Personal is Political: University of California Walkout Today

Over the past few weeks, I have been working with coalitions and groups of student activists, student government leaders, statewide student organizers, University faculty, graduate students, and union workers around a Day of Action today, September 24, against the severe budget cuts and student fee hikes.
In the 1970s, student fees were less than $100. The University of California extols the virtue of a free public education, and thus charges “fees” instead of “tuition.” On July 17, 2009, the UC Regents, a board of decision-makers appointed by the Governor of California and including only one student, declared a state of fiscal emergency and granted UC President Mark Yudof emergency powers to make financial decisions. The Regents are now recommending a 32% fee hike, which would push UC student fees over $10,000 for the first time in history.
The CA state legislature cut the University of California system by $813 million. Some of the fault for crumbling access to higher education lies with California’s Republican choke hold on state revenue, which has de-prioritized public education through de-funding and program cuts. And some blame should be attributed to the UC Regents, who have continued to make ill spending choices and granted themselves raises while academic services have been cut (“Execs still get raises as UC cuts staffing, pay“). Instead of disclosing their highly-guarded budget or devoting resources towards serious reform of the California policy on tax revenues, the UC has sought to fund the cuts on the backs of students, workers, and faculty.
Today, we stage a walkout, to show voters that public education is worth funding, to show the UC Regents that the fee hikes and denial of access to higher education are not inevitable, and to allow students to stand in solidarity with faculty, workers, and each other in this battle. At Berkeley, the day’s activities will include picket lines, a rally led by students and faculty alike, and a march around campus, but each UC campus has many different actions planned.

Meanwhile, the University of California is fighting back. Several weeks ago, the UC Office of the President launched a campaign to deflect the panic about student fees through their own channel, targeting state legislators instead of administrators. UC President Yudof tweeted about it:

Of course, the decision-making body that will ultimately decide to raise fees $2500 by Fall 2010 is the UC Regents, not the state legislature.
Upon arriving back at campus this fall, it was apparent how the budget cuts affected the campus. Classes are smaller, professors have been furloughed, and libraries are no longer open on weekends or for 24 hours per day during finals week, which squeezes long-standing academic resources for students. With the fee hikes comes a gentrification of the UC, as students of color are systematically denied access via increased cuts to the multicultural recruitment and retention centers on campus.
The UC Berkeley administration boasts the virtues of a “High Fee, High Aid” model, in which raising fees is morally acceptable by boosting financial aid packages for lower income students. But this forces the shrinking middle class to slip through the cracks– students who could barely afford public education but do not qualify for financial aid or grants now cannot return to school.
As a member of the student senate, I heard a special order last Wednesday evening from UC Berkeley’s Associate Chancellor about the importance of college affordability. Unfortunately, as it turned out, the Associate Chancellor, Linda Morris Williams, received a severance package of more than $100,000 to leave her job in the UC Office of the President, only to be rehired immediately at UC Berkeley. She now earns more than $300,000 yearly. My campus administration sent a delegate to talk about fiscal responsibility who epitomizes some of the excess that has led to the dire public education crisis in California. From a Berkeley student’s perspective, even $30,000 would allow us to keep our libraries open for finals week.
Wednesday, the UC Police Department was observed taking down posters for the walkout. On early morning Bay Area TV stations Wednesday morning, the UC aired advertisements against the strikes and walkout. Berkeley Haas Business School students, as well as graduate student instructors from various departments on campus, have received emails warning of academic and professional repercussions with participation in the walkout. This overreaction tells activists that we are doing something right.
The walkout is not the last step in the fight for access to public education. But it is a first, hopefully large, step toward defending public education in California.