Assembly member Bill Monning spoke to students, faculty and community members about strategies to balance California’s budget in a Q&A and open discussion at UC Santa Cruz’s Namaste Lounge last Thursday. The audience raised questions about the possibility of California Democrats voting for an all-cuts budget and other finance-related topics.

In light of the Tucson shooting, many have interpreted the incident as a gaping hole in domestic gun control law. Calls for change and action have rippled across the nation. Yet precisely what change means and how it should be implemented are not entirely clear-cut.

Veterans have historically been given the promise of an education, but for those who risk their lives without citizenship, that is no guarantee. The DREAM Act could change this, by making it easier for undocumented students to attend college. The UCSC community plays its part in securing the passage of the state and federal DREAM Acts.

The California state budget has been passed, distributing funding for the higher education system. Money will go to fund restoration, student enrollment, UC building projects and Cal Grants.

The California Master Plan for Higher Education turns 50 this year, and continues to be a point of contention for students, politicians, and citizens of the state.

Joint Committee on the Master Plan for Higher Education meets in Sacramento to hear testimonies of invested residents.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger released the 2010-2011 budget, a $82.9 billion dollar plan that will eliminate the state’s $19.9 billion dollar revenue shortfall by making cuts, on Friday Jan. 8.

In the current round of budget cuts in the California State Legislature, there is more at risk for the students and staff of UCSC. Both a proposal by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and a second proposal introduced by State Democrats in the legislature call for further cuts to the University of California.

With California inching closer towards insolvency, legislators must find a way to cut $24 billion from the state budget. But what do students in higher education stand to lose in the budget crisis? City on a Hill takes a closer look at the proposed cuts to the Cal Grant.

Twelve hours after leaving UC Santa Cruz, the caravan of student government officers and interns prepared to leave Sacramento behind. Hundreds of UC, CSU, and California Community College system (CCC) students filed out of the Capitol Building, clinging to the hope that legislators might heed their testimonies. “What is at stake here,” UCSC Student Union Assembly (SUA) external vice chair Victor Sanchez said to the budget committee, “is more than the future of our system of higher education, but that of the state of California.”