Supporters of UCSC’s embattled Community Studies Department are sending the message that they’re prepared for a long fight with another week of planned protests and activities on campus. Three separate events, meant to bolster opposition to university curriculum cuts and staff layoffs, have been slated this week and will be highlighted by a walkout and march on April 29. Organizers of the protests are again claiming, “This is only the beginning.”
“We’re using our training as best we can against what a lot of people think is a serious betrayal,” says Students Informing Now Organizer and Community Studies Major Andrea San Miguel. “There is a sense among students that there is a lack of budget accountability and people are mad. But that anger is being taken to a good place.”
The university has been abuzz with activity since early April, when rumors surfaced that “due to budget cuts,” the school will consider eliminating the 40-year-old discipline that trains community organizers and non-profit professionals. Though UCSC Dean of Social Sciences Sheldon Kamieniecki has denied any concrete plans to axe the major, several professors have said they were told by him and other top officials that the department is on its way to the chopping block.
A week after the news surfaced, an impromptu rally at a UCSC classroom drew a stranding-room-only crowd of hundreds of people, along with several major media outlets and a handful of Santa Cruz city leaders that came out in support of the academic program. The uproar continued last Wednesday, when more than 200 sign-gripping students, professors and activists walked out of class and marched from Quarry Plaza to Kerr Hall, chanting slogans like “money for jobs and education! Not for wars and corporations!”
Supporters are hoping Wednesday’s march, which begins at noon at Quarry Plaza, will be a repeat performance of last week’s event.
The rallies will continue on Thursday, with a “teachout” demonstration organized by several on-campus unions, in which professors and lecturers will hold classes outside in order to exhibit educators who are threatened with layoffs. And ending the week, dozens of activist groups are pledging to “emphasize student rights and UC accountability” at May Day demonstrations taking place campus-wide on Friday.
“We’re really trying to unite with people from all schools who are fighting against tuition hikes and curriculum cuts,” says San Miguel. “There have already been talks about continuing this fight into the fall and next year. In the long term, we’re confident that we’re going to win this.”
For more information on upcoming protests and events, visit the Coalition to Save Community Studies Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=150382125028
