Detroit participants in the March 4 demonstration and rally to defend public education. The demonstration called for the restoration of all funding cuts in public education and an end to privatization.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
By Sherrie Gulmahamad on March 5th, 2010
Students, professors and other concerned citizens took to the streets today across the country in protest of cuts to state education budgets as part of the March 4th National Day of Action for Public Education. Disappointment and rage erupted into violence in only two instances. Punches were thrown and gates were blocked at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and in California, where cuts are especially severe, a windshield was smashed at the entrance to UC Santa Cruz.
A few sobering facts:
California is one of 10 states that saw double-digit increases in average public university tuition between the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 school years, with more coming this year. Tuition at the University of Arizona could rise 31 percent, at Florida colleges by 15 percent and in Washington state by 14 percent.
While students decry rising tuition costs and teachers face an uncertain professional future, others bemoan what could await America on the national stage. John Aubrey Douglass, has written a research paper for Berkeley’s Center for Studies in Higher Education on this topic:
“One might postulate that the decisions made today and in reaction to the Great Recession … will likely accelerate global shifts in the race to develop human capital, with the U.S. losing ground.”
In other words, it will be harder to chant U! S! A! at the drop of a hat as other countries like China, Taiwan, South Korea, Germany, France and Brazil outpace us in technological and economic development. These countries are currently spending more on education despite the economic downturn.
The March 4th organizers ask a plaintive question, “But if there’s money for wars, bank bailouts, and prisons, why is there no money for public education?
Twirlites, line up. Do you know anyone affected by these budget cuts? Did you participate in any of the March 4 rallies? Share your story with us.
Photo via Chronicle/Lea Suzuki
College students speak out against education cuts
Universities hear grumbling locally, in state, across country
The Monterey County Herald
Staff and wire reports
03/05/2010 08:53:09 AM PST
Students staged raucous rallies on college campuses in California and around the country Thursday in protests against deep education cuts.
Dozens of campuses were hit with marches, strikes, teach-ins and walkouts in what was billed as the March 4th National Day of Action for Public Education. Organizers said hundreds of thousands of students, teachers and parents were expected to participate in the demonstrations.
Related: Rallies draw big turnout in county | State shut out of feds' stimulus for schools
The steep economic downturn has forced states to slash funding to K-12 schools, community colleges and universities to cope with plummeting tax revenue while implementing tuition increases. Schools and colleges could face more severe financial trouble over the next few years as they drain federal stimulus money that temporarily prevented widespread layoffs and classroom cuts.
At CSU-Monterey Bay, students gathered for the protest at noon in the university's main quad.
With a band playing in front of the library, about 100 people, many carrying signs, marched in from the dorms. The rally grew to about 400 people as other students trickled in.
Some professors took students from their classrooms to the rally, where a lineup of students and faculty members spoke against the fee hikes and their possible impacts.
Jake White, 20, a sophomore, said he attended the rally in support of "all the kids that won't be able to get into school next year."
The CSU system is losing its purpose of providing a low-cost, higher education, he said.
"Any time there's a raise in cost, it'll be hard on you and your family," White said. "I went to a CSU because of the (low) cost. Now it doesn't make any sense."
Students at University of California-Santa Cruz held a daylong strike, shutting off access to campus at multiple points and rallying at the foot of the hill.
Angry over fee increases totaling 41 percent in the past year and half, upset that popular programs, such as languages and community studies have reduced class offerings, and concerned over the rights of hourly workers who feed and clean up after them, they began blocking intersections at 5 a.m., refusing to let most cars pass.
At 6 p.m., there were still hundreds of protesters at the base of campus sitting in a circle at the main entrance. The phrases "Destroy the University" and "Destroy Capitalism" were spray painted on a nearby wall.
No arrests were made.
At the University of California-Berkeley, a small group of protesters formed a human chain blocking a main gate to the campus. Later in the day, hundreds gathered for a peaceful rally.
"We're one of the largest economies in the world, and we can't fund the basics," said Mike Scullin, 29, a graduate student in education who plans to become a high school teacher. "We're throwing away a generation of students by defunding education."
Some university officials said they supported the protests as long as they remained peaceful.
"My heart and my support are with everybody and anybody who wants to stand up for public education," University of California President Mark Yudof said in a statement. "Public education drives a society's ability to progress and to prosper."
More than 150 people who were blocking a major San Francisco Bay Area freeway during a protest were arrested, authorities said.
Oakland police and California Highway Patrol officers clambered up onto Interstate 880 to clear the demonstrators from an off-ramp, handcuffing them before putting them on buses to a nearby city jail, said Oakland police spokeswoman Holly Joshi.
The protesters, who had split off from a large rally in downtown Oakland, brought cars to a standstill on the busy freeway for about an hour during the evening commute, backing up traffic for miles.
Joshi said one man was seriously injured when he jumped from the elevated freeway as police moved in.
Herald Staff Writer Laith Agha contributed to this report. He can be reached at 646-4358 or lagha@montereyherald.com.
The Santa Cruz Sentinel and Associated Press also contributed to this report.
Local “Day of Action” Protests Rally Against Education Cuts
Published 5 Mar 2010, 11:09 am
Filed under Feature Stories
Education Rally
Students, teachers, parents, and faculty members took to the streets all across the state of California and the nation yesterday to protest cuts to K-12 schools, colleges and universities. More than 100 events took place in over 30 states in what organizers dubbed the “March 4th Day of Action to Defend Public Education.”
Massive state budget shortfalls and subsequent cuts to funding for schools have resulted in teacher layoffs, larger class sizes, fee increases and eliminated programs. The effects of such slashes have been particularly acute in California.
In response, demonstrators took to the streets for various actions up and down the state from San Diego to Berkeley. Massive arrests were made in Oakland after student demonstrators marched on Interstate 880 and shut it down during rush hour traffic.
Locally in Los Angeles, five hundred students and professors walked out of classes on the campus of UCLA for a midday gathering in Bruin plaza to denounce the reduction of funding for education.
Elsewhere in the city, an estimated 2,000 people, some bused in from neighboring communities, turned out to rally in downtown’s Pershing Square before marching on a nearby state office building.
Uprising correspondent Chris Bennett was at the rally yesterday and filed a report.
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