[Educationforall] Article from SocialistWorker.org

[Marcos Perez]

very inspiring!

View original article here:

http://socialistworker.org/2009/11/18/staff-and-students-strike-at-uc

National
======== STAFF AND STUDENTS STRIKE AT UC CAMPUSES ============================

Ian Steinman, Melissa Cornelius and James Illingworth from University of  
California Santa Cruz report on a three-day strike in the UC system that  
begins today--and a library occupation at Santa Cruz that forced  
administrators to back down.

November 18, 2009

A THREE-day strike and protest by students, staff and faculty will begin  
today at campuses in the University of California system against a proposed  
32 percent fee hike for students and continuing attacks on campus unions.

Members of the University Professional and Technical Employees union at UC  
schools are timing their second strike of the semester--this time, a two-day  
walkout--to stand with the broader movement against cuts and fee hikes, and  
to demand a fair contract for members.

Meanwhile, students, staff and faculty across the state will be taking action  
in solidarity with a mass protest planned against the UC Regents meeting at  
UCLA--the demonstrators hope to prevent the meeting from imposing the  
outrageous increases.

These actions were planned at the 800-strong October 24 conference at UC  
Berkeley, where activists from UC campuses, the California State University  
system, community colleges, and pre-K through 12th grade public education  
voted for a statewide strike and day of action on March 4 to defend public  
education.

Although this week's strike is centered in the UC system, activists from San  
Francisco State and the City College of San Francisco, as well as other  
campuses, have planned solidarity events. The California Faculty Association  
is also planning an action at CSU-Long Beach to oppose cuts.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

ON THE eve of these protests, around 250 students took over the Science and  
Engineering Library at UC Santa Cruz on the evening of Friday, November 13.  
The 24-hour "study-in" to protest restricted library hours was the largest  
building occupation yet in the growing movement to defend public education.

Due to the ongoing budget crisis, the library on campus was scheduled to  
close at 5 p.m. on Friday and remain closed all day Saturday, denying  
students the opportunity to study in the run-up to finals. In protest,  
activists organized an inspiring example of mass action and democratic  
decision-making, and successfully kept the library open until Saturday  
evening.

The library sit-in emerged from a period of feverish student activism against  
the budget cuts. On September 24, the first day of classes at UC Santa Cruz,  
hundreds of students and workers took part in a statewide strike and walkout  
against the furloughs and pay cuts imposed on faculty and staff.

That same day, a group of about 20 students occupied the Graduate Student  
Commons on campus and remained barricaded inside for a week. A couple weeks  
later, another group of activists organized a second building occupation,  
although this action lasted just a few hours. Hundreds of students, faculty  
and staff have taken part in General Assembly meetings in recent weeks to  
discuss the way forward for the movement.

Last Friday's library occupation at Santa Cruz was inspired by an action at  
UC Berkeley in October, in which over 100 students took over a campus library  
to protest reduced opening hours.

The Berkeley action took place at a time when the two building occupations at  
Santa Cruz had raised some important questions for activists: Should our  
actions have specific demands? Are "militant" tactics such as occupations and  
sit-ins the only way to build the movement? How can we reach beyond the  
committed core of activists and bring new people into action? Should we  
organize in secret, or be as open as possible?

The study-in seems to have answered many of these questions. Students had  
been planning and publicizing the event for several weeks, and had managed to  
create a buzz on campus. By November 13, almost 900 people had responded to  
the event's Facebook page, and thousands more had seen flyers posted on  
campus.

Plus, by choosing the Science and Engineering Library, the organizers  
attempted to reach out to a section of the campus population--science  
students--who had previously not been very active in the movement. Finally,  
organizers gave the event a clear and achievable goal--keeping the library  
open so that students could use it to study.

Throughout the action, students were democratic and inclusive. By contrast,  
campus authorities tried everything in their power to prevent the event from  
happening--including lies, broken promises, threats and intimidation.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

ON THE day of the study-in, dozens of students began to gather at the library  
entrance some two hours before its scheduled closing time. To their surprise,  
university authorities demanded that everyone entering the building after 3  
p.m. would have to hand over their ID. This raised concerns about potential  
administrative repression, given that some student activists are already  
facing disciplinary procedures related to previous actions on campus. The  
group as a whole decided to reject this condition for entering the library.

After more than an hour of tense discussions between activists and  
administrators, an agreement emerged. People entering the library would show  
their IDs and sign a list of names to be maintained in the joint custody of a  
librarian and a student activist. The list would be handed over to students  
and destroyed once they left the library.

As closing time approached, dozens of students crowded into the library  
entrance, waiting for the administration to sign a statement formalizing the  
agreement. At the last minute, campus authorities went back on their word and  
stated that a copy of the list would remain with the head librarian, thus  
threatening student activists with future reprisals.

When the growing crowd of students heard about the administration's behavior,  
the response was unanimous. The whole body of 150 students marched into the  
library, chanting "Whose university? Our university!" and "Whose books? Our  
books!" More students poured in behind them, bringing the total number in the  
library to over 200. The campus authorities looked on helplessly.

A second confrontation began a couple hours later. The administration locked  
the library doors, preventing students who had left to get food from  
re-entering the building. Students on the inside immediately called an  
emergency assembly, and over 100 signaled their willingness to engage in  
direct action to open the doors. A heated exchange followed in which the  
administration refused to open the doors unless all students left at  
midnight--even though it had already acknowledged the action would continue  
until 5 p.m. the next day.

Faced with a demonstration of student resolve, however, the administration  
gave in and accepted a proposal in which the students as a whole would decide  
whether or not to stay overnight. Amid cheers, chants and an infectious  
feeling of triumph, the doors were unlocked and another wave of 50 students  
poured in. Soon, 300 students were occupying the library, and the  
administration was forced to concede defeat. The study-in continued through  
to the next day, as originally planned.

Crucially, many of those who participated were working-class students who  
genuinely wanted to use the library to study for coursework and finals. These  
people represent new forces being drawn into the movement for the first time.

The action was successful not only in achieving its stated objectives, but  
more importantly in mobilizing and radicalizing a broad new layer of  
students. It brought together the more radical wing of the movement and a  
large group of students who were new to activism, and represented a  
meaningful escalation of the political consciousness of the student body.

By meeting students where they were willing to go, both in action and  
politics, and then involving them in confrontations with the administration  
from which they emerged morally and practically victorious, the occupation  
pointed the way forward for future actions at UC Santa Cruz.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

What you can do
Many of the week's activities are listed on the UC Solidarity [1] Web site.  
Students, staff, faculty and instructors in the UC system can sign a petition  
[2] showing their support for the strike.

For more on the October 24 organizing conference at UC Berkeley and the call  
for a March 4 strike and day of action for UC campuses, the California State  
University system, community colleges, and pre-K through 12th grade public  
education, see the California Campaign to Save Public Education [3] Web site.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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[1] http://ucsolidarity.org
[2] http://ucstrike.com/
[3] http://www.savecapubliceducation.org/
[4] http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0