---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Photo Essay: Regents Meeting Protest at UCLA

Photo by Alex Zamora.

Photo by Alex Zamora.

Photo by Alex Zamora.

Photo by Alex Zamora.

Photo by Alex Zamora.

Photo by Alex Zamora.

Photo by Alex Zamora.

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.

Over 300 students, workers, faculty and community members converged in solidarity at the entrance of Covel Commons on the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) campus yesterday to make one last stand against UC Regents proposed 32 percent fee hikes. To keep the crowd from forcing entry into the Regents meeting taking place inside, UC Police Department had a strong presence in the course of events. In a police clash with the crowd, batons and Tasers were used leading to several student injuries. Fourteen arrests were made.

Imari Thomas, a third-year UCLA student, was among those arrested.

“All of us who got arrested had totally clean records, we were willing to get a police record to show the regents how serious we are,” Thomas said.

The 14 students were arrested in two phases, after they stood singing “We Shall Overcome” with linked arms. The first group was cited with Penal Code Section 409, or failure to disperse from a space deemed unlawful. The second group was cited with disturbing the peace. Both groups were later released.

Officers, who were previously providing support in the arrests during the Committee of Finance, ran down the four flights of stairs geared up in the lobby with Tasers, helmets with facemasks, and some with compressed paintball guns.

Chants of “Whose university?” were answered with a resounding “Our university!” by seas of people hoping to make their voices heard to the administrators inside of the building.

An oval barricade of fencing supported by officers equipped with riot gear who stood on the inside kept protestors from entering the building. As the time to make a final decision neared, the crowed pushed and began throwing various objects, including plastic bags filled with vinegar soaked bandanas, hot dogs, carrots, and their declarative signs.

Because students were no longer being admitted to the public session riotous activity broke out.

“When students realized that they were starting the vote and they weren’t letting students in, some students made a decision to force their way in,” said Richard Stevenson, a fifth-year UCLA student who was hit with a baton on his arm and in the chest several times, leaving a mark on his arm. “It was not the initial intent, but a reaction.”

A few students made it to the doors and were among those who felt the hand, or rather baton, of the law.

“It wasn’t pleasant,” said Stevenson of the baton usage. “But everybody was so into it, and we knew what we wanted to do, we wanted to be inside.”

Another fifth-year UCLA student, King Adjei-Frimpong, who was observing the chaos from planter boxes situated near the front of the Covel Building, described how once the batons were out, Tasering broke out as well.

“One officer had malice on his face, aimed his Taser, and went at it,” he said. To push back the imposing crowd, officers struck the individuals pushing on the barricades with batons. A number of officers stretched over the barricades, extending their Tasers to hit a few students. Some officers threw the items back at the crowd. Adjei-Frimpong stated that the girl next to him was hit in the face with a can of soda.

UC President Mark Yudof, expressed his support for the protests.

“I regret any violence, people have the right in a democracy to express their opinions,” said UC president Mark Yudof. “I don’t have any problem [with the protests].”

Soon after, officers outside announced that the protest was as of that time in violation of California law, and threatened arrest for anyone who did not disperse within five minutes.

Student organizers encouraged the group to move to a different side of the building, away from the entrance. In the new location several student and union leaders spoke out encouraging those present to continue the fight through the night and the following day, when the Regents would make the final vote on the fee increase.

People of all ages from all over the state held picket signs with messages such as “Debt: My Grad Present,” “Education, not Incarceration” and “Last generation college student” made visible above the bobbing heads of the crowd.

“My daughter won’t be able to attend a UC if this [fee increase] passes,” said Evangelina Nevarez, a representative of the American Federation of State, City and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union who attended the action.

Cindy Amobi, a third-year journalism student at UC Irvine, felt a personal motivation to oppose the fee hikes.

“I can’t afford to pay for school anymore,” she said.

UCLA fourth-year Spencer Soo attended the protest even though he will be graduating this year.

“I’m doing it for future students,” he said.

