UC Walkout 9/24
- by: Individual students, faculty, and staff at the UC
- recipient: Students, Parents, and anyone concerned with education
If you agree with the following statement, please sign on! You can also forward it to the UC Regents (regentsoffice@ucop.edu) and your California Legislators, telling them why you are in support of the Walkout. If you are a UC undergraduate, faculty, or staff, sign on with these websites:
Undergrads: http://www.ucstudentwalkout.com/
Grads: http://www.gradstudentstoppage.com/
Faculty: http://ucfacultywalkout.com/
Why We're Walking Out
On Thursday, September 24, an unprecedented coalition of UC faculty,
undergraduates, grad students, postdocs, lecturers, and staff will
engage in a system-wide walkout. As UC Davis graduate students and
lecturers concerned with the quality of all UC students' education, we
write to clarify the reasons for this walkout as we understand them.
This summer, UC administration began implementing fee hikes,
enrollment cuts, layoffs, furloughs, and increased class sizes that
jeopardize our education, endanger the livelihood of the most
vulnerable employees, and compromise the fundamental mission of the
University. This is not simply another budget cut; although the UC
Regents repeatedly state their commitment to "quality, access, and
affordability," their recent actions undermine all three principles.
These decisions affect all sectors of our campuses and communities,
and threaten the fundamental character of the university.
On Thursday, we walk out to support our faculty, who are concerned
about the undermining of shared governance. Their traditional
involvement in decision-making processes was subverted this summer
when President Yudof assumed emergency powers, ignored the
recommendations of the Academic Council, and created the Gould
Commission on the future of the UC, originally with no faculty from
any UC College of Letters and Science present.
We walk out because faculty furloughs threaten to lower the quality of
UC education. Whether taken on instructional days or not, furloughs
suggest faculty should spend less time either on research or
instruction, both of which are key components of UC's prestige.
(Nonetheless, the faculty walkout statement requests an end to
furloughs only for salaries below $40,000.)
We walk out to support our university staff members. The UC Office of
the President demanded unlimited rights to furloughs and layoffs from
University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE), who are
striking on 9/24 in response to unfair labor practices. They will be
joined by the Coalition of University Employees (CUE). Our education
depends on the vital role of UC staff, who make possible the day-to-
day functioning of this university.
We walk out to support our undergraduates and their families, who now
find themselves carrying a majority of the burden of funding this
university. President Yudof%u2019s proposal to raise student fees will
bring tuition to over $10,000, forcing undergraduates to take larger
loans, work full-time jobs, or drop out. While student fees continue
to rise, course offerings are cut, extending the time needed to
graduate. Lecturers and postdocs represented by the American
Federation of Teachers Unit 18 have been laid off after UCOP refused
to consider furloughs or answer questions, canceling required courses
just weeks before classes begin. UC prides itself on making the
world's best research faculty available to California's best students,
regardless of income. Recent administrative actions threaten to strip
students of that promise.
We walk out to support our fellow graduate students, who face proposed
fee increases alongside heavier workloads, reduced lab assistantships
and teaching appointments, and greater debt. Administrative responses
to the budget cuts undermine our educational and professional goals,
hinder our ability to offer quality teaching, and diminish the
perceived and actual quality of a UC graduate degree.
The crisis facing UC, while certainly related to the state budget , is
primarily about California's priorities for funding education. After
the 1978 passage of Proposition 13, California's K-12 public schools
dropped from 4th to 45th in the nation. Current budget decisions by UC
administration place our university system on that same path. There
are alternatives to fees and furloughs, including pay cuts--not pay
raises--for the highest-paid UC executives, and the tapping of surplus
funds from medical and extension units, a successful strategy during
the 1990s' budget crisis.
