The UC Santa Cruz Academic Senate held an emergency meeting on Wednesday to determine when UCSC faculty can take furlough days. The meeting was called to discuss many of the concerns that prompted the UC-wide walkout of Sept. 24, such as furloughs, budgetary transparency and the ultimate direction of the University of California.

A fluctuating number of students affiliated with Occupy California, a UC student political activist group, remain barricaded in the Graduate Student Commons (GSC) located above Joe’s Café in Quarry Plaza, as this goes to print. Occupy California aims to resist the budget crisis by using occupation as a strategy tactic.

The UC Santa Cruz occupation of the GSC building comes in response specifically to furloughs, lay-offs, rising tuition costs and other actions taken by the University of California administration.

Twenty masked persons took over UCSC’s Graduate Student Commons around 5 p.m. today, protesting the measures taken by the UC Board of Regents to deal with a budget crisis. Pay-cuts, furloughs, cut classes and privatization are among the issues protesters inside and outside the building wanted to bring to the fore. The occupants and their supporters are willing, they say, to stay as long as they possibly can.

Despite opposition from various groups and individuals, including regent and Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, the board approved a plan that will require each member of the 180,000 UC workforce to take between 11-24 unpaid days, off depending on salary level.

If the plan is also approved by labor unions in contract with the university, top earners making over $240,000 could expect to see the largest salary reduction, while those making under $40,000 could expect to see the smallest. Overall, employees could see a 4-10 percent pay reduction for twelve months, starting Sept. 1 2009.