Shahida Bawa, Internal Vice President for Undergraduates at UCLA, addressed the crowd.

“We want to be able to support the student regent, who was the sole negative vote [on Wednesday’s fee vote]. This will allow students to see that this is a struggle across the state,” she said.

Although the UC community has predicted that the fee increase will pass regardless of student actions, many students felt that this was no reason to stop voicing their opinions.

“Even though they pretty much already decided on the vote, it’s important to still come and show our displeasure,” Cindy Amobi said.

Brian Malone, a Graduate Student in literature from UC Santa Cruz who traveled to UCLA yesterday, hoped that the protest would influence the bigger picture, if not the Regent’s actual vote.

“At a certain point, whether the Regents pass it or not, they’re supposed to be voting with our consent — when it becomes apparent that they are acting without our consent, they lose legitimacy with the citizens of California, and even with the state legislature, which does have some power over the Regents,” he said.

Victor Sanchez, the president of the UC student association and fourth-year student at UC Santa Cruz, was disappointed that a speech he gave on behalf of students, and the student presence outside, didn’t seem to affect the Regents when they voted to move forward the fee measure yesterday.

“For them it’s practical on paper, but for us it’s a real life experience,” he said.

Thousands more individuals gathering in protest of the decision have been predicted to arrive at UCLA today.

Photo by Alex Zamora.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Protestors Clash with Police While Opposing Fee Hikes

UC president Mark Yudof speaks to reporters after the Finance Committee voted to increase student fees. Photo by Nita Rose-Evans.

A student is escorted out of the Regents meeting at UCLA on Wednesday. Photo by Nita Rose-Evans.

The UC Board of Regents’ Committee of Finance passed two undergraduate educational fee increases — a 15 percent mid-year increase which will take effect in January, coupled with another 15 percent increase for the 2010-2011 school year.

Student Regent Jesse Bernal, a UC Santa Barbara graduate student, was the only committee member to oppose the measure.

“Fairness seems to be highly unbalanced,” Bernal said. “In principal I oppose and will not support the fee increases.”

The proposal will go before the entire Board of Regents on Thursday, Nov. 19.

“It’s probable, but it’s not over ‘til it’s over,” said UC President Mark Yudof on the chances of the measures being passed by the entire board.

The meeting, which was held at UCLA’s Covel Commons, was temporarily adjourned three times due to singing and screaming by students inside. Expletives and screams of “vote no” and “we shall overcome” permeated throughout the meeting, which was open to the public.

Twelve students were arrested at two different points prior to the committee vote and eventually all spectators were cleared out of the room by UC police officers after numerous disruptions. The fee item was passed without any students present.

The first of the fees would begin next quarter and would consist of a system-wide fee of $585 and the second increase would begin in the 2010-11 school year, increasing student fees by $1,344. Overall, student fees will be raised to a yearly total of $10,302, or a 32.5 percent increase in current fees.

UCSC fourth-year and President of the UC Student Association Victor Sanchez spoke to the regents before the vote took place.

“I implore this committee to vote no,” Sanchez said. “If you vote yes, not only will the public perception continue to yield negativity for the UC, but the prospect of working together in a year where thousands have expressed discontent will be lost and severely damaged.”

Before the vote, some members of the finance committee stressed the need for the fee hikes.

“We will make a departure from our core values. Fee increases take us in the wrong direction, but they are necessary,” said regent and committee member Eddie Island. “There must be a limit to student fee increases … [but] I will vote yes. It is reluctant and it will be my first time. I hoped to never do so.”

The regents emphasized that most students, especially those with lower incomes, would not be affected by this fee increase, emphasizing that 33 percent of the revenue from the hikes will go to financial aid.

“We want [high school] graduates in need to know that fees are not a barrier to a UC education,” said Marsha Kelman, UC associate vice-president of policy and analysis. “[The regents] estimated 81 percent of students this year are covered by financial aid, 74 percent of students will be covered by financial aid due to the mid-year fee hikes and 53 percent of students will be covered in the 2010-11 school year.”

