Tuesday, December 29, 2009
keep california's promise...
The numbers on how to make California's budget work with the aim of preserving the quality of public higher education....Chris Newfield has also linked to Keep California's Promise's working paper demonstrating that it is possible to fund the Cal State's and the UC's with a minimal tax increase ($32.00 per taxpayer). Read it and distribute it. This working paper shows that what the state lack is political will and a proper sense of priorities, not the money to defend public higher education.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Statement in support of the UC Mobilisation (Updated)
Statement in support of the UC Mobilisation
24 November 2009
We the undersigned declare our solidarity with University of California students, workers and staff as they defend, in the face of powerful and aggressive intimidation, the fundamental principles upon which a truly inclusive and egalitarian public-sector education system depends. We affirm their determination to confront university administrators who seem willing to exploit the current financial crisis to introduce disastrous and reactionary 'reforms' (fee-increases, lay-offs, salary cuts) to the UC system. We support their readiness to take direct action in order to block these changes. We recognise that in times of crisis, only assertive collective action – walkouts, boycotts, strikes, occupations... – offers any meaningful prospect of democratic participation. We deplore the recent militarization of the UC campuses, and call on the UC administration to acknowledge rather than discourage the resolution of their students to struggle, against the imperatives of privatization, to protect the future of their university.
Signed:
- Dina Al-Kassim, Comparative Literature, UC Irvine
- Alison Hope Alkon, Sociology, University of the Pacific
- Eyal Amiran, Comparative Literature, UC Irvine
- Susan Antebi, Spanish and Portuguese, University of Toronto
- Aldo Antonelli, Philosophy, UC Davis
- Emily Apter, Comparative Literature, NYU
- Kiran Asher, International Development and Social Change and Women's Studies, Clark University
- Jennifer Bajorek, Cultural Studies, Goldsmiths College
- Mona Baker, Translation Studies, University of Manchester
- Mieke Bal, Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis, University of Amsterdam
- Gopal Balakrishnan, History of Consciousness, UC Santa Cruz
- Karyn Ball, English and Film Studies, University of Alberta
- Stephen Barker, Claire Trevor School of the Arts, UC Irvine
- Tani E. Barlow, History, Rice University
- LeGrace Benson, Emerita, SUNY Empire State
- Leo Bersani, French, UC Berkeley
- Bruce Braun, Geography, University of Minnesota
- Nathan Brown, English, UC Davis
- Darcy C. Buerkle, History, Smith College
- Craig Calhoun, Sociology, NYU
- Emma Campbell, French, University of Warwick
- Julie Carlson, English, UC Santa Barbara
- Anthony Carrigan, English, University of Keele
- Amy Sara Carroll, Latina/o Studies, American Culture, English, University of Michigan
- Allison Carruth, English, University of Oregon
- Mari Castaneda, Communication, University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Paula Chakravartty, Department of Communication, UMass Amherst
- Piya Chatterjee, Women’s Studies, UC Riverside
- Chris Chiappari, Sociology, Anthropology, St. Olaf College
- Kyeong-Hee Choi, East Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Chicago
- Noam Chomsky, Linguistics, MIT
- Joshua Clover, English, UC Davis
- Lin Chun, Department of Government, The London School of Economics and Political Science
- Drucilla Cornell, Political Science, Women’s and Gender Studies, Comparative Literature, Rutgers University
- Maria E. Cotera, Latina/o Studies, American Culture, Women’s Studies, University of Michigan
- Whitney Cox, Languages and Cultures of South Asia, School of Oriental and African Studies
- Daniela Daniele, Anglo-American Literatures, University of Udine
- Eva von Dassow, Classical and Near Eastern Studies, University of Minnesota
- Jodi Dean, Political Science, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
- Richard Dienst, English, Rutgers University
- Jackie DiSalvo, English, Baruch College, CUNY
- Elizabeth DeLoughrey, English, UCLA
- Sergio de la Mora, Chicana and Chicano Studies, UC Davis
- Mattanjah S. de Vries, Chemistry and Biochemistry, UC Santa Barbara
- Hent de Vries, Humanities Center, Philosophy, Johns Hopkins University
- Lisa Disch, Political Science and Women’s Studies, University of Michigan
- Ariel Dorfman, Literature, Duke University
- Robert Dudley, Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley
- Alexander Garcia Düttmann, Philosophy and Visual Culture, Goldsmiths University
- Raymond Duvall, Political Science, University of Minnesota
- Ken Ehrlich, Art Department, UC Riverside
- Norma Field, East Asian Languages & Civilizations
- Gail Finney, Comparative Literature and German, UC Davis
- Paul Fleming, German, NYU
- Aranye Fradenburg, English, UC Santa Barbara
- Anne-Lise François, English and Comparative Literature, UC Berkeley
- James Fujii, East Asian Language and Literatures, UC Irvine
- John Funchion, English, University of Miami
- Alexander Galloway, Media, Culture, Communication, NYU
- Alexander Gelley, Comparative Literature, UC Irvine
- Bishnupriya Ghosh, English, UC Santa Barbara
- Rich Gibson, Education, San Diego State University
- Jill Giegerich, Art, UC Riverside
- Rachel Giora, Linguistics, Tel Aviv University
- Shai Ginsburg, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Duke University
- Ruthann Godollei, Art, Macalester College
- Marcial Gonzales, English, UC Berkeley
- Manu Goswami, History, NYU
- Yogita Goyal, English, UCLA
- Greg Grandin, History, NYU
- Ronald Walter Greene, Communication Studies, University of Minnesota
- Martin Hägglund, Society of Fellows, Harvard University
- Peter Hallward, Philosophy, Middlesex University
- Werner Hamacher, Literature, Goethe University
- Kristin Hanson, English, UC Berkeley
- Harry Harootunian, History, Columbia University and Duke University
- Michael Hardt, Literature, Duke University
- Ulla Haselstein, American Literature, Free University of Berlin
- Rebeca Helfer, English, UC Irvine
- Cressida J. Heyes, Philosophy, University of Alberta
- Katsuya Hirano, History, Cornell University
- Dirk Hoerder, History, Arizona State University
- Jennifer Holt, Film and Media Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
- Grace Kyungwon Hong, Asian American Studies and Women’s Studies, UCLA
- Eugene W. Holland, Comparative Studies, Ohio State University
- Ashley Hunt, Photography and Media, California Institute for the Arts
- Adrienne Hurley, East Asian Studies, McGill University
- Natasha Hurley, English and Film Studies, University of Alberta
- Patricia Ingham, English, Indiana University
- Peter Jackson, English, Birmingham City University
- Fredric Jameson, Comparative Literature and Romance Studies, Duke University
- Micaela Janan, Classical Studies, Duke University
- Priya Jha, English, University of Redlands
- Adrian Johnston, Philosophy, University of New Mexico
- Richard Kahn, Educational Foundations and Research, University of North Dakota
- Peggy Kamuf, French and Comparative Literature, UCS
- Ken C. Kawashima, East Asian Studies, University of Toronto
