It is heart-wrenching to watch financial shortcomings hack away at many of the most remarkable and unique aspects of this university. In addition to the instructors who have long incited the student body to stay active and innovative, many programs are now on the chopping block. Lay-offs, cut classes and, for some, unpayable fees bode badly for the future of UC Santa Cruz.

Last Thursday, on the first day of fall quarter, our 2,000-acre UC Santa Cruz campus was both eerily quiet and triumphantly loud as it straddled both sides of the proverbial fence, with classrooms either echoing emptiness or bellowing with the frustrations of a student body and staff reeling from historic state funding cuts.
In case you’ve been living under a rock — one that has yet to be pelted — here’s what you need to know: people are angry. And there is nothing that UCSC students love more than get angry. Usually it won’t last too long; remember Community Studies? Neither do I.

It’s about that time of night: eleven o’ clock — maybe 11:45 on a lucky night. Less inebriated attendees sense it will happen any minute. It’s sudden but predictable: knock on door, music stops, expletives are hurled, beers fall out of hands — the cops have arrived to break up yet another Santa Cruz house party.

This recurring scenario seems to be something that students have grown to accept. It has become an unavoidable part of attending college in a city that refuses to be called a ‘college town’.

Question: What’s your plan when house parties get broken up? (from left to right) “Evacuate the area! Make sure they don’t see you! Smash their windows! Psyche!” Mike Madriga College Eight, Third-Year Business / Economics “A nice recovery of ice cream somewhere cozy.” Kaylie Caires Kresge, Third-Year Theater Arts “Try and leave because if the [...]

I stand in support of our fellow Californians adversely affected by cuts to higher education. Pulling over a billion dollars out of colleges and universities across California has real implications, and we’re just now starting to see the unrest that accompanies such drastic cuts. I believe in fully funding the UC, CSU, and community college [...]

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.

Question: What changes would you like to see at UCSC this school year? (from left to right) “More campus buses on campus, rather than city bussess so the school can save money on transportation.” Valerie Miller Second-year, Porter American Studies “More information about the walk-outs.” Jose Rodriquez First-year, College Eight Undeclared “Smaller classes.” Jackson Hart [...]

At Paramount Pictures’ request, the Del Mar Theatre in Santa Cruz was among only 12 theaters in the country — and the only theater in California — to premiere the low-budget, high-fright horror film “Paranormal Activity,” starting Thursday, Sept. 24.

Thrill-seekers, including folks from as far away as Los Angeles and San Diego, assembled downtown for midnight showings throughout the film’s opening weekend, with lines filling the sidewalk for an entire city block.

Every year after Labor Day, the neighborhood surrounding the Boardwalk transforms from a bustling pool of congestion to a near ghost town. But even this year’s summer season — which traditionally brings with it lots of Boardwalk area bustle — was significantly more quiet than in previous years.

The world around us, as captured by the photographers of City on a Hill Press. This week, we’re featuring two photos from Photo Editor Alex Zamora that he took while on summer vacation in Chicago. If you like ‘em, check out the links below to grab a copy for your desktop! Wallpapers: 800×600 | 1024×768 [...]