In a separate press briefing during lunch recess, President Yudof commented that “If you’re a family making under $70,000, you don’t have a problem, we are taking care of your fees.”

The Finance Committee also approved an expansion of the Blue and Gold Opportunity plan. Under this new plan all undergraduates whose parents make $70,000 a year or less will have their fees covered by the University. The previous threshold for the plan was $60,000.

“What’s happened this year, after a steady erosion over the past 20 years, is this year we hit the negative jackpot,” Yudof said about California’s contributions to the UC.

“The result of budget cuts [from the state] is that we are recommending a mid-year fee increase,” said Patrick Lenz, UC’s vice-president for budget, in a presentation to the regents.

The State of California, currently experiencing it’s worst fiscal crisis in years, subtracted $637.1 million in allocations to the UC in Spring 2009 — leaving the UC with only $2.6 billion in state funding for the 2009-10 fiscal year.

“I think we are doing it in a way that makes sense … [student fee revenue] will end the furlough plan and extend library hours,” Yudof said in a speech addressed to the regents.

Without revenue from fee increases, the UC would have faced a $792 million dollar budget deficit.

Along with hiking fees, the regents approved a budget that will request $913 million from the California State Legislature for the next fiscal year. This money will be requested to alleviate the financial issues that have arisen from the one-time cut of $305 million the legislature made last year. The regents also hope the money will shrink the gap between the number of students currently supported by state funds and the actual number of students attending UCs.

Even if the $913 million is granted, however, the UC will still face a $144 million gap next year.

“We have to fix this,” said John Plotts, the UC assistant vice-president of finance, about the budget deficits, “or we have no future.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Regent Committee Passes Fee Increase Measure

Photo by Rosario Serna.

Photo by Rosario Serna.

Photo by Morgan Grana.

Photo by Morgan Grana.

UC Santa Cruz students, workers and instructors converged by the hundreds at Quarry Plaza Wednesday afternoon. With fists raised, fire in their bellies, and homemade signs reading “Hike mountains, not fees” and “Who’s university? Our university!” the gathered crowd, estimated at 500 people, converged in front of the bookstore before marching down Hagar Drive. Their march ended at the base of campus.

Ian Steinman, one of the speakers at Quarry Plaza, articulated some of the goals of the movement. “We’re not trying to stop fee hikes today, but we hope to radicalize a new set of people who will contribute to the fight against them,” Steinman said. “We hope to encompass the student body and shake the state and shake the country.”

Students then circled the Bay and High intersection, creating a physical blockade to stop oncoming cars, which both honked in support and tried to squeeze past the protesters.

People from the crowd came up to the microphone to suggest their ideas for where to go next. Ideas included occupation of the music center, one of the administration buildings, or Classroom Unit 1. The consensus was that the Kresge Town Hall, which usually costs $400 to use overnight, was the best place to reclaim.

As this was going on, students at the West Entrance of campus had formed another blockade.  The police threatened to arrest these students. Once news of this spread to the other group of protesters, dozens of students marched up Empire Grade to reinforce the blockade.

With the group at the West entrance significantly larger in number, the police showed no interest in arresting any students. The student protesters agreed to allow parents to pick up their children from the on-campus daycare, but denied students and professors access to campus. Members of the blockade chanted, “Out of the car and into the streets!” as they moved slowly towards the cars, forcing them to turn around. Eventually, all of the remaining protesters moved to Kresge.

As CHP went to press, the student protesters remained in the Kresge Town Hall, preparing with food and blankets to stay all night.

Margaret Laffan, a speaker at the rally and an organizer of the Graduate Student Organizing Committee, objects to the fee hikes.

“Public education should be for the public good. By making it privatized, we are decreasing access and creating an elite group of students,” Laffan said. “If we’re only educating those who can afford it, then those are the ones who will have a voice and power in the future. That’s predominately the white and middle class.”

