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School Budget Cuts
In Other Words wants to hear how budget cuts are affecting your school. Leave us a comment or send us your pictures and videos.
Our email address is inotherwords@kqed.org.
UC Students Occupy Campus Building
The lead story in this morning’s California Report was again about students protesting the University of California regents’ vote to increase tuition. The story includes a report from the UC Berkeley campus, where students occupied a building overnight. One protester who was interviewed said that money is being spent on “construction” instead of “instruction.”
UC Regents Approve Tuition Hikes
Despite protests at University of California campuses across the state, the UC regents voted today to approve a tuition increase that brings the yearly cost of attending a UC to over $10,000. Rob Schmitz filed this report for KQED Radio News.
Forum: UC and CSU Protests
The cuts keep coming and so do the protests. Leaders of the California State University and the University of California systems both have meetings scheduled this week: fee increases and enrollment limits are on the table. Students and faculty plan to voice their dissatisfaction by staging rallies and walking out of classes. KQED’s Forum talked to San Jose Mercury News reporter Lisa Krieger about how community colleges and universities are faring in these financially tough times and how students are reacting.
Ali Reza Talks Art, Politics and Shepard Fairey
This article is republished from WireTap.
By Zoneil Maharaz
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Iranian-American street artist, graphic designer, filmmaker and DJ Ali Reza (a.k.a. ABCNT) creates work that is rooted heavily in politics. His enigmatic trademark design features the upper body of a man in a business suit wearing a bandit mask.
His designs — including a tribute print of slain Iranian protester Neda Agha-Soltan, a poster of Iran president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as Dracula and a graphic of Bill O’Reilly with a gun to the back of his head (guess who the masked assailant is) titled “Kill Bill” — have hit walls from L.A. to Iran and everywhere in between, either by Reza himself or those aligned with his mission.
We caught up with Reza to talk about art and politics.
Zoneil Maharaj: Shepard Fairey is the first artist that comes to peoples’ minds when I show folks your work. Fairey’s been criticized by other artists for his re-appropriation of political images; some have called it plagiarism. You posted the “Disobey Duh Fairey” video on your blog. What’s your opinion of Fairey and artists using fair use images in their work in general?
Ali Reza: [Our work is] in the same genre, if anything, but I feel like my work is more relevant politically and that’s been intentional. I do a lot of different stuff in various mediums so the comparison is maybe true regarding some of my work. I mean, street art is a global movement and Shepard Fairey definitely made his mark, got up all over the world and influenced a lot of people, but at this point his whole gimmick is transparent to a lot of people. Personally, he lost me a long time ago.
As far as plagiarism, just recently Obey Clothing ripped off our crew member Mullett’s (Restitution Press) bandit image , which, in a way, led to the “Disobey Duh Fairey” video. Phantom was already spearheading that project and I happened to catch him on the radio on KPFK just a couple days after we found out about the Res Press situation. I just knew I had to take that audio and narrate it visually to teach people who just don’t know any better. It’s a beautiful thing to represent truth. So, I mean, it is what it is, and people have a right to call him out.
Read more
Youth Perspectives Contest
As part of the Digital Natives project, KQED is holding a Youth Perspectives Contest. We want to hear from young people in the media they use and we’re giving away an iPod touch to prove it.
Send us your reflections on two themes: “Coming Out” and “Friday Night.”
Reflections can take the shape of a video, photo slideshow or written commentary. Selected Perspectives will be published on kqed.org and will air on KQED, 88.5 FM, San Francisco. One grand prize winner for each theme will get an iPod Touch.
Hurry– the deadline for the “Coming Out” theme is Dec. 15th.
The deadline for the “Friday Night” theme is Feb. 8th.
Visit the contest page for more details and email any questions to Amanda Stupi, Digital Natives Coordinating Senior Editor, at astupi@kqed.org.