- Sarah Kay, French and Italian, Princeton University
- Paul Kelemen, Sociology, University of Manchester
- Rosanne Kennedy, School of Humanities, Australian National University
- Susan Blakeley Klein, East Asian Languages and Literatures, UC Irvine
- Suk-Young Kim, Theater and Dance, UC Santa Barbara
- Anna Klosowska, French, Miami University
- A. Kiarina Kordela, German Studies, Macalester College
- David Farrell Krell, Philosophy, DePaul University, University of Freiburg
- Ernesto Laclau, Politics, University of Essex
- Bradley Lafortune, English and Film Studies, University of Alberta
- Neil Larson, Comparative Literature, UC Davis
- Michaeal G. Levine, German and Comparative Literature, Rutgers University
- Suzanne Jill Levine, Spanish and Portuguese, UC Santa Barbara
- Ann-Elise Lewallen, East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies, UC Santa Barbara
- Jacques Lezra, Comparative Literature and Spanish and Portuguese, NYU
- Pei-te Lien, Political Science, UC Santa Barbara
- Akira Mizuta Lippit, Critical Studies, Comparative Literature, East Asian Languages and Cultures, USC
- Michèle Longino, French, Duke University
- Silvia L. López, Spanish, Carleton College
- Heather Love, English, University of Pennsylvania
- Stephanie Luce, Labor Center, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
- G. Akito Maehara, History, Asian American Studies, African American Studies, Chicano Studies, Native American Studies, East Los Angeles College
- Sharon Marcus, English and Comparative Literature, Columbia
- Lyle Massey, Art History, UC Irvine
- Robert May, Philosophy and Linguistics, UC Davis
- Todd May, Philosophy, Clemson University
- Christina McMahon, Theater and Dance, UC Santa Barbara
- Bob Meister, Political and Social Thought, UC Santa Cruz
- Walter Mignolo, Literature, Duke University
- Laura J. Mitchell, History, UC Irvine
- Claudia Moatti, Classics, USC
- Santiago Morales-Rivera, Spanish and Portuguese, UC Irvine
- Patricia Morton, History of Art, UC Riverside
- Fred Moten, English, Duke University
- John Mowitt, Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature, University of Minnesota
- Julian Myers, Visual Studies and Curatorial Practice, California College of the Arts
- Janet Neary, English, Hunter College
- Vasuki Nesiah, International Affairs, Brown University
- Sianne Ngai, English, UCLA
- Joel Nickels, English, University of Miami
- Julia Olbert, English, UC Irvine
- Bob Ostertag, Technocultural Studies, Music, UC Davis
- Thomas Pepper, Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature, University of Minnesota
- Amy Pederson, Art History, Woodbury University
- Kavita Philip, Women’s Studies, UC Irvine
- John Protevi, French, LSU
- Jack Linchuan Qiu, Journalism and Communication, Chinese University of Hong Kong
- Paula Rabinowitz, English, University of Minnesota
- Francois Raffoul, Philosophy, LSU
- Eve Allegra Raimon, Arts and Humanities, American and New England Studies, Women’s and Gender Studies, University of Southern Maine
- Jacques Rancière, Philosophy, University of Paris (St. Denis)
- Jason Reid, Philosophy, University of Southern Maine
- Joseph Rezek, McNeil Center for Early American Studies, University of Pennsylvania
- Gerhard Richter, German, UC Davis
- Denise Riley, Cogut Center for the Humanities, Brown University
- Corey Robin, Political Science, Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center
- William I. Robinson, Sociology, University of California at Santa Barbara
- Avital Ronell, Comparative Literature, Germanic Languages and Literatures, NYU
- Sven-Erik Rose, French and Italian, Miami University
- Andrew Ross, Social and Cultural Analysis, NYU
- Kristin Ross, Comparative Literature, NYU
- Matthew Rowlinson, English, Center for Theory and Criticism, University of Western Ontario
- G.S. Sahota, Asian Languages and Literatures, University of Minnesota
- Simona Sawhney, South Asian Literature and Critical Theory, University of Minnesota
- Martha Saxton, History and Women's and Gender Studies, Amherst College
- Annette Schlichter, Comparative Literature, UC Irvine
- Andre Schmid, East Asian Studies, University of Toronto
- Ronald J. Schmidt Jr., Political Science, University of Southern Maine
- Gabriele Schwab, Comparative Literature, UC Irvine
- Louis-George Schwartz, Film, Ohio University
- Joan W. Scott, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton University
- Louis Segal, History, UC Davis
- Susan Seizer, Communication and Culture, Indiana University
- Jared Sexton, African American Studies, Film and Media Studies, UC Irvine
- Katherine Sherwood, Art Practice and Disability Studies
- Scott C. Shershow, English, UC Davis
- Lewis Siegelbaum, History, Michigan State University
- Brenda R. Silver, English, Dartmouth College
- David Slater, Geography, Loughborough University
- Gavin Smith, Anthropology, University of Toronto
- Zrinka Stahuljak, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, UCLA
- Haim Steinbach, Visual Arts, UC San Diego
- Clay Steinman, Humanities, Media, Cultural Studies, Macalester College
- Christine A. Stewart, English and Film Studies, University of Alberta
- Matthew Stratton, English, UC Davis
- Imre Szeman, English and Film Studies, University of Alberta
- Rei Terada, Comparative Literature, UC Irvine
- Soraya Tlatli, French, UC Berkeley
- Sasha Torres, Information and Media Studies, University of Western Ontario
- Alberto Toscano, Sociology, Goldsmiths University of London
- Dimitris Vardoulakis, School of Humanities and Languages, University of Western Sydney
- Geoff Waite, German Studies, Comparative Literature, and Art History, Cornell University
- Elizabeth Walden, Philosophy and Cultural Studies, Bryant University
- Rebecca Weaver-Hightower, English and Postcolonial Studies, University of North Dakota
- Kathi Weeks, Women's Studies, Duke University
- Silke-Maria Weineck, German and Comparative Literature, University of Michigan
- Leonard Wilcox, American Studies, University of Canterbury
- Julia Bryan-Wilson, Contemporary Art, Visual Studies, UC Irvine
- Michael W. Wilson, Art, UC Riverside
- Mirko Wischke, Philosophy, National University of Kiev
- David Wittenberg, English & Comparative Literature, University of Iowa
- Mayfair Yang, Religious Studies, East Asian Cultural Studies, UC Santa Barbara
- Hu Yong, Journalism and Communication, Peking University
- Slavoj Zizek, Philosophy, University of Ljubljana
- Jack Zipes, German, University of Minnesota
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Statement From Faculty
Dear Chancellor Drake, Members of the UCI Administration, and Library Staff,
We write to let you know that we support the peaceful efforts of UCI students to keep the main library open this Friday after 5pm through Saturday and possibly Sunday. Those of us who are able to do so plan to hold study sessions, participate in teach-ins, and stop by to be with the students in the library during the week-end.
The current library hours, among many other measures, do a grave disservice to our students and staff and are simply an embarrassment for a great research university like UCI. Far from being a mere service to students, the library, where books and study spaces are available, lies at the center of the intellectual exploration that reaches fruition in final papers and exams.
