As the UC system struggles with state funding, it becomes increasingly clear that the assistance of the private sector in supporting the UC system may become more important than it has ever been. A look at private investment in the UC system, and hopes for the future.

The windows of the Covel Commons building pounded in sync with the impassioned chanting of the crowd. Inside, 26 individuals pondered a decision that will deeply impact the lives of over two hundred thousand students in the UC system. The indirect results of the decision may ultimately affect millions of Californians.

LOS ANGELES, CA – Hundreds of students, workers, teachers and concerned citizens descended on Covel Commons at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) campus today to protest a proposed 32 percent fee-increase that will be voted on by the UC Regents tomorrow, the second day of their meeting at UCLA. Police arrested at least 14 students and several protesters were injured during the protest.

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.”