Managing Money Isn’t Easy
By William Sprecher
I am going to be frank with you. I am not very good with money. It isn’t that I buy things that I don’t need, in fact quite the opposite. The holes in my shoes are a good enough indicator of that. Despite putting off some needed purchases, I still cannot keep track of the money that I have. There seems to be some disconnect between me and my checking account that my bank is all too willing to exploit in the form of hefty over-draft fees.
I still haven’t decided if that cup of coffee was worth $35 and while it was very good coffee, multiply that by a half dozen this year, and well, you get the idea. Lets just say I’ve sunk more than my fare share into this banking black hole but I’ll spare you my over-draft sermon. Recently, I stumbled upon a website dedicated to teaching young people how to save. Despite the graffiti like headings, a few intimidatingly cool silhouettes, and an overall forced urban attitude, I do think What’s Up in Finance is a good resource. It offers information on how and when to choose a credit card, buying a car, and even has a financial careers section if you’re really keen on saving.
Read more
Cal Tackles World’s Record
Students at UC Berkeley created a California roll that was more than 100 yards long, setting a new world’s record in the process.
Visit the The California Report to hear the audio story and look through photos of the event below.
Huge Enrollment Cuts at CSU
KQED Radio News reported this week that the California State University system will cut almost 10% of its current enrollment– that’s about 40,000 students.
Live From Oakland: BRWN BFLO
Photo: Matt Mills
By Kimberly Turner
In the turbulent 1960s, activist, lawyer, and author Oscar Zeta Acosta was an outspoken voice in the Chicano movement. Acosta, best known as the basis for Hunter S. Thompson’s Dr. Gonzo character, fought against injustice and bigotry for a demographic expected to be seen and not heard. While he was no angel (had an affinity for methamphetamines & hallucinogens), Acosta did succeed in one area before his mysterious disappearance: highlighting the Chicano experience. Oakland’s BRWN BFLO is taking Acosta’s message and name (nabbed from Acosta’s semi-autobiography) and setting it to a really loud MPC.
Composed of Giant, Somos One, Big Dan, and Jacinto, BRWN BFLO had quite convoluted beginnings. Somos had created a reputation as a poet on the demonstration circuit at his alma mater, the University of California, Berkeley. At the urging of friends, he linked up with Giant, who was known at the time as DJ Oye. The two started working on projects together. After graduation, Somos began working as a college counselor at a high school when Big Dan walked into his office. He had researched Somos and was determined to record something with him. All three emcees decided they wanted to create a hip-hop crew, but they were in dire need of beats. The trio lucked out during a chance meeting with (then high school student) Jacinto at Emery High School’s African American history celebration where he was performing with the jazz band. Jacinto made them a few beats and the rest of the crew knew they had “something special.”
Roughly a year and a half ago, the newly formed quartet hunkered down to record in Jacinto’s Oakland home. Originally called the Brown Buffalo Project, they built up a strong local following playing community events. After compiling a year’s worth of songs, the group decided to move forward as BRWN BFLO and released their self-titled debut earlier this year. Read more
Unemployment Numbers Hit Home
By Will Sprecher
I was listening to KQED the other day, well, more like a few months ago, and a woman was speaking about how hard it is to get a job for anyone entering the work force today. According to a number of reports, it’s the hardest it’s been since World War II. Until recently, the state of the economy was merely an abstract concept that I had no real connection too. It was just, in essence, a bunch of numbers. Numbers of jobs lost, numbers of unemployed, numbers of record proportion.
Very recently, those numbers have begun to hit very close to home. I have started seeing more and more houses with signs that read “Foreclosure” in big red block letters. The house across the street from my childhood home is empty.
Just the other week my aunt lost her job that she has held with pride for 30 years. She has recently begun accepting unemployment checks. I can only imagine how hard it is to cash them.
Now that I am entering my last few weeks of college, I have begun sending out countless copies of my resume with a cover letter that will never be perfect no matter how many times I proof it. So far I have received nothing in return. Not even a single rejection letter. Just silence.
It was only a few months ago that the woman on the radio spoke of a situation I never thought I’d experience. Now it’s silently staring me in the face. And it wont even tell me no.
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