Our action is intended to draw attention to the unacceptable sacrifices made by students and staff at UCI, despite the best efforts of faculty to continue to provide the high quality instruction for which our university is known. We note that our support of this action does not preclude our support of other actions, such as the "write-in" on the budget organized by the Chancellor.
We ask that you do all in your power to ensure that the library action goes forward peacefully, allowing students the full use of library resources before finals week.
Sincerely,
Cecelia Lynch, Political Science
Elizabeth Allen, English
Jane O. Newman, Comparative Literature
Rei Terada, Comparative Literature
Eyal Amiran, Comparative Literature and FMS
Catherine Liu, FMS and Visual Studies
Laura Mitchell, History
Santiago Morales, Spanish/Portuguese
(please send signatures to john.bruning@gmail.com)
Friday, November 27, 2009
Letter of Solidarity
If you would like to add your name to this letter of solidarity initiated by Peter Hallward of Middlesex University London, please email Nathan Brown at nathan.brown11@gmail.com or ntbrown@ucdavis.edu by the middle of next week!
Statement in support of the UC Mobilisation
24 November 2009
We the undersigned declare our solidarity with University of California students, workers and staff as they defend, in the face of powerful and aggressive intimidation, the fundamental principles upon which a truly inclusive and egalitarian public-sector education system depends. We affirm their determination to confront university administrators who seem willing to exploit the current financial crisis to introduce disastrous and reactionary 'reforms' (fee-increases, lay-offs, salary cuts) to the UC system. We support their readiness to take direct action in order to block these changes. We recognise that in times of crisis, only assertive collective action – walkouts, boycotts, strikes, occupations... – offers any meaningful prospect of democratic participation. We deplore the recent militarization of the UC campuses, and call on the UC administration to acknowledge rather than discourage the resolution of their students to struggle, against the imperatives of privatization, to protect the future of their university.
Signed:
• Gopal Balakrishnan, History of Consciousness, UC Santa Cruz
• Karyn Ball, English and Film Studies, University of Alberta
• LeGrace Benson, Emerita, SUNY Empire State
• Nathan Brown, English, UC Davis
• Darcy C. Buerkle, History, Smith College
• Julie Carlson, English, UC Santa Barbara
• Anthony Carrigan, English, University of Keele
• Paula Chakravartty, Department of Communication, UMass Amherst
• Piya Chatterjee, Women’s Studies, UC Riverside
• Noam Chomsky, Linguistics, MIT
• Joshua Clover, English, UC Davis
• Elizabeth DeLoughrey, English, UCLA
• Mattanjah S. de Vries, Chemistry and Biochemistry, UC Santa Barbara
• Hent de Vries, Humanities Center, Philosophy, Johns Hopkins University
• Alexander Garcia Düttmann, Philosophy and Visual Culture, Goldsmiths University
• Aranye Fradenburg, English, UC Santa Barbara
• Manu Goswami, History, NYU
• Greg Grandin, History, NYU
• Martin Hägglund, Society of Fellows, Harvard University
• Peter Hallward, Philosophy, Middlesex University
• Werner Hamacher, Literature, Goethe University
• Harry Harootunian, History, Columbia University and Duke University
• Patricia Ingham, English, Indiana University
• Priya Jha, English, University of Redlands
• Adrian Johnston, Philosophy, University of New Mexico
• David Farrell Krell, Philosophy, DePaul University, University of Freiburg
• Ernesto Laclau, Politics, University of Essex
• Jacques Lezra, Comparative Literature and Spanish and Portuguese, NYU
• Akira Mizuta Lippit, Critical Studies, Comparative Literature, East Asian Languages and Cultures, USC
• Todd May, Philosophy, Clemson University
• Patricia Morton, History of Art, UC Riverside
• Fred Moten, English, Duke University
• Jack Linchuan Qiu, Journalism and Communication, Chinese University of Hong Kong
• Joseph Rezek, McNeil Center for Early American Studies, University of Pennsylvania
• Corey Robin, Political Science, Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center
• William I. Robinson, Sociology, University of California at Santa Barbara
• Avital Ronell, Comparative Literature, Germanic Languages and Literatures, NYU
• Louis-George Schwartz, Film, Ohio University
• Susan Seizer, Communication and Culture, Indiana University
• Brenda R. Silver, English, Dartmouth College
• Christine A. Stewart, English and Film Studies, University of Alberta
• Rei Terada, Comparative Literature, UC Irvine
• Sasha Torres, Information and Media Studies, University of Western Ontario
• Alberto Toscano, Sociology, Goldsmiths University of London
• Elizabeth Walden, Philosophy and Cultural Studies, Bryant University
• Mirko Wischke, Philosophy, National University of Kiev
• Slavoj Zizek, Philosophy, University of Ljubljana.
Statement in support of the UC Mobilisation
24 November 2009
We the undersigned declare our solidarity with University of California students, workers and staff as they defend, in the face of powerful and aggressive intimidation, the fundamental principles upon which a truly inclusive and egalitarian public-sector education system depends. We affirm their determination to confront university administrators who seem willing to exploit the current financial crisis to introduce disastrous and reactionary 'reforms' (fee-increases, lay-offs, salary cuts) to the UC system. We support their readiness to take direct action in order to block these changes. We recognise that in times of crisis, only assertive collective action – walkouts, boycotts, strikes, occupations... – offers any meaningful prospect of democratic participation. We deplore the recent militarization of the UC campuses, and call on the UC administration to acknowledge rather than discourage the resolution of their students to struggle, against the imperatives of privatization, to protect the future of their university.
