UC protest news links ~ not a good day/ season for Crown Jewels. Most are from a Portside post, but I've added Marc Bosquet's latest at How the University Works and a few from my feed reader.
California Students & Faculty Protest Fee Increase As California Students & Faculty Protest University Regents Approve 32 Percent Student Fee Increase
Photos: http://tinyurl.com/yj4hdly & http://tinyurl.com/y8o6afc
Audio: Statement from demonstrators:
http://tinyurl.com/yc267pn, http://tinyurl.com/y88kynf
Audio: Charles Alexande, UCLA Vice Provost for Student Diversity and Director of Academic Advancement Program: http://tinyurl.com/yfwopml
(1) UC Regents Approve 32 Percent Student Fee Increase By Michael R. Blood, Associated Press Writer, San Francisco Chronicle, November 19, 2009
(2) Hundreds rally at UCLA to protest expected 32% increase in student fees, Los Angeles Times, November 19, 2009
(3) Associated Press November 19, 2009, By Michael R. Blood, Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES - Officers armed with beanbag guns stood by as hundreds of protesters chanted, marched and even took over a building Thursday on the UCLA campus, where University of California regents were scheduled to vote on a 32 percent student fee increase.
The UC Board of Regents is considering boosting undergraduate fees - the equivalent of tuition - by $2,500 next year. The average annual fee for a full- time undergraduate would jump to about $10,300 - three times the cost only a decade ago.
For a second day, the proposal drew demonstrators to the University of California, Los Angeles. Some came from other UC campuses and stayed overnight in a tent city.
The demonstrators outside UCLA's Covel Commons building chanted, beat drums and waved signs urging "No fee hikes" and "Wanted: Leadership."
One student was arrested for obstructing an officer. She was cited and released, said UCLA spokesman Phil Hampton.
Campus police in helmets with face shields stood guard outside the conference building. The campus was also being monitored by police from several UC campuses and more than a dozen California Highway Patrol officers armed with beanbag-tossing shotguns.
Laura Zavala, 20, a third-year UCLA student, said she may have to get a second job to afford the increase. "My family can't support me. I have to pay myself," she said. "It's not fair to students, when they are already pinched."
Ayanna Moody, a second-year pre-law student, said she might have to return to community college next year. "I worked so hard to be at one of the most prestigious universities. To have to go back, it's very depressing," she said. "I think it's outrageous," she said of the fee increase. "They've already cut out a lot of our majors and programs. I'd rather they cut some of their (administrator) salaries."
About 30 to 50 protesters staged a takeover of Campbell Hall, a building across campus that houses ethnic studies, Hampton said. They chained the doors shut but were peaceful and there were no immediate plans to remove them, Hampton said.
No arrests had been made, although 14 demonstrators were arrested on Wednesday and cited for failure to disperse or disturbing the peace.
Demonstrations also were held at other UC campuses.
UC President Mark Yudof told reporters Wednesday he couldn't rule out raising student fees again if the state is unable to meet his request for an additional $913 million next year for the 10-campus system. "I can't make any ... promises," he said.
After a series of deep cuts in state aid, and with state government facing a nearly $21 billion budget gap over the next year and a half, Board of Regents members said there was no option to higher fees.
"When you have no choice, you have no choice," Yudof said after a Regents' committee endorsed the fee plan Wednesday. "I'm sorry."
The Los Angeles meeting was repeatedly interrupted by outbursts from students and union members, who accused the board of turning its back on the next generation.
"We are bailing out the banks, we are bailing out Wall Street. Where is the bailout for public education?" asked UCLA graduate student Sonja Diaz.
University of California, Irvine, economics student Sarah Bana told the board, "You are jeopardizing California's future."
(4) Students Storm UCLA Building to Protest Expected UC System Fee Increase, Los Angeles Times, November 19, 2009
_____________________________________________
Marc Bosquet, Occupation Movement Sweeps California, in How the University Works
Arrests of 52 students at UC Davis and others at UCLA ended 1-day occupations at both places, and at San Francisco State, but a new occupation has begun at Berkeley, where the occupiers report that police beat and pepper-sprayed students to re-take the building’s first floor. Students appear to hold the second floor at this time. Two buildings remain occupied by hundreds of students at UC-Santa Cruz, which has been the epicenter of the California occupation movement.
Best source for "occupation news is here." The mainstream press in California and CNN have noticed these events.
UCSC Occupiers’ Demands
Also bookmarked under Whither-U .... relevant to our mission, which is also about teaching and the quality of higher education
The movement to minimize the faculty role in higher education needs to be resisted, in part by explaining to the public why the role is crucial, writes Peter Katopes.
Alternate title: it's not just a river in Egypt. Or that old Orwellian rag in which "suspended" = "withdrawal-of-consent-to-be-on-campused"
Previously blogged here, covered in local mainstream media, Workplace Blog, Inside Higher Education, Student Activism, and Writers Washroom ~ plus tweeted widely.... In case anyone is wonder what this has to do with adjunct equity, allow me to remind you that a) all suspended (or consent to be on campus withdrawn) are adjunct faculty, b) one of them is the president of the Adjunct Faculty Union that c) is under attack by a decertification campaign
Update: Southwestern College Faculty Suspensions blogged via Google Alerts from Student Activism by Angus Johnston, 11/2/09
Inside Higher Ed has a new piece up this morning on the Southwestern College fiasco, bringing the story pretty much up to date. Go check it out.
Also this morning, a source on campus sent me a copy of the latest memo from the administration. It says that hearings for the four suspended (or, to use SWC's preferred phrasing, withdrawal-of-consent-to-be-on-campused) faculty members have been cancelled at the request of the faculty members involved.
"The Human Resources Deparment," the memo continues, "is diligently moving to conclude the investigation on this matter in the hopes that it can be resolved and that the three individuals may be returned to campus this week."
Yet another weird twist in a story composed exclusively of weird twists, in other words. But it gets a little less weird if you look at the text of the law under which the suspensions were authorized.
According to that law, a withdrawal of consent for an individual to be on campus automatically expires after fourteen days, and it cannot be renewed. An individual whose consent has been withdrawn may request a hearing, but the law says nothing about the format of such hearings, who conducts them, or what they are required or empowered to do.
Whether or not "the investigation on this matter … can be resolved" in the next few days, the three suspended professors will be back on campus by the end of the week. The SWC administration's memo notwithstanding, there's no "may" about it. On Friday they go back to work.
Assuming that there are no more weird twists, of course.
Just in case you forgot to write it down or bookmark our last post from Anne McLeer, SEIU 500, here's another reminder from Anne about the Forum on Part-time Faculty Unions with Joe Berry this Saturday Nov 7th in Washington DC
Please join us for a “Forum on Part-time Faculty Unions: A National and Local Movement” on Saturday Nov 7
Saturday Nov 7th, 9:00AM to noon, The Cullen Room at Busboys and Poets @ 5th & K, 1025 5th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001.
Surely you've caught the buzz over U Akron's DNA and NFM VP Matt Williams' dramatic reaction that brought the administrative regulation out of the shadows and put it square in the public eye.
The story moved out of academic and college presses and blogs in short order, jumping into non-academic social and mainstream media, even crossing the Atlantic.
Surely that's worth its own story but not just yet. First, let's add our names to the online petition that Matt created.
The petition calls on The University of Akron to rescind the offending provision of University Rule 3359-11-22 that DNA sampling of applicants for employment.
Please repost on any other blogs, lists, or websites. We want to reach 10K signatures by the end of the week.
Rescind University of Akron DNA Sampling Rule 
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