The UC Regents' actions accelerate a long-standing process of
privatization and have led us, today, to a crisis we cannot and will
not stand for. On September 24, we will not conduct official
university business. Instead, we will gather at our university for
education of a broader sort. We walk out to educate students and all
Californians about what the University of California has been, what it
promises to be, and what it might be in the future. We walk out to
force the administration to seek alternatives to fee hikes and
furloughs, and to demand that legislators prioritize state funding for
education. We walk out to demonstrate that this university belongs to
its students, its community, and its workers. We walk out on 9/24 so
that come 2010, we still have a public university in California: a
university solidly committed to quality, access, and affordability.
Sincerely,
Toby Beauchamp, Graduate Student, UC Davis
Kristin Koster, PhD, Lecturer, UC Davis
Vanessa Rapatz, Graduate Student, UC Davis
Kaitlin Walker, Graduate Student, UC Davis
Sources:
34% fee increase:
Bizjak, Tony and Julie Johnson. %u201CUC Students Face Huge Fee Increases.%u201D
Sacramento Bee. McClatchy. 17 Sep 2009: A1 . Print.
On the Gould Commission and shared governance:
Cole, Catherine. %u201CDear Students.%u201D 2 Sept. 2009. <http://www.scribd.com/
doc/19419629/Catherine-M-Cole-Letter-UC-Berkeley>
Faculty demand for no furloughs for salaries under $40,000:
%u201CUC Faculty Walkout - September 24.%u201D N.p. n.d. Web. 18 Sep 2009.
< http://ucfacultywalkout.com/>
On UCOP demand for unlimited UPTE furloughs :
%u201CWe Are Going On Strike.%u201D University Professional and Technical
Employees. UPTE. 18 Sep 2009. Web. 18 Sep 2009.
<http://www.upte.org/strike-sept-09.pdf>
On UCOP%u2019s refusal to answer questions from AFT (about Unit 18):
Sawislak, Karen. %u201CDear Peter.%u201D 23 July 2009.
<http://www.cft.org/uploads/uc/docs/furlough%20plan%20-%20rfi
%207-23-09.pdf>
And
Chester, Peter. %u201CRe: Salary Reduction/Furlough Program.%u201D 31 Aug 2009.
<http://www.cft.org/uploads/uc/docs/Unit18exemption.pdf>
And
%u201CCalifornia Federation of Teachers.%u201D <http://www.cft.org/>
CUE contact: Stephanie Dorton <ladyesq2b@yahoo.com>
On K-12 public schools and Prop 13:
Fergeson, Margaret. %u201CHow We Got to this Crisis: Some Information about
CA History.%u201D
<http://www.ucfacultywalkout.com/How_We_Got_to_Where_We_Are.pdf>
On alternatives:
<http://berkeleycuts.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/ARE-THERE-OTHER-
SOLUTIONS.pdf>
And
Frequently Asked Questions. %u201CWhat about tuition? Is it really possible
to roll it back to 2008-2009 levels? Aren%u2019t lots of those funds from
the revenue-generating sector restricted?%u201D <http://
www.gradstudentstoppage.com/faq/>
And
Schwartz, Charles. %u201CFinancing the University: Part 20.%u201D
UniversityProbe.org. N.p. 10 Sep 2009. Web. 18 Sep 2009.
And
Clark, T.J., George Lakoff, Laura Nader, Nancy Scheper-Hughes and
Charles Schwartz. %u201CThe University in Crisis - The Dismantling and
Destruction of the University of California.%u201D UC Berkeley Anthropology
Department. UC Berkeley Kroeber Hall. 14 Sep 2009. Colloquium.
And
<http://ucpay.globl.org/worksheet.php?proposal=16>
Additional Sources:
%u201CResolution in Support of the September 24th UC-Wide Walkout.%u201D
University of California Students Association. 13 Sep 2009. Web. 18
Sep 2009.
<http://www.ucsa.org/board/resolutions/
UC%20Walk%20Out%20Resolution%20Final.pdf >
%u201CUC Student Walkout.%u201D <http://www.ucstudentwalkout.com/>
%u201CUC Faculty Walkout - September 24.%u201D N.p. n.d. Web. 18 Sep 2009.
