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.About In Other Words
In Other Words is part of the Digital Natives project, a CPB funded partnership between Youth Radio and KQED Public Media.
Forum: UC Berkeley’s Sports Budget
Universities across the state are facing budget shortfalls, resulting in cut classes, faculty walkouts, and spending scrutiny. Close attention is being paid to funding allocation and non-academic areas, like sports, are feeling the heat. The athletic/academic divide is not new but has renewed passion in these tight economic times. Some in the UC Berkeley community are calling for an end to athletic department subsidies. Listen to the discussion on Forum and read more at the DailyCal.org.
Youth Respond to Gang Rape at Richmond High School
Youth Outlook put together this video with footage from a press conference held at Richmond High School earlier this week. It’s great to hear so many youth voices.
Richmond High Responds to Homecoming Rape from New America Media on Vimeo.
Youth Radio Reflects on Education During a Recession
A Student Perspective on the Walkout at UC Irvine
By Prairie Park
September 24, 2009 seemed like a normal first day of school: students were filled with anticipation and excitement for the school year. Even while I walked along Ring Road at 9:30 a.m.(a.k.a. “the crack of dawn” for many college students), there was an array of tables set up to snatch any and every student’s attention. As I wandered through the seemingly never-ending rows of fraternity and club members inviting me to their Welcome Week events, I thought to myself, “Ah, the sweet smell of cardstock in the morning.”
However, as I walked through the less crowded paths to my morning class, I heard small clusters of groups here and there discussing the walkout that was scheduled to take place. Students were deciding whether or not they would attend the rally at noon.
When I got to class, more of my classmates were talking about the walkout. Glad to eavesdrop, I heard one student explaining the effects of the budget cuts and why the walkout was so important. In another conversation, I heard a student talking about how his class was canceled because of the walkout. The professor had written them an email saying, “No class today. UCI under siege.” Even my professor decided to make his opening statement for the year about the positive aspects of the walkout and went on to explain to us why he had decided to continue on with class as scheduled rather than participate in the walkout for the whole day.
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UC Berkeley Walkout
Thousands of students and faculty members at UC Berkeley protested against budget cuts and proposed fee increases. Denise Tejada brought back this video from the scene.
UC Students Energized By Turnout at Protest
Photo: Roseanne Pereira
By Youth Radio Staff
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA- A high energy rally attended by thousands of UC Berkeley students and faculty is building at the university’s Sproul Plaza.
Nineteen-year-old Ricardo Gomez is a student organizer with the Solidarity Alliance and Berkeley Students Against the Cuts. He says the rally is the biggest political action he’s ever seen on campus, with an array of constituencies, from “multicultural and ethnic groups, to just random ass students.”
UC Berkeley police report a turnout of four to five thousand people at Sproul Plaza as of 1:30 p.m.
Gomez says he thinks the rally’s impact will go beyond symbolism. “I think it will lead to UC regents and administrators, and the California legislature evaluating their actions a little more closely – I don’t think they want to see this continuously,” he said. “It’s important for them to see students involved in this because there are more of us than anyone else on our campuses. When we have students, we have power because we have numbers.”
Twenty-year-old Michelle Thomas said she’s been inspired by speakers at the rally, especially the custodial workers. “It’s amazing to hear the perspectives of people who have been hurt the most, who have lost their jobs. They want us to get together. This is just the start – they want us to sign the agreement to support them, and us.” Thomas said she came on her own but plans to join as many groups as possible involved with the action.
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UC Students Walkout Thursday
Students hold signs during a rally at UC Berkeley. Photo: Roseanne Pereira
By Denise Tejada
Students have joined forces with faculty and staff as part of a massive walkout at ten University of California campuses on Thursday. Student protesters say budget cuts have negatively impacted the quality of their education. Youth Radio spoke with 20-year-old Tu Tran who is going into his fourth year as an undergraduate at the University of California, Berkeley. Tran is also the executive vice president of the Associated Students of the University of California.
What role have you played in organizing the walkout?
I haven’t played any direct role, but ASUC has helped a lot. For example, we help … to provide mics for the rally, and to build a bridge between students, faculty, and administration members. We also have been spreading the word, sending emails to our undergraduate population … in support of the walkout. It shows that we stand in solidarity with the people who support this.
What reasons have students shared with you in terms of why they’re walking out or helping plan this walkout?
We have a diverse campus so it’s hard to tell you what they all think. But it boils down to being upset. Not only as a vice president, but as a student at Cal, we’ve had enough with the budget cuts. It hasn’t been since the 1930s that such a drastic increase in tuition [has been proposed]—it’s been proposed that tuition would increase 32 percent.
How have UC budget cuts impacted you and your Cal education? Please give specific examples.
I’ve seen services drastically decrease. We used to have computer stations and now we don’t. We use to have set library hours and now we don’t. It’s getting harder to get into undergraduate classes. I was looking into saving this year and now it’s looking hard to do so. What I don’t understand is, if we are going to pay more to close the budget, we should still have the same services — but in this case we are getting the short end of the stick.
KQED’s Forum Discusses the UC Walkouts
Yesterday, KQED’s Forum discussed the UC walkouts. Have a listen and find out what all the fuss is about.
Guests included:
- Judith Butler, professor in the departments of Rhetoric and Comparative Literature at UC Berkeley
- Lawrence Pitts, interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs for the University of California
- Nanette Asimov, education reporter for The San Francisco Chronicle
- Victor Sanchez, president of the University of California Student Association
Tell Us Your Stories!
In Other Words wants to know how California’s budget crisis is impacting education. Whether you’re a student, a parent, or a teacher, tell us how this year is different from years past.
You can do this in a few ways:
Leave your story in the comment section.
Email your pictures to inotherwords@kqed.org and we’ll put them in our Flickr photostream. Or you can upload them directly to our Flickr group, In Other Words.
Send your videos too. Simply email us the YouTube embed code.
We’d like it if you would include your name and school in your comments, but that’s completely up to you.
To get a better sense of how our community works, check out KQED’s community guidelines.
UCs Plan Walkout Against Budget Cuts
By Denise Tejada
Faculty and students of UC campuses are taking the system’s budget cut crisis into their own hands and walking out on Thursday Sept 24th. It’s been announced that 10 UCs are taking part of this walkout–UC Berkeley being one of them. This year alone UC faculty experienced a cut of 4-10 percent in their salary, including 26 furlough days. Students are being hit by the budget squeeze as well. There has been an increase in tuition, less financial aid is available, and school resources have been cut.
According to Dan Mogulos, Executive Director of Public Affairs at UC Berkeley: “last year in the fall 1500 classes were held on Thursday, there is no way of knowing how many classes we’ll be canceled for that day.” Mongulos says the number of faculty participating—as of right now—is 100 out of 2130 faculty members. Mongulos says this number is expected to change as the day gets closer.
According to Mongulos faculty members have the right to walkout, but before they do they need to ensure their students have material to work on. “If they—professors—walkout, they have to notify the students ahead of time and make sure the course material is done.”
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