Impromptu speakers expressed their ideas and concerns into a bike-powered microphone in the center of the street. Students, faculty, community members and workers stood in solidarity. Workers expressed their concern with fewer working hours.

“We decided to rally with the students because they stand with the collation workers,” said custodian Nicolas Gutierrez. He continued to say that because of the cuts in worker’s hours, bathrooms and dining halls are not being disinfected the way they should, especially in the flu season.

“If students are paying more, they are also receiving less services,” Gutierrez said. “[The budget] affects everything — it’s even becoming a health issue.”

Despite the excitement for the cause, some students opposed some of the methods the protesters took.

Moments leading up to the walk-out, protesters stormed into Classroom Unit 1 while a Macroeconomics lecture was taking place, shouting negative remarks against the regents’ move to increase fees by a total 32 percent next year.

While some of the class chanted in support, others found the protestors disruptive. Antaeus Edelsohn, a second-year from Cowell College, yelled at the protesters to get out.

“You shouldn’t detract even further the amount of learning students do by disrupting class,” Edelsohn told CHP after the lecture ended. “Everyone in that class has already spent thousands of dollars [to attend classes]. I want to enjoy what I’ve spent my money on.”

Some participants of the walk-out agree. Tiffany Loftin, the Internal Vice Chair of the Student Union Association, spoke to the Quarry Plaza crowd through a megaphone.

After her speech, she told CHP, “Our goals are to be heard, seen and to represent. If you’re not in class, you’re supposed to be. We’re fighting against fee increases, so if you’re out here and not in class, it’s contradictory. People should be going to class.”

Many protesters at the Quarry Plaza Rally, including Loftin, planned on going to class later in the day.

UCSC fourth-year Rusty Plascencia was not about to miss class in the name of tuition hikes. “I would like it better if they changed all the classes to later [instead of striking classes],” he said.  “If you don’t do anything, you’re always going to piss some people off.”

Third-year Alexandra Bakaly participated in the walk-out, but headed back up to campus later in the day to attend class.

“I wanted to do what I could to support the rally,” said Bakaly. “This is history, now. We’re making history and I want to be a part of it. I’m not just going to stand by.”

Inviting speakers to come up to the microphone in the intersection, Chris Chitty hoped that people would miss class in support of the movement. Dressed in a red shirt emblazoned with the word ‘communist,’ Chitty said above the yells and protests, “Going to class today is complacent on a day when the university is voting on fee hikes.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Walk-Out Blockades Campus Entrances

(from left to right)

“I would just drop out if I couldn’t afford college.”
Jack Griffoul
Second-year, Merrill
Literature

“I would sell body parts, like my liver, to afford my education.”
Edwin Chavez
Fourth-year, College Nine
Health Sciences

“I am pretty extreme right now, working three jobs, so I guess I would just do more jobs on the sly for extra cash.”
Katy Parsons
Fourth-year, Cowell
Environmental Studies/Theater Arts

“I might sell crack or some other addictive substance that is customer-based.”
Sean Crossno
Fourth-year, Crown
Environmental Studies

Got something to add? Chime in with your comment below!
Don’t have a Commenter Account yet? Sign up here.

Compiled by Laura Weiss and Kathryn Power.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Public Discourse

(from left to right)

“They should make a show for Tal Ronnen, he was just on Oprah. He’s one of the best chefs in the country ”
Eric Deardorff
Cowell, Fourth-Year
Philosophy

“Giada Delaurentis. I like the food she makes, it’s not too complicated.”
Alex Blumstein
Stevenson, Fourth-Year
Health-Science

“‘Dinner Impossible’ with that British dude, because he has an interesting personality.”
Jennifer Wen
College Eight, Fourth-Year
MCD Biology

“Paula Deen or Alton Brown! They know what the hell they are cooking.”
Brooks Horn
Cowell, Third-year
Environmental Studies

Got something to add? Chime in with your comment below!
Don’t have a Commenter Account yet? Sign up here.

Compiled by Nita Rose-Evans and Ben Gevercer.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Who the Hell Asked You?!