Signed:
• Gopal Balakrishnan, History of Consciousness, UC Santa Cruz
• Karyn Ball, English and Film Studies, University of Alberta
• LeGrace Benson, Emerita, SUNY Empire State
• Nathan Brown, English, UC Davis
• Darcy C. Buerkle, History, Smith College
• Julie Carlson, English, UC Santa Barbara
• Anthony Carrigan, English, University of Keele
• Paula Chakravartty, Department of Communication, UMass Amherst
• Piya Chatterjee, Women’s Studies, UC Riverside
• Noam Chomsky, Linguistics, MIT
• Joshua Clover, English, UC Davis
• Elizabeth DeLoughrey, English, UCLA
• Mattanjah S. de Vries, Chemistry and Biochemistry, UC Santa Barbara
• Hent de Vries, Humanities Center, Philosophy, Johns Hopkins University
• Alexander Garcia Düttmann, Philosophy and Visual Culture, Goldsmiths University
• Aranye Fradenburg, English, UC Santa Barbara
• Manu Goswami, History, NYU
• Greg Grandin, History, NYU
• Martin Hägglund, Society of Fellows, Harvard University
• Peter Hallward, Philosophy, Middlesex University
• Werner Hamacher, Literature, Goethe University
• Harry Harootunian, History, Columbia University and Duke University
• Patricia Ingham, English, Indiana University
• Priya Jha, English, University of Redlands
• Adrian Johnston, Philosophy, University of New Mexico
• David Farrell Krell, Philosophy, DePaul University, University of Freiburg
• Ernesto Laclau, Politics, University of Essex
• Jacques Lezra, Comparative Literature and Spanish and Portuguese, NYU
• Akira Mizuta Lippit, Critical Studies, Comparative Literature, East Asian Languages and Cultures, USC
• Todd May, Philosophy, Clemson University
• Patricia Morton, History of Art, UC Riverside
• Fred Moten, English, Duke University
• Jack Linchuan Qiu, Journalism and Communication, Chinese University of Hong Kong
• Joseph Rezek, McNeil Center for Early American Studies, University of Pennsylvania
• Corey Robin, Political Science, Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center
• William I. Robinson, Sociology, University of California at Santa Barbara
• Avital Ronell, Comparative Literature, Germanic Languages and Literatures, NYU
• Louis-George Schwartz, Film, Ohio University
• Susan Seizer, Communication and Culture, Indiana University
• Brenda R. Silver, English, Dartmouth College
• Christine A. Stewart, English and Film Studies, University of Alberta
• Rei Terada, Comparative Literature, UC Irvine
• Sasha Torres, Information and Media Studies, University of Western Ontario
• Alberto Toscano, Sociology, Goldsmiths University of London
• Elizabeth Walden, Philosophy and Cultural Studies, Bryant University
• Mirko Wischke, Philosophy, National University of Kiev
• Slavoj Zizek, Philosophy, University of Ljubljana.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
New UCI Actions
1) RALLY at ADMIN BUILDING
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Time: 12:00pm - 2:00pm
FACEBOOK DESCRIPTION:
MAKE SURE TO WEAR BLACK!!!
Itinerary coming shortly!
The UC has voted to raise tuition by 32%! Students were brutally assaulted at UCLA for using their right of freedom of speech! Cuts are coming from the bottom not the top, while the administrators are getting raises workers are getting fired and student class sizes get larger. It is time that we as students come together in solidarity to tell the UC it's our UC!!!
Come out and hear stories from those affected and find out what we can do from here! Please invite at least 10 others. This is our time in history will we live up to the responsibility?
We stress that this is a peaceful rally, however, we as citizens of the United States can and will exercise of First amendment Rights!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OQtp1UJpOo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UBllA_-d7w&feature=related
2) Liberate Langson Library!
FROM: Friday, December 4, 2009 at 4:00pm
TO: Friday, December 11, 2009 at 5:00pm
AT: Langston Hughes Library
FACEBOOK DESCRIPTION
When they raise our tuition 32%, even studying is a form of resistance.
All quarter, our library hours have been inadequate, and UCI administration is threatening to lay off even more library staff. The quality of our education falters when our library closes at 11pm during the week at 5pm on weekends. Even Finals Week is not a good enough excuse for extended library hours--the weekend before finals, the library is open:
8am-5pm on Friday, December 4
1pm-5pm on Saturday, December 5
1pm-5pm on Sunday, December 6
8am-11pm throughout Finals Week
We don't need a crowded study hall (Gateway), we need books and respect!
-----------------
Friday December 4:
3pm: Teach-in outside Langson Library about the budget cuts
4pm: Study-in inside Langson Library!
5pm-All Night: teach-ins, workshops, films, music, food, quiet study areas, and group study areas.
Saturday December 5:
1pm: General Assembly, Graduate Reading Room
(schedule subject to change)
The study-in will continue indefinitely!
Be sure to bring study materials, blankets, and food!
We are trying to make the Library into a safe space for queer/trans and AB540 students; please post suggestions below. All bathrooms will be gender-neutral!
If there is something you want to see happen at the study-in, DO IT! You don't need anyone's
permission, just post what you're doing on this page or announce it at Langson!
Finally, because the Library is named after Jack Langson, local real estate baron, it is appropriate that we rename it to something relevant to students. It appears we have near-unanimity: it will be called Langston Hughes Library!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Time: 12:00pm - 2:00pm
FACEBOOK DESCRIPTION:
MAKE SURE TO WEAR BLACK!!!
Itinerary coming shortly!
The UC has voted to raise tuition by 32%! Students were brutally assaulted at UCLA for using their right of freedom of speech! Cuts are coming from the bottom not the top, while the administrators are getting raises workers are getting fired and student class sizes get larger. It is time that we as students come together in solidarity to tell the UC it's our UC!!!
Come out and hear stories from those affected and find out what we can do from here! Please invite at least 10 others. This is our time in history will we live up to the responsibility?
We stress that this is a peaceful rally, however, we as citizens of the United States can and will exercise of First amendment Rights!
2) Liberate Langson Library!
FROM: Friday, December 4, 2009 at 4:00pm
TO: Friday, December 11, 2009 at 5:00pm
AT: Langston Hughes Library
FACEBOOK DESCRIPTION
When they raise our tuition 32%, even studying is a form of resistance.
All quarter, our library hours have been inadequate, and UCI administration is threatening to lay off even more library staff. The quality of our education falters when our library closes at 11pm during the week at 5pm on weekends. Even Finals Week is not a good enough excuse for extended library hours--the weekend before finals, the library is open:
8am-5pm on Friday, December 4
1pm-5pm on Saturday, December 5
1pm-5pm on Sunday, December 6
8am-11pm throughout Finals Week
We don't need a crowded study hall (Gateway), we need books and respect!
-----------------
Friday December 4:
3pm: Teach-in outside Langson Library about the budget cuts
4pm: Study-in inside Langson Library!
5pm-All Night: teach-ins, workshops, films, music, food, quiet study areas, and group study areas.
Saturday December 5:
1pm: General Assembly, Graduate Reading Room
(schedule subject to change)
The study-in will continue indefinitely!
Be sure to bring study materials, blankets, and food!
We are trying to make the Library into a safe space for queer/trans and AB540 students; please post suggestions below. All bathrooms will be gender-neutral!
If there is something you want to see happen at the study-in, DO IT! You don't need anyone's
permission, just post what you're doing on this page or announce it at Langson!
Finally, because the Library is named after Jack Langson, local real estate baron, it is appropriate that we rename it to something relevant to students. It appears we have near-unanimity: it will be called Langston Hughes Library!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
SAVE petition to UC Regents
Petition from SAVE at Berkeley, asking the Regents to delay tuition hikes as we search for other sources of funding.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Petition to Defend Public High
Sign this Petition to support robust public funding for higher ed in CA.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
To the Gould Commission, from Michael Montoya
Sent October 2009
Dear Commissioners,
Thanks for agreeing to serve and for allowing the opportunity to comment.
I have one overriding comment that stems from my research and teaching
across disciplines.
Students increasingly approach their degrees as means to a prescribed end.
I see this in social and natural sciences, medicine, law, engineering and
less so in humanities. The pressures for students to be so oriented are
immense. However, I have found that only the top 1% of those following a
prescribed professional path, adequately imagine their discipline, their
chosen field, their research question, as part of a larger body of
intellectual pursuits. Instead, they learn how to think based upon the
perceived - often accurately so - dictates of their aspired to profession.
The same could be said of research strategies whose horizon are simply the
next grant or next publication. The risks faculty take are few, because we
can ill afford it. Our reward structures are based upon market forces for
certain kinds of knowledge.
