Thousands in California Protest Campus Cuts, Furloughs

Thousands of University of California students, faculty members, and employees rallied statewide Thursday to voice their concern about President Mark Yudof's and the regents' handling of the budget crisis (prior Cram coverage here).

The walkout, scheduled on the day that most UC schools started their fall quarter, was intended to highlight the faculty's growing frustration over being forced to take furlough days outside of their regular teaching schedule. Participants also protested proposed budget cuts paired with tuition increases that would effectively increase undergraduate students' tuition by 30 percent over the next year.

News outlets throughout the state reported varying degrees of intensity and participation in the protests and walkouts. UC Berkeley was reported to have upward of 5,000 protesters in the main rally on campus after the scheduled walkout at noon. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, a sit-in at the entrance to the campus blocked traffic for some time. The UC campuses in Santa Cruz, Los Angeles, San Diego, Irvine, Davis, and Santa Barbara were reported to have protests with participants in the hundreds. The protest at UC Merced, the newest UC campus that opened in 2005, drew about 20 people.

It was unclear how many faculty members participated. About 1,200 faculty members signed a UC Faculty Walkout letter, though there was speculation some teachers who didn't sign the letter still canceled class.

The Daily Californian, UC Berkeley's student newspaper, reported that Chancellor Robert Birgeneau said he thought students should communicate their frustrations to lawmakers: "I tell them [the students]: Go down to Sacramento, go down to your local legislator and tell them that it's the obligation of the state of California to support this great educational system."

Rally organizers said they want to keep the protest momentum going. To that end, some campuses held general assemblies after Thursday's protests in an attempt to define the next steps. For instance, the UC Solidarity Alliance is planning discussions in the Bay Area such as "Defend our Education" and "Fixing the Tax System."

Click play below for a slide show of photos (full screen version here) from the UC Berkeley protests yesterday taken by Berkeley student Elizabeth Popham for Politics Daily.