Photo by Kathryn Power.

As melodies of Mozart drift about the recital hall at the UC Santa Cruz music center, one cannot help but notice the size of the choir rehearsing for this weekend’s upcoming performance of “Requiem.”

This year, the choir is noticeably smaller than previous years due to the fact that the Chamber Singers and Concert Choir were combined for the year, due to financial and staffing difficulties.

“[Conductor] Nicole Paiement is on leave in Winter 2010, so we would have had to hire a lecturer to cover [the Chamber Singers] course at a time where, for budgetary reasons, the hire was difficult to fund,” said Music Department Chair Frederic Leiberman.

Liberman also said that the division budget reductions, paired with the opportunity to form a collaborative ensemble, were the driving forces of the choice to combine the choirs.

The change, however, resulted in fewer opportunities for students to participate in the ensemble.

“Fewer spaces from last year resulted in fewer spots,” said Nathaniel Berman, lecturer and conductor of the UCSC Concert Choir.

In the past, the more rigorous Chamber Singers have been comprised mostly of music majors specializing in vocal training, while the Concert Choir was open to any UCSC student who was accepted by audition. However, due to the music department’s participation requirements, it was Concert Choir that took the cut in numbers.

“Chamber [choir] can’t be cut,” Berman said. “They are required to have a performance ensemble.”

Nicole Paiement, director of ensembles and conductor of “Requiem,” said that she hopes the large ensemble will be a challenge students rise to.

“My philosophy is to always work at the level of the best singers and instrumentalists,” Paiement said. “The end result is that the stronger musicians become great models and inspiration for the growth of the less advanced.”

While two separate classes still exist for each of the respective choirs, the large ensemble is taking advantage of its size.

“When we collaborate, we choose musical works that benefit from having a larger group of singers,” Paiement said. “The musical experience always comes first.”

The combination of the choirs has been met by positive and negative responses by the student participants.

“It is forcing me to step up — I can no longer only rely on the other very talented people in my section,” Brendan Hartnett, a third-year vocal major said. “I am always trying to improve as a musician.”

As of right now, Lieberman says that the department has every intention, barring further financial strain, of separating the choirs come next fall.

“If we are faced with large additional cuts later this year or next year, there will be some very difficult choices,” Lieberman said.

The faculty, however, are taking a positive outlook on the present situation, even in the face of the uncertain future.

“This year we want to raise the [skill] level of concert choir,” Paiement said. “We are hoping to attract a higher level of musicianship.”

Through “Requiem,” the music department intends to show audiences the skill level of its students and the worth of reinvesting in the music department.

“It is going to be a very high level, powerful, beautiful concert,” said Liz Baseman, second-year vocal major and choir participant.

Both Berman and Paiement said they hope not only to bring in audiences and raise funds, but to garner awareness for the arts.

“Support the department by attending shows,” Berman said. “It is not just a matter of money but a way of demonstrating our ensemble is strong — if we can have three sold-out shows, it will be a great demonstration of that support.”

By taking on one of Mozart’s most well-known works of music, support will be drawn in both locally and on a larger scale.

“Large collaborations bring a lot of visibility,” Paiement said. “We need that.”

With the hopes of sold-out shows on their minds, choir students finish preparations for the presentation of Mozart’s final work that they say will be spectacular.

“It is epic choral music,” Hartnett said. “Mozart went out with a hell of a bang.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Working in Harmony

Illustration by Kenneth Srivijittakar.

Those two towers that fell all those years ago — you know the ones — prompted a war, elicited forced patriotism, and have come to be a symbol of an event known as one of the most heinous crimes on American soil. We’ve searched for the potential ‘evil doers’ (a phrase that entered the American lexicon with bloodthirsty repetition) and we now have an opportunity to bring one of them to justice.