< http://ucfacultywalkout.com/>
%u201CAn Open Letter to UC Graduate Students.%u201D
< http://www.gradstudentstoppage.com/>
Sign PetitionSign PetitionUndergrads: http://www.ucstudentwalkout.com/
Grads: http://www.gradstudentstoppage.com/
Faculty: http://ucfacultywalkout.com/
Why We're Walking Out
On Thursday, September 24, an unprecedented coalition of UC faculty,
undergraduates, grad students, postdocs, lecturers, and staff will
engage in a system-wide walkout. As UC Davis graduate students and
lecturers concerned with the quality of all UC students' education, we
write to clarify the reasons for this walkout as we understand them.
This summer, UC administration began implementing fee hikes,
enrollment cuts, layoffs, furloughs, and increased class sizes that
jeopardize our education, endanger the livelihood of the most
vulnerable employees, and compromise the fundamental mission of the
University. This is not simply another budget cut; although the UC
Regents repeatedly state their commitment to "quality, access, and
affordability," their recent actions undermine all three principles.
These decisions affect all sectors of our campuses and communities,
and threaten the fundamental character of the university.
On Thursday, we walk out to support our faculty, who are concerned
about the undermining of shared governance. Their traditional
involvement in decision-making processes was subverted this summer
when President Yudof assumed emergency powers, ignored the
recommendations of the Academic Council, and created the Gould
Commission on the future of the UC, originally with no faculty from
any UC College of Letters and Science present.
We walk out because faculty furloughs threaten to lower the quality of
UC education. Whether taken on instructional days or not, furloughs
suggest faculty should spend less time either on research or
instruction, both of which are key components of UC's prestige.
(Nonetheless, the faculty walkout statement requests an end to
furloughs only for salaries below $40,000.)
We walk out to support our university staff members. The UC Office of
the President demanded unlimited rights to furloughs and layoffs from
University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE), who are
striking on 9/24 in response to unfair labor practices. They will be
joined by the Coalition of University Employees (CUE). Our education
depends on the vital role of UC staff, who make possible the day-to-
day functioning of this university.
We walk out to support our undergraduates and their families, who now
find themselves carrying a majority of the burden of funding this
university. President Yudof%u2019s proposal to raise student fees will
bring tuition to over $10,000, forcing undergraduates to take larger
loans, work full-time jobs, or drop out. While student fees continue
to rise, course offerings are cut, extending the time needed to
graduate. Lecturers and postdocs represented by the American
Federation of Teachers Unit 18 have been laid off after UCOP refused
to consider furloughs or answer questions, canceling required courses
just weeks before classes begin. UC prides itself on making the
world's best research faculty available to California's best students,
regardless of income. Recent administrative actions threaten to strip
students of that promise.
We walk out to support our fellow graduate students, who face proposed
fee increases alongside heavier workloads, reduced lab assistantships
and teaching appointments, and greater debt. Administrative responses
to the budget cuts undermine our educational and professional goals,
hinder our ability to offer quality teaching, and diminish the
perceived and actual quality of a UC graduate degree.
The crisis facing UC, while certainly related to the state budget , is
primarily about California's priorities for funding education. After
the 1978 passage of Proposition 13, California's K-12 public schools
dropped from 4th to 45th in the nation. Current budget decisions by UC
administration place our university system on that same path. There
are alternatives to fees and furloughs, including pay cuts--not pay
raises--for the highest-paid UC executives, and the tapping of surplus
funds from medical and extension units, a successful strategy during
the 1990s' budget crisis.
The UC Regents' actions accelerate a long-standing process of
privatization and have led us, today, to a crisis we cannot and will
not stand for. On September 24, we will not conduct official
university business. Instead, we will gather at our university for
education of a broader sort. We walk out to educate students and all
Californians about what the University of California has been, what it
promises to be, and what it might be in the future. We walk out to
force the administration to seek alternatives to fee hikes and
furloughs, and to demand that legislators prioritize state funding for
education. We walk out to demonstrate that this university belongs to
its students, its community, and its workers. We walk out on 9/24 so
that come 2010, we still have a public university in California: a
university solidly committed to quality, access, and affordability.
