Vanguard at UC Davis

Elected on November 2nd and inaugurated on January 1st, Governor Jerry Brown has recently managed to spark more debate amongst the students of UC Davis then the latest hook ups on Jersey Shore. Why all the fuss and commotion? Could it be the budget Brown proposed on Monday, or more specifically, could it be the $500 million dollars the UCs will be losing under his proposed budget?

“He cut so much, I knew cuts were inevitable but the repercussions of a slash like that are deep, this will cost students their education. We trusted him,” these were the passionate cries of Fidel Garcia, a third year psychology major, as he spoke of Brown’s “betrayal”.

On November 8th, UC Davis students received a message from UC President Yudof regarding a letter he wrote speaking to the budget crisis and other issues that face UC and CSU systems today. Yudof’s letter comes at a time of great uncertainty and dwindling faith in the Californian government and its devotion to education.

Sentiments of discontent and disappointment are accompanied by widespread lack of awareness on what exactly has pushed a nationally renowned system into crisis. Yudof’s letter attempts to fill the gaps in students’ and professors’ knowledge about fiscal issues that shape the university.

The upcoming election will undoubtedly affect the lives of students across California. Both Attorney General Jerry Brown and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman have promised to reinvest in education and reshape the UC and CSU systems. But how do students feel about the issues? Have they formed opinions on different propositions or researched each candidate’s campaign?

As I have learned from my recent reporting expeditions on the budget crisis, student activism is hardly thriving at UC Davis. This is not to say, however, that nobody is involved; there are a number of students working to increase involvement and awareness about UC issues.

One week ago, students gathered in Mrak Hall to discuss the future of their University and, despite some disagreement between student activists and student government, they agreed on one thing: the necessity of strike.

Since then, an email group, “UCD General Assembly,” has been set up to spread awareness about meetings on campus and other opportunities for mobilizing students and encouraging participation on a broader scale. Student activists want to get campus clubs and organizations involved in the struggle, and student government is currently in the process of communicating with the Capitol. ASUCD representative Osahon Ekhator explained that ASUCD “reached out to…lobbycorps to assess what more we could do in terms of influencing policy and getting into contact with policymakers.”

On September 23, 2010, Fall quarter began at UC Davis. I arrived to campus on time for my first class, with a new pen and a blank notebook. I stepped into Olson Hall, home to a large portion of my academic career, only to be greeted by a giant banner reading WELCOME TO A FAILING SYSTEM and a flustered professor who explained that the syllabi and course materials would be exclusively available online due to budget cuts.

The first day of Fall quarter marked my first day back at UC Davis since the Spring tuition-hikes. After spending a year studying abroad, I was anxious to return to a university in crisis. When I signed up for classes I noticed that many discussion sections, which once served as the only way for students to get close attention from instructors, had been eliminated. Classes had been cut. I was, as promised, welcomed to a failing system.

A couple of weeks ago, a report found that the UC Retirement System was facing a shortfall of more than 20 billion dollars.  These problems appear to stem from decisions made roughly 20 years ago, when UC and its employees stopped paying into the retirement system, largely because they believed it to be over-funded.

The other problem was that the retirement plan took a huge hit with the downturn in the economy and the loss of investments.  In 2008-09 the fund took a 19.2 percent hit.  That will amount to roughly $700 million per year for the next fifteen years.

Senator Dean Florez chaired a meeting on Monday in which he questioned Chancellor Linda Katehi about her decision to eliminate four sports teams including the women’s rowing team along with three of men’s teams.

Senator Florez expressed skepticism about the university’s commentment to gender equity in its college sports program.  Senator Florez, who chairs the Senate Select Committee on Gender Discrimination and Title IX Implementation plans to question the Chancellor in order that she will outline her rationale for the elimination of these programs.

Around 100 UC Davis athletes have filed a “grievance” with the Student Judicial Affairs alleging that the university has engaged in “arbitrary treatment in elmination of teams.”  According to a five page release, the University, “announced their plans without sufficient advance notice for us to make alternate plans or to seek redress within the normal academic calendar, we seek not only a permanent reversal of their plans but also interim reinstatement of our teams before the effective date of their elimination.”

The grievance asks the university to reinstate the Men’s Swimming and Diving Team, Wrestling Team, Varsity Crew Team, Novice Crew Team, and the Men’s Indoor Track Team.  It asks the university to reinstate the teams for at least one year while the decision is reviewed.

Last week Brice Harris chancellor of the Los Rios Community College District, and Linda Katehi, chancellor of the University of California, Davis wrote an op-ed in the Sacramento Bee in which they argue against those who “worry that California – mired in one of the worst financial crises in the state’s history – can no longer sustain its commitment to its students or the master plan.”

Instead they argue that “there is a renaissance in the air.”

The recent events on the UC Davis campus and across the UC’s have focused sustained attention on the issue of hate crimes and hate speech.  The UC Davis campus has seen several incidents involving swastikas including one carved into a Jewish student’s dormitory door in late February. 

On Wednesday, the UC Board of Regents met in San Francisco and received a report from UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi along with two other UC chancellors who described recent events on campus including a noose, KKK symbols and the Compton Cookout, a party that mocked black history month at UC San Diego.

Wednesday’s silent protest drew attention back to the issue of hate incidents that have occurred in the past month not only on the UC Davis campus, but across the UCs.  On Wednesday, 100 students sat in silence on the quad, wearing black and taping their mouths shut.

While administrators and the Chancellor have been quick to criticize the incidents and send out communications, there has been a general sense of a lack of swift disciplinary actions.

Around 100 UC Davis students waged a silent sit-in yesterday in protest against acts of bigotry in the UC System over the past month.  The student wearing all black and tape or other coverings over their mouths, sat in silent protest yesterday.

The first hour was spent in the MU, the second hour at the Silo, and the event ended up at Mrak Hall.  Students every half an hour broke their silence to list their demands and every hour changed places, marching through campus also in silence.

One of the things I promised myself I would never do as I grow older is scoff at the younger generation as though my generation had it right and the younger generations are about to lead us off a cliff.  The fact is that you can go back to the Greek Philosophers and Poets and somehow the younger generation was about to cause the collapse of civilization.

While the generations older than me will roll their eyes at the notion, I do have nearly 20 years on most of the kids in college.  I will preface my comments on the strike a bit, saying it was probably not the safest or brightest idea to attempt to block I-80, at the same time, somehow the kids of 1971 managed to do the same thing, and at least from the cursory view of history, succeed at it.