal is to make information available in support of informed discussion

Students protest campus cuts

Press-Enterprise: Students protest campus cuts

Rallies, teach-ins and class walkouts were held Thursday at University of California campuses, including UC Riverside, to draw attention to state cuts to higher education.

Hundreds of UC Riverside students, faculty, staff, union leaders and alumni gathered to voice anger over decisions earlier this year to increase student fees, decrease enrollment, cut class offerings and lower employee pay.