While we could cater to this 'market demand' in each of the 5 key areas of
the future UC, I submit that we do a disservice to our state when we allow
market forces to shape what education and research have become.
My vision, and I hope to persuade here, is that education and research are
inherently risky, curiosity driven endeavors. Only under these
circumstances, structurally supported, can students be exposed to and
appreciate the breadth and depth of human intellectual, social, cultural
genius. And only under conditions of risky curiosity driven pursuits, can
innovation spring.
I am deeply saddened to encounter students and colleagues who cannot argue
the merits and flaws of their field of study with any conviction, let
alone informed by philosophical, historical, social or empirical
connection to debates in fields other than their own. This is not
education.
The future of UC requires that the professorate and students swim in a
soup of ideas untethered to a return on investment (ROI) strategy. If we
cannot free ourselves from this intellectual straitjacket, we can never
hope to create imaginative, bold, innovative ideas and problem solutions
to the scale and scope to which our premier UC campuses aspire.
Michael J Montoya
Anthropology, Chicano/Latino Studies
Public Health
Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community
UC-Irvine
Dear Commissioners,
Thanks for agreeing to serve and for allowing the opportunity to comment.
I have one overriding comment that stems from my research and teaching
across disciplines.
Students increasingly approach their degrees as means to a prescribed end.
I see this in social and natural sciences, medicine, law, engineering and
less so in humanities. The pressures for students to be so oriented are
immense. However, I have found that only the top 1% of those following a
prescribed professional path, adequately imagine their discipline, their
chosen field, their research question, as part of a larger body of
intellectual pursuits. Instead, they learn how to think based upon the
perceived - often accurately so - dictates of their aspired to profession.
The same could be said of research strategies whose horizon are simply the
next grant or next publication. The risks faculty take are few, because we
can ill afford it. Our reward structures are based upon market forces for
certain kinds of knowledge.
While we could cater to this 'market demand' in each of the 5 key areas of
the future UC, I submit that we do a disservice to our state when we allow
market forces to shape what education and research have become.
My vision, and I hope to persuade here, is that education and research are
inherently risky, curiosity driven endeavors. Only under these
circumstances, structurally supported, can students be exposed to and
appreciate the breadth and depth of human intellectual, social, cultural
genius. And only under conditions of risky curiosity driven pursuits, can
innovation spring.
I am deeply saddened to encounter students and colleagues who cannot argue
the merits and flaws of their field of study with any conviction, let
alone informed by philosophical, historical, social or empirical
connection to debates in fields other than their own. This is not
education.
The future of UC requires that the professorate and students swim in a
soup of ideas untethered to a return on investment (ROI) strategy. If we
cannot free ourselves from this intellectual straitjacket, we can never
hope to create imaginative, bold, innovative ideas and problem solutions
to the scale and scope to which our premier UC campuses aspire.
Michael J Montoya
Anthropology, Chicano/Latino Studies
Public Health
Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community
UC-Irvine
Monday, November 2, 2009
Gould Commission at UCI
The Gould Commission came to UCI, with our own Chancellor Drake, Cynthia Brown, Mary Croughan and Chris Edley presenting the Commission's structure, its mission and its willingness to listen to a sparse audience, perhaps sixty profs at most with a smattering of students and staff. The Commission asserted that the policy recommendations that they were going to draw up were not to be reactive, but rather to be authentic projections of the better UC that we should become. As expected, Edley was by the far the most aggressive member of the Commission, cross-examining the former Chair of our Faculty Senate in his best lawyerly style when she insisted that the UC should not have differential tuition across the campuses. He turned it around and asked her if UC Merced should offer better financial aid, and if financial aid should not be differential across the various UC's. Jutta Heckhausen paused and said she had not thought of this, and considered UC Merced a special case. I thought that Edley was supposed to be LISTENING, but obviously he has a few ideas of his own that he isn't keeping so secret. At one point, he asked Carol Burke to go home and think about how big a graduate program at UCI should be, and asked her to email him the answer when she had drawn her conclusions. To Julia Lupton's eloquent statement about technology and distance learning as well as distribution of resources for instruction rather than on-line ed, Edley replied, "Of course our initiative will serve professors and instructors first." I was almost reassured, when the gloves finally came off and he expressed exasperation in response to my brief statement about the Commission's managerial ethos, which seemed to neglect an intellectual rationale or vision for the UC: Edley, "I've been in California almost five years four months and twelve days, and I am tired of the ROMANTICIZATION of the UC." To paraphrase, he went on to tell us we aren't all that, and that we need to be remade and reinvented. He was also responding impatiently to an Assistant Professor of Anthropology who had mentioned that the Socratic method had worked for 3000 years and that sometimes, education at the University took place simply as conversation in his office; Ann Van Sant of English suggested the Commission may not have the instruments to measure such interactions: Edley: "You just can't compare the excellence of teaching 400 students with the excellence of conversations you are having with three of them!" I WISH I had recorded his controlled rant about how blind we all are to our limitations, and how deluded we were about our past. Now there are enormous problems with the UC, but when one of the Gould Commission's members is already "tired" of our alleged self-mythologization then, the power that he has can indeed be wielded to destroy an institution's legacy in the name of his version of a the future. In addition, he urged us to have "charity for UCOP" because if we knew about how dire the budget situation was, we would be grateful indeed about how much money we managed to get from the State considering the depth of all the cuts that have been made. This seems persuasive on some level, but I wonder if Edley or UCOP recognizes what it is like for the rest of us. I would like the admin to be a bit more grateful that we are all working at a feverish pace at less pay, watching our community's most vulnerable members lose their jobs as staff and clerical workers live in fear of a pink slip. If I saw a bit more understanding of life on the lower echelons, I might be more inclined to feel "charity" for our leaders. I am already a philanthropist of my own time...to the tune of 7% of my paycheck. Drake seemed to be genuinely distressed when one speaker spoke of how poorly her students wrote and commented that large lecture courses of 400 were perhaps not the best places to learn the skills we assume college students should possess...One emeritus Medical prof suggested that what we should be offering as a University is something more general and broad than simple professional training. Yes, but Edley's 400 haunts us all...Managerial solutions have taken on the allure of a sovereign heroism...and the rest of us are seen as impractical malcontents, unable to fight the right wars, renounce our ideals or our romanticism and take on the new realities...Athenians in short.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Zombie Protest
(credit Jason Davis)In defiance over President Yudof's statements that being President of the UC System was like “Being president of the University of California is like being manager of a cemetery: there are many people under you, but no one is listening,” zombie students rose up in Yudof's cemetery, calling for an end to tuition hikes and layoffs. President Yudof even made an appearance, offering to take "32% more blood for less brains" from passing students.
More photos from the action can be found at the Literary Journalism 21 blog.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
Welcome to the blog of UCI's reporting class in the literary journalism program.
Students in LJ21, a reporting class in the Literary Journalism program at UCI, are documenting the effects of unprecedented budget cuts to UCI in the blog you are reading.