Sincerely,
Toby Beauchamp, Graduate Student, UC Davis
Kristin Koster, PhD, Lecturer, UC Davis
Vanessa Rapatz, Graduate Student, UC Davis
Kaitlin Walker, Graduate Student, UC Davis
Sources:
34% fee increase:
Bizjak, Tony and Julie Johnson. %u201CUC Students Face Huge Fee Increases.%u201D
Sacramento Bee. McClatchy. 17 Sep 2009: A1 . Print.
On the Gould Commission and shared governance:
Cole, Catherine. %u201CDear Students.%u201D 2 Sept. 2009. <http://www.scribd.com/
doc/19419629/Catherine-M-Cole-Letter-UC-Berkeley>
Faculty demand for no furloughs for salaries under $40,000:
%u201CUC Faculty Walkout - September 24.%u201D N.p. n.d. Web. 18 Sep 2009.
< http://ucfacultywalkout.com/>
On UCOP demand for unlimited UPTE furloughs :
%u201CWe Are Going On Strike.%u201D University Professional and Technical
Employees. UPTE. 18 Sep 2009. Web. 18 Sep 2009.
<http://www.upte.org/strike-sept-09.pdf>
On UCOP%u2019s refusal to answer questions from AFT (about Unit 18):
Sawislak, Karen. %u201CDear Peter.%u201D 23 July 2009.
<http://www.cft.org/uploads/uc/docs/furlough%20plan%20-%20rfi
%207-23-09.pdf>
And
Chester, Peter. %u201CRe: Salary Reduction/Furlough Program.%u201D 31 Aug 2009.
<http://www.cft.org/uploads/uc/docs/Unit18exemption.pdf>
And
%u201CCalifornia Federation of Teachers.%u201D <http://www.cft.org/>
CUE contact: Stephanie Dorton <ladyesq2b@yahoo.com>
On K-12 public schools and Prop 13:
Fergeson, Margaret. %u201CHow We Got to this Crisis: Some Information about
CA History.%u201D
<http://www.ucfacultywalkout.com/How_We_Got_to_Where_We_Are.pdf>
On alternatives:
<http://berkeleycuts.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/ARE-THERE-OTHER-
SOLUTIONS.pdf>
And
Frequently Asked Questions. %u201CWhat about tuition? Is it really possible
to roll it back to 2008-2009 levels? Aren%u2019t lots of those funds from
the revenue-generating sector restricted?%u201D <http://
www.gradstudentstoppage.com/faq/>
And
Schwartz, Charles. %u201CFinancing the University: Part 20.%u201D
UniversityProbe.org. N.p. 10 Sep 2009. Web. 18 Sep 2009.
And
Clark, T.J., George Lakoff, Laura Nader, Nancy Scheper-Hughes and
Charles Schwartz. %u201CThe University in Crisis - The Dismantling and
Destruction of the University of California.%u201D UC Berkeley Anthropology
Department. UC Berkeley Kroeber Hall. 14 Sep 2009. Colloquium.
And
<http://ucpay.globl.org/worksheet.php?proposal=16>
Additional Sources:
%u201CResolution in Support of the September 24th UC-Wide Walkout.%u201D
University of California Students Association. 13 Sep 2009. Web. 18
Sep 2009.
<http://www.ucsa.org/board/resolutions/
UC%20Walk%20Out%20Resolution%20Final.pdf >
%u201CUC Student Walkout.%u201D <http://www.ucstudentwalkout.com/>
%u201CUC Faculty Walkout - September 24.%u201D N.p. n.d. Web. 18 Sep 2009.
< http://ucfacultywalkout.com/>
%u201CAn Open Letter to UC Graduate Students.%u201D
< http://www.gradstudentstoppage.com/>
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