http://calgeneralassembly.blogspot.com/

***150 Students are at Wheeler Hall and people are being pepper sprayed! Police are surrounding and two have already had a violent confrontation with them. We are asking everyone to come as immediately as possible! ***

STRIKE and Protests Shake the UC!

Across the UC system, thousands of students, workers and faculty mobilized to protest layoffs, furloughs, and a 32% student fee hike.

At UC Berkeley, over a thousand students & workers picketed, rallied on Sproul, marched to Berkeley High & City College, and surrounded California Hall. On day two of the strike, we strengthened the picket lines, organized an “Open University” of workshops and lectures about the budget cuts, marched on worksites, and protested cuts to custodial staff by delivering uncollected garbage to the administration.

At UCLA, students and workers from across the UC system converged to shut down the Regents Meeting. They stopped the meeting three times and at least 14 people were arrested. At UC Santa Cruz, 500 people blocked campus entrances and occupied the administrative building, while at UC Davis, 52 protesters were arrested.

Despite the massive student, faculty and worker resistance, the Regents met, and all but the student Regent voted to approve the 32% fee increase. This comes on top of ongoing reduction of classes and university services, and layoffs and furloughs of workers. These fee increases will exclude working class and immigrant students, and will drastically decrease access for students of color.
Beyond tasering, batoning, and arresting protesters at UCLA and UC Davis, the UCPD seized protest banners, closed down Bears’ Lair during the Open University workshops, despite previous agreements regarding the space’s use, and selectively restricted posting rights for strike-related events at UC Berkeley.

This is just the beginning. The Regents are planning more layoffs, cuts to classes and departments, and fee hikes. Our resistance is just beginning. The next step will be a unified fight-back of all sectors of public education across California on March 4th.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

The Regents chose to eliminate workers from the university.

Yesterday, they chose to shut out entire communities from access to an education.

We will not be silenced!

We have no choice but to fight back!

March today!
Meet @ California Hall @ noon.