Through this exercise, we will practice interview, observation and fact-finding, in addition to helping illuminate what the budget cuts mean for students, faculty, staff, workers and administration.
Through this exercise, we will practice interview, observation and fact-finding, in addition to helping illuminate what the budget cuts mean for students, faculty, staff, workers and administration.
Monday, October 19, 2009
UCLA teach in
Saving UCLA has a ning up where they are announcing events, teach-ins and actions in response to the budget crisis. There are teaching materials available at the site.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Upcoming Events
October 24
UC Berkeley campus
Statewide organizing conference
Email John Bruning (john.bruning at gmail.com) to carpool
October 29
Zombie protest: the Dead Will Rise Up!
Noon, Aldrich Hall
Come in your finest undead garb!
Tell Yudof that those people in his cemetery have a lot to say!
November 17-19
UCLA campus
UC Regents meeting
UC Berkeley campus
Statewide organizing conference
Email John Bruning (john.bruning at gmail.com) to carpool
October 29
Zombie protest: the Dead Will Rise Up!
Noon, Aldrich Hall
Come in your finest undead garb!
Tell Yudof that those people in his cemetery have a lot to say!
November 17-19
UCLA campus
UC Regents meeting
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Teach-In Oct. 14
“Public Education At Risk?
A Teach-In on The History and Meaning of the Current UC Budget Crisis.”
Wednesday, October 14th
3-5pm at the Student Center, Moss Cove A”
Panelists include Professors Gilbert Gonzalez from Chicano Latino
Studies, Thurston Domina from Education, and Horacio Legras from Spanish
and Portugese. There will be plenty of time for questions and
comments. We are hoping for a open and lively discussion of the
current crisis.
A Teach-In on The History and Meaning of the Current UC Budget Crisis.”
Wednesday, October 14th
3-5pm at the Student Center, Moss Cove A”
Panelists include Professors Gilbert Gonzalez from Chicano Latino
Studies, Thurston Domina from Education, and Horacio Legras from Spanish
and Portugese. There will be plenty of time for questions and
comments. We are hoping for a open and lively discussion of the
current crisis.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Bob Meister's Open Letter to Students
Bob Meister has written a must read open letter to UC students about their tuition dollars. Please circulate this critical analysis of how the UC is pledging future tuition revenues to pay interest on tuition based bonds. The more this happens, the less budget transparency there will be in the future operations of the UC.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Krugman on the Ignorant American
Paul Krugman argues for and Education Bailout, making arguments that the federal government should be concerned about the state of education in this country after the economic downturn has forced state governments to slash education budgets. He emphasizes that throughout the twentieth century, the US was a leader in public education. This is a critical piece of the puzzle here -- private schools did not provide the kinds of mass education that allowed millions of Americans of all classes access to better work, a better life and deeper forms of political participation.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
anthropology colloquium
„Bankers into Populists:
The Texas Tax Clubs and the Mellon Plan, 1924-1928‰
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
3:30-5:00 PM
Room 1208, SSPB (Anthropology Library)
From time to time the United States is swept by populist mobilization in favor of tax policies that redistribute categorically to the rich. These movements present a puzzle–how do regressive tax reforms win popular support? This paper addresses the question with a case study of one of the first and most influential of these episodes: the tax club movement in Texas in the 1920s. The paper illustrates some general dynamics of rich people's movements and illuminates the genealogy of contemporary anti-tax populism in the U.S.
Dr. Martin is the author of The Permanent Tax Revolt: How the Property Tax Transformed American Politics (Stanford University Press 2008) and the co-editor of The New Fiscal Sociology: Taxation in Comparative and Historical Perspective (2009) and After the Tax Revolt: California‚s Proposition 13 Turns Thirty (2009).
Also Note: Toward a Fiscal Social Science: Wednesday, October 14, 12-1:30pm, SSPB 1208. https://eee.uci.edu/09f/60743/
The Texas Tax Clubs and the Mellon Plan, 1924-1928‰
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
3:30-5:00 PM
Room 1208, SSPB (Anthropology Library)
From time to time the United States is swept by populist mobilization in favor of tax policies that redistribute categorically to the rich. These movements present a puzzle–how do regressive tax reforms win popular support? This paper addresses the question with a case study of one of the first and most influential of these episodes: the tax club movement in Texas in the 1920s. The paper illustrates some general dynamics of rich people's movements and illuminates the genealogy of contemporary anti-tax populism in the U.S.
Dr. Martin is the author of The Permanent Tax Revolt: How the Property Tax Transformed American Politics (Stanford University Press 2008) and the co-editor of The New Fiscal Sociology: Taxation in Comparative and Historical Perspective (2009) and After the Tax Revolt: California‚s Proposition 13 Turns Thirty (2009).
Also Note: Toward a Fiscal Social Science: Wednesday, October 14, 12-1:30pm, SSPB 1208. https://eee.uci.edu/09f/60743/
Friday, October 2, 2009
Here's the link to a powerpoint on the UC Budget Cuts for use in brief teach-ins, courtesy of Ameeth Vijay.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Chris Newfield vs. Mark Yudof at the Chronicle
Chris Newfield has published an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education on the UC Budget. It is paired with an article by UC President Mark Yudof on the same topic, more or less. This juxtaposition of viewpoints provides a good overview of faculty advocacy for public higher ed vs. administrative resignation and accommodation. It would be good to have a discussion about how these two viewpoints differ qualitatively in their assessments of the present crisis.
Friday, September 25, 2009
9-24-09 Walkout Press
LA Times - UC campuses hit by protests
LA Times - UC protests loud but peaceful; no major disruptions or problems reported
OC Register - Few UCI students join in fee protest (really bad article)
OC Register - UC staff, students protest state budget cuts (video)
TIME - California's Budget Crunch: The Universities Protest
The Nation - U of Cal Budget Protests Draw Thousands
Other articles about the system-wide actions:
New York Times - California University Cuts Protested
Guardian (UK) - University of California campuses erupt into protest
San Francisco Gate - Thousands march in Berkeley over UC cuts
College Times - Thousands protest tuition hikes, layoffs at University of California
Mercury News - 5,000 at UC Berkeley protest tuition increases, furloughs, layoffs
Inside Higher Ed - Walkouts across U. of California
LA Times - UC protests loud but peaceful; no major disruptions or problems reported
OC Register - Few UCI students join in fee protest (really bad article)
OC Register - UC staff, students protest state budget cuts (video)
TIME - California's Budget Crunch: The Universities Protest
The Nation - U of Cal Budget Protests Draw Thousands
Other articles about the system-wide actions:
New York Times - California University Cuts Protested
Guardian (UK) - University of California campuses erupt into protest
San Francisco Gate - Thousands march in Berkeley over UC cuts
College Times - Thousands protest tuition hikes, layoffs at University of California
Mercury News - 5,000 at UC Berkeley protest tuition increases, furloughs, layoffs
Inside Higher Ed - Walkouts across U. of California
Press Release for 9-24-09: A Day of Action
1000 rally against fee increases and layoffs at UC Irvine
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 24, 2009 - At noon today, in an unprecedented action at the University of California in Irvine, five hundred undergraduate and graduate students, professors, staff, and workers packed the steps outside Aldrich Hall, the administration building to rally against budget cuts and their implementation by the administration, fee increases, layoffs, and furloughs. Speakers chastised the state legislature and UC administration, while emphasizing the importance of public higher education. The protesters joined the UPTE workers and their picket lines before the speakers rallied the crowd with speeches about collective action.
