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MyspaceUp to a thousand students, faculty, and staff gathered at UCSB yesterday to protest the effects that budget cuts have been exacting on each respective group—including fee hikes while receiving less education, a significantly smaller number of classes to choose from, hundreds of job cuts, and increased furloughs.
“You say cut back, we say fight back!” we yelled in unison as fists pumped in a display of long-sought empowerment.
As a student at UCSB who relies entirely on financial aid, the sudden 32 percent increase in tuition didn’t just hamper my tight budget, it made me feel as if my education was against me. Maybe it’s my comparative literature class, but I felt like a forsaken peasant caught in the grasp of wasteful feudal management, doomed to waste away tilling dried-up land while being “lorded” over by people who reduce me to my student ID number. But how do you escape?
“Start now!” was the rallying cry as various speakers, ranging from students and teachers to Santa Barbara politicians, encouraged the crowd to capitalize on their newfound unity and march downtown demanding change. “This is just the beginning!” speakers and protestors promised, as signs reading “We won’t fund your crisis” and “We stand united” flared up, bobbing with the rebellious spirit that oppression cultivates rather than hinders.
Various student groups and campus organizations came together to leverage the unity that this event symbolizes. Recent problems at UC campuses, notably UC San Diego, involving nooses, swastikas, and racial-themed parties have come to light, and the outrage over that was also apparent. “It affects us all!” came the cry from speakers, as students cheered in a display of kinship, showcasing the camaraderie that every group shares against the harsh persecution of friends and fellow students.
For his part, UCSB Chancellor Henry Yang did sent a representative to read a statement he prepared, and Yang provided the buses to transport students from campus to downtown for the march. Nevertheless, shouts of “Where’s Henry?” drowned out his statement at times, and boos from the crowd represented the overall sentiment that students feel against “the man.”
The rally was the first event in which students and others gathered in large groups to make their agitation clear. Walter Bellow spoke about the similarities between the International Monetary Fund and California legislation; State Assembly candidate and Santa Barbara City Councilmember Das Williams urged the crowd to vote politicians out of office “if they don’t work for you,” and professors warned against the decline of education in the face of state depreciation. For the first time that I’ve seen, students came together, raised their fists, and shouted, “We won’t take this!”
As Desmond White, a fellow UCSB student, said, “It’s like the climax of this whole crazy rollercoaster that we’ve been on … It’s wonderful.”
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Comments
UC and CSU grads pay back about 2X the cost of their education in increased California state taxes over their lifetimes. College grads make more money and California has a steeply progressive income tax structure.
All that is going on here is profiteering by the state of California on higher education. Dumping new costs on college students enables the State to pay the $50,000 a year per prisoner cost in our prison system. The California prison system is one of the most expensive in the country, and gets among the worst results in the country and the world.
UC is always ranked one of the best if not the best university system in the world.
pardallchewinggumspot (anonymous profile)
March 7, 2010 at 8:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The question is... *are* we going to take it? Will one day in March be the "climax" of our resistance, or are we going to raise the stakes if demands aren't met? Students across the state are occupying UC buildings and holding unpermitted rallies that actually pose a threat to the Regents (as seen by the Regents unwillingness to voice their support for "those protesters". Here's a hint: If the folks who have the power to fix your situation, the folks who you're making demands of, claim that they are your allies and march with you... you're not a threat. You need to up the ante.).
Information missing from this article: Some administrators, such as presidents and chancellors, appointed by the Regents make between $450,000 and $900,000 a year. They've voted for salary increases at the same time they voted for tuition raises and budget cuts. It's not just the state that's the problem. We hate Yang because he's a thief and directly responsible for the problem, not because he's simply representative of "the man".
Wrench (anonymous profile)
March 8, 2010 at 7:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Idiots! There's NO MONEY because all your teachers are greedy union members. (Bet they don't teach you that!)
maximum (anonymous profile)
March 12, 2010 at 12:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
maximum, don't waste your time. These domonstrations were not about funding but about control. Just take a look at who organized and supported these 'events' across the nation. These protestors, and the commentators above are ignorant of economic reality. Daniel Petry
jcrdan (anonymous profile)
March 16, 2010 at 11:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)