Students protest across the state on the March 4 Day of Action.
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.
Governor Schwarzenegger addresses prison spending and funding for higher education in his State of the State address and 2010-2011 budget proposal.
State funding cuts to the UC isn’t new. Contributions to the UC’s budget from the state of California have almost halved in the past 40 years. This coincides with the steady increase in student’s fees. The Regents measure to raise fees by 10.3 percent will mark the fifteenth time UC undergraduates have experienced an at least 10 percent increase in their cost of education from the previous year.
Voter-passed propositions have played a huge role in shaping California and the lives of its residents.
In an act of despotism and disregard for the voice of California voters, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed cutting many of this state’s most vital programs in his most recent budget plan. Education is once again on the legislative chopping block, and public higher education systems — as well as educational preparation programs — are in grave danger.
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.”