At UCI, 1000 faculty, students, union members and staff participated in actions throughout the day, including the picket, an improvised, street theater performance on the Claire Trevor School of the Arts campus and a teach-in in the Social Science Plaza at 2 pm. An evening teach-in about the budget crisis and the history of UCI activism had over one hundred in attendance. Numerous professors and graduate students also held impromptu teach-ins in their morning classes before walking out.
These actions were carried out in coordination with a UC-wide day of action, which saw protests at all of the ten UC campuses, with over to 5,000 protesters gathered at UC Berkeley alone and over 700 at UCLA.
Catherine Liu, Associate Professor in the School of Humanities, told students at the rally, "Educate, empower yourselves, learn what you're not supposed to learn, take charge of where you're going, figure out why the UC was virtually tuition free in 1972."
Many students attended because of rising student fees, class cuts, and outrage over administrative pay increases, but there was also strong support for campus workers, who are facing furloughs and have seen 7 groundskeepers and janitors laid off. Faculty and lecturers are also expecting furloughs this year. Protesters held signs reading "Chop
From the Top" and "Lay Off Yudof," in reference to UC President Mark Yudof.
Next steps have not been announced yet, but there will likely be additional coordinated actions in the coming months. Activists at the southern schools, such as UCLA and UC Irvine, are anticipating actions at the UC Regents' meeting in November, where the Regents are scheduled to make a final decision on mid-year fee increases which would bring fees to over $10,000 for the first time in UC history.
For more information:
Contact
John Bruning jbruning@uci.edu (262) 894-7667
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 24, 2009 - At noon today, in an unprecedented action at the University of California in Irvine, five hundred undergraduate and graduate students, professors, staff, and workers packed the steps outside Aldrich Hall, the administration building to rally against budget cuts and their implementation by the administration, fee increases, layoffs, and furloughs. Speakers chastised the state legislature and UC administration, while emphasizing the importance of public higher education. The protesters joined the UPTE workers and their picket lines before the speakers rallied the crowd with speeches about collective action.
At UCI, 1000 faculty, students, union members and staff participated in actions throughout the day, including the picket, an improvised, street theater performance on the Claire Trevor School of the Arts campus and a teach-in in the Social Science Plaza at 2 pm. An evening teach-in about the budget crisis and the history of UCI activism had over one hundred in attendance. Numerous professors and graduate students also held impromptu teach-ins in their morning classes before walking out.
These actions were carried out in coordination with a UC-wide day of action, which saw protests at all of the ten UC campuses, with over to 5,000 protesters gathered at UC Berkeley alone and over 700 at UCLA.
Catherine Liu, Associate Professor in the School of Humanities, told students at the rally, "Educate, empower yourselves, learn what you're not supposed to learn, take charge of where you're going, figure out why the UC was virtually tuition free in 1972."
Many students attended because of rising student fees, class cuts, and outrage over administrative pay increases, but there was also strong support for campus workers, who are facing furloughs and have seen 7 groundskeepers and janitors laid off. Faculty and lecturers are also expecting furloughs this year. Protesters held signs reading "Chop
From the Top" and "Lay Off Yudof," in reference to UC President Mark Yudof.
Next steps have not been announced yet, but there will likely be additional coordinated actions in the coming months. Activists at the southern schools, such as UCLA and UC Irvine, are anticipating actions at the UC Regents' meeting in November, where the Regents are scheduled to make a final decision on mid-year fee increases which would bring fees to over $10,000 for the first time in UC history.
For more information:
Contact
John Bruning jbruning@uci.edu (262) 894-7667
Thursday, September 24, 2009
raw footage of noontime rally
That you Courtney Santos for sending this link to me!
noon rally at uci. It is raw footage of Catherine Liu's speech.
noon rally at uci. It is raw footage of Catherine Liu's speech.
new link to "Understanding the Crisis"
Here's a link to the newest version of " here! Please download and distribute this one instead of the older version.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
9-24-09: FAQ's
UCI Day of Action: A Note from Concerned Faculty
Defend UCI
Sept 24, 2009
1. What do we hope to achieve with the UC walk out?
For faculty the walk out is a way to call attention to the current budgetary crisis at the University of California. This crisis will lead to a wholesale restructuring of the University. We believe that instead of being spectators to this process, we have to be actors, and that in order for us to act effectively, we need to know the facts and the history of the present crisis.
2. Where can I find these facts?
We have assembled the most objective information on the crisis in a document called “Understanding the Budget Crisis at UCI” which can be accessed through www.defenduci.blogspot.com. Many people will also receive similar information by regular mail or flyers.
3. Why does the walk out fall on the first day of class?
The walk out is a system wide initiative. We did not choose the day. But we think it is important that all campuses have a coordinated action.
4. Does the walk out mean that teachers and students do not go to class?
No. Students have to be in class the first day to register in that class. Once in class, the teacher can invite students to participate in the walk out or may prefer to hold class regularly. The teacher may also want to invite students to discuss the current situation for a few minutes. Whatever the decision of the teacher is, we respect it.
5. Is the walk out the only opportunity to show your support for this initiative?
No. Instructors are also invited to discuss the issue with students throughout the coming year. We believe that the information assembled at www.defenduci.blogspot.com can be instrumental to this end.
6. What comes next?
We hope that throughout the coming year, professors and students will continue to inform themselves about the crisis. Just reading the documents assembled in the blog is a form of participating. After that you may want to take other action: talk to your colleagues, to your friends, to your parents. Share with them the information you now have. Ask them to write to UC President Mark Yudof and to state representatives.
7. Is this politicizing the classroom?
For many years one of the main goals of the university has been the education of responsible citizens able to contribute to the common good. By undertaking this action, we are continuing to fulfill the university's critical mission.
Defend UCI
Sept 24, 2009
1. What do we hope to achieve with the UC walk out?
For faculty the walk out is a way to call attention to the current budgetary crisis at the University of California. This crisis will lead to a wholesale restructuring of the University. We believe that instead of being spectators to this process, we have to be actors, and that in order for us to act effectively, we need to know the facts and the history of the present crisis.
2. Where can I find these facts?
We have assembled the most objective information on the crisis in a document called “Understanding the Budget Crisis at UCI” which can be accessed through www.defenduci.blogspot.com. Many people will also receive similar information by regular mail or flyers.
3. Why does the walk out fall on the first day of class?
The walk out is a system wide initiative. We did not choose the day. But we think it is important that all campuses have a coordinated action.
4. Does the walk out mean that teachers and students do not go to class?
No. Students have to be in class the first day to register in that class. Once in class, the teacher can invite students to participate in the walk out or may prefer to hold class regularly. The teacher may also want to invite students to discuss the current situation for a few minutes. Whatever the decision of the teacher is, we respect it.
