Darksage
Nov 20th, 2009, 11:58 PM
The day after the University of California Board of Regents approved a 32 percent increase in fees that are the equivalent of tuition, protests continued on several campuses, with students occupying buildings at Santa Cruz and Berkeley.
On the Berkeley campus, at least 50 students took over a classroom building, Wheeler Hall, barricading themselves on the second floor. Hundreds of students surrounded the building, huddled under umbrellas, tarps and plastic, chanting slogans like “Fee hike! We strike!”
...
On Wednesday, protesters occupied Kresge Town Hall, and on Thursday, many of them moved into Kerr Hall, where they presented a list of demands to the campus provost, David Kliger. They remained in both buildings on Friday.
“The group inside delivered a list of demands to the administrator, and it’s a pretty far-reaching list, to get them to repeal the fee hikes and stop the privatization of Santa Cruz and U.C.,” said Don Kingsbury, a Santa Cruz graduate student in politics. “It’s kind of a symbolic list.”
Indeed, many of the long-term demands are beyond the reach of the Santa Cruz administrators, including the impeachment of Mark G. Yudof, president of the University of California system; the elimination of the Regents’ positions; and an end to all student fees and student debts.
But, Mr. Kingsbury said, the list includes some demands Santa Cruz administrators could meet.
“We want them to drop charges against the protesters who were arrested in previous actions,” Mr. Kingsbury said. “We want to stop them from closing the university child care center, trying to dissolve the community studies department.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/21/us/21tuition.html
This is interesting.. students going on strike. I know in NYC tuition increases have been a lot smaller (except for the big-name colleges like NYU, Columbia, etc), but the same percentage increase. My tuition increased some 20-25% but the dollar increase was only $400-600 for most people ($2,500, up from $2,100 last semester for me).
Protesting is cool, but taking over buildings and stuff like that.. well I don't really know.
On the Berkeley campus, at least 50 students took over a classroom building, Wheeler Hall, barricading themselves on the second floor. Hundreds of students surrounded the building, huddled under umbrellas, tarps and plastic, chanting slogans like “Fee hike! We strike!”
...
On Wednesday, protesters occupied Kresge Town Hall, and on Thursday, many of them moved into Kerr Hall, where they presented a list of demands to the campus provost, David Kliger. They remained in both buildings on Friday.
“The group inside delivered a list of demands to the administrator, and it’s a pretty far-reaching list, to get them to repeal the fee hikes and stop the privatization of Santa Cruz and U.C.,” said Don Kingsbury, a Santa Cruz graduate student in politics. “It’s kind of a symbolic list.”
Indeed, many of the long-term demands are beyond the reach of the Santa Cruz administrators, including the impeachment of Mark G. Yudof, president of the University of California system; the elimination of the Regents’ positions; and an end to all student fees and student debts.
But, Mr. Kingsbury said, the list includes some demands Santa Cruz administrators could meet.
“We want them to drop charges against the protesters who were arrested in previous actions,” Mr. Kingsbury said. “We want to stop them from closing the university child care center, trying to dissolve the community studies department.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/21/us/21tuition.html
This is interesting.. students going on strike. I know in NYC tuition increases have been a lot smaller (except for the big-name colleges like NYU, Columbia, etc), but the same percentage increase. My tuition increased some 20-25% but the dollar increase was only $400-600 for most people ($2,500, up from $2,100 last semester for me).
Protesting is cool, but taking over buildings and stuff like that.. well I don't really know.