5. Is the walk out the only opportunity to show your support for this initiative?
No. Instructors are also invited to discuss the issue with students throughout the coming year. We believe that the information assembled at www.defenduci.blogspot.com can be instrumental to this end.
6. What comes next?
We hope that throughout the coming year, professors and students will continue to inform themselves about the crisis. Just reading the documents assembled in the blog is a form of participating. After that you may want to take other action: talk to your colleagues, to your friends, to your parents. Share with them the information you now have. Ask them to write to UC President Mark Yudof and to state representatives.
7. Is this politicizing the classroom?
For many years one of the main goals of the university has been the education of responsible citizens able to contribute to the common good. By undertaking this action, we are continuing to fulfill the university's critical mission.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Understanding the crisis at UC
Understanding the Crisis at the UC is another way to access a direct and permanent link to a critical research document that contains facts and figures about the financial situation of the UC in light of the state of California's budget.
Please download and distribute as widely as possible!
Please download and distribute as widely as possible!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Flyers and Informational Material
Flyers to publicize the 9 24 event at Noon at the UCI flagpoles, and information to polish your political arguments can be found at: http://groups.google.com/group/defend-uci-students-and-workers/files
You can also then join the listserv on which many organizational and political details are hammered out.
9-24-09 Program
Program
Day of Action
UCI September 24, 2009 Events
On-Going Action: 6am- 5pm: Support the UPTE (University Professional and Technical Employees) Strike! Day-Long Picket at the Flagpoles
9-10 am: Act Out Interactive Drama: Arts Plaza
9-12am: Morning Teach-ins within classes all over the campus...check back for information about classes and schedules
12 NOON RALLY AT THE FLAGPOLES: PLEASE COME SUPPORT UCI AND PROTEST THE BUDGET CUTS TO PUBLIC HIGHER ED IN CALIFORNIA.
FEATURING: SPEAKERS REPRESENTING STUDENTS, FACULTY AND WORKERS!
This is our major event of the day where we hope for a large crowd! If there is only one event you can make on 9/24/09, this should be your priority.
2-3pm: Rally in the Social Science Plaza
5-7pm: Evening Teach-ins: Humanities Gateway 1010
(please check back for latest schedule of events)
Day of Action
UCI September 24, 2009 Events
On-Going Action: 6am- 5pm: Support the UPTE (University Professional and Technical Employees) Strike! Day-Long Picket at the Flagpoles
9-10 am: Act Out Interactive Drama: Arts Plaza
9-12am: Morning Teach-ins within classes all over the campus...check back for information about classes and schedules
12 NOON RALLY AT THE FLAGPOLES: PLEASE COME SUPPORT UCI AND PROTEST THE BUDGET CUTS TO PUBLIC HIGHER ED IN CALIFORNIA.
FEATURING: SPEAKERS REPRESENTING STUDENTS, FACULTY AND WORKERS!
This is our major event of the day where we hope for a large crowd! If there is only one event you can make on 9/24/09, this should be your priority.
2-3pm: Rally in the Social Science Plaza
5-7pm: Evening Teach-ins: Humanities Gateway 1010
(please check back for latest schedule of events)
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Press Release for 9-24-09: A Day of Action
9-24-09
A Day of Action At UCI:
Defending Public Higher Education in California
September 24, 2009 is a Day of Action to Defend UCI: An unprecedented coalition of concerned faculty, staff and students are planning a series of actions on this day to protest the devastating budget cuts to public education across the state. We are working together to defend the proud legacy of public service and academic excellence that have been the hallmarks of the University of California.
UC students still deserve an affordable and excellent education. UC faculty and employees deserve adequate compensation and rewards for their expertise and experience. It is only through collective action that we can end the legislative inertia in Sacramento, elect visionary leaders, and restore the promise of the Golden State.
We want to urge students, staff and faculty to join us in taking action to SAVE PUBLIC EDUCATION IN CALIFORNIA and to DEFEND THE UC. We join our colleagues on other UC campuses, in the State University system, the community colleges, the high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools to protest these devastating cuts in state support for education.
The UC is a common good and a public asset that belongs to the state and people of California. California has been and should continue to be a leader and not a follower in public higher education. In the global economy, California's culture of innovation, creativity and tolerance has provided a model for the entire world.
We must all make strong arguments to local and national media, as well as to our state legislators that it is critical to preserve and defend the UC. There are those who believe that California can no longer afford to support the best public university system in the world. We think we cannot afford to be myopic and pessimistic about California's ability to reinvent itself and to grow. We do believe in fiscal discipline and greater transparency not only in the UC, but in state government in general.
We may not be able to afford PR agencies or lobbyists, but together, with sufficient numbers, we CAN make a difference in the political process. We will continue to make a case for the significance of the cultural, economic, and intellectual contributions that UC makes to the state. Every member of the UC community can participate in this effort.
We are aware that not everyone agrees with or can participate in the call for a general walkout on September 24, 2009, but in what will no doubt be a long battle , we can find common ground in preserving and defending access to excellence at the greatest public university in the world.
A true grassroots movement has emerged at UC Irvine, and it is committed to preserving and protecting the promise of public higher education in California.
A Day of Action At UCI:
Defending Public Higher Education in California
September 24, 2009 is a Day of Action to Defend UCI: An unprecedented coalition of concerned faculty, staff and students are planning a series of actions on this day to protest the devastating budget cuts to public education across the state. We are working together to defend the proud legacy of public service and academic excellence that have been the hallmarks of the University of California.
UC students still deserve an affordable and excellent education. UC faculty and employees deserve adequate compensation and rewards for their expertise and experience. It is only through collective action that we can end the legislative inertia in Sacramento, elect visionary leaders, and restore the promise of the Golden State.
We want to urge students, staff and faculty to join us in taking action to SAVE PUBLIC EDUCATION IN CALIFORNIA and to DEFEND THE UC. We join our colleagues on other UC campuses, in the State University system, the community colleges, the high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools to protest these devastating cuts in state support for education.
The UC is a common good and a public asset that belongs to the state and people of California. California has been and should continue to be a leader and not a follower in public higher education. In the global economy, California's culture of innovation, creativity and tolerance has provided a model for the entire world.
We must all make strong arguments to local and national media, as well as to our state legislators that it is critical to preserve and defend the UC. There are those who believe that California can no longer afford to support the best public university system in the world. We think we cannot afford to be myopic and pessimistic about California's ability to reinvent itself and to grow. We do believe in fiscal discipline and greater transparency not only in the UC, but in state government in general.
We may not be able to afford PR agencies or lobbyists, but together, with sufficient numbers, we CAN make a difference in the political process. We will continue to make a case for the significance of the cultural, economic, and intellectual contributions that UC makes to the state. Every member of the UC community can participate in this effort.
We are aware that not everyone agrees with or can participate in the call for a general walkout on September 24, 2009, but in what will no doubt be a long battle , we can find common ground in preserving and defending access to excellence at the greatest public university in the world.
A true grassroots movement has emerged at UC Irvine, and it is committed to preserving and protecting the promise of public higher education in California.
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