The Obama administration stated on Friday, Nov. 11 that it would prosecute Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the self-described mastermind behind the Sept. 11 attacks, in a Manhattan federal courtroom, igniting a sharp political debate that has left members of both parties with something to say. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called the announcement “a very comprehensively examined decision,” while New York Republican Rep. Peter T. King has stated that the potential for another attack on American soil has been increased.

On a larger scale, the decision to try Mohammed and four accused conspirators on American soil means the furthering of Obama’s vow to close Guantanamo Bay — a promise that, over a year later, has proven to be easier said than done, causing widespread questioning of Obama’s realistic actions. On a more intimate scale, it allows a sense of potential closure for a city that is still hyper-aware from the attacks over nine years ago.

The decision, announced by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., could mean that one of the highest-profile and highest-security terrorism trials in United States history would be set just blocks from Ground Zero, where over 3,000 civilians were killed.

Whether civilian courts are able to provide a bias-free assessment of guilt is, however, still questionable. Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia has questioned the logic of the decision, saying that the wound is still too fresh to assume that New Yorkers can separate the emotions from the proceedings.

What the decision really marks is a cementing of Obama’s desire to shift the global image of the U.S. The decision to prosecute under American court proceedings allows for the protections of the American justice system to be enacted. This is a far cry from the Bush administration’s policy, which denied suspected Al-Queda members due process of law and habeas corpus.

This decision allows an attempt to return to America’s preservation of civil liberties and human rights. And with defense attorneys for the hijackers citing illegal CIA torture tactics during confinement, an attempt to grant the liberties of American law is, in a definite way, a step forward. Our federal courts have in the past proven to be a successful way of prosecuting terrorism, as evidenced by the prosecution of Omar Abdel Rahman, who in 1995 was convicted of plotting an attack on the United Nations headquarters, among other New York structures. He is now serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison, the sanctioned punishment for seditious conspiracy.

What this decision brings forth is progress. Progress toward more civil military tactics, progress toward the closing of Guantanamo Bay, progress toward adhering to U.S. policies and support of civil liberties, and, most importantly, progress toward prosecuting those responsible for one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in U.S. history. Doing so with a willingness to uphold our country’s belief and our trust in our citizens only furthers the potential victory.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Trials and Tribulations

UCSC students gather at Quarry Plaza before departing to campus entrances and blocking off the streets. Traffic was backed up down Empire Grade and Bay Street as protestors determined who could and could not enter school grounds. Photo by Rosario Serna.

I’m sitting in lecture on Wednesday, trying to get the education that I’m paying over $8,000 per quarter to receive, and in barge five students, faces painted, wielding signs that warn of 32 percent fee hikes and shouting at the students before them. Through a megaphone, they declare that our student fees are going to construction projects instead of to our education, and that UC President Mark Yudof enjoys a $900,000 annual salary while we struggle to make ends meet.

Not quite.

One-third of the fees paid by UC Santa Cruz students go toward financial aid, and the other two-thirds go to paying for campus instructional services. And Yudof’s salary is actually closer to $600,000 per year.

Not only was the class interruption offensive, it was deceptive. On Wednesday our education was interrupted so that an invitation to a campus-wide protest could be extended. This interruption not only misinformed students in some ways, but also seemed simply to be an abrupt effort to gain supporter bulk.

After class, a friend and I passed through Quarry Plaza to get to a bus stop, where yet again we were subjected to amplified, falsified shouts about fee hikes and student power and battle-like calls of, “Whose university? Our university!”

I can’t help but find it ironic that protesters claim UCSC as “ours” when their actions Wednesday actually prevented their tuition-paying peers from entering campus and taking advantage of the education that they work so hard to afford. A classmate of mine was unable to make it to section due to campus closures — both at the base and West entrances to UCSC. He may actually fail his class because of this absence.

The misguided enthusiasm of many protesters prevented hundreds of students from attending class, numerous professors from teaching class and countless campus affiliates at every level from knowing the full and honest truth about the fee hikes. Protesters stood at both entrances, deciding seemingly arbitrarily who had a good enough reason to be permitted onto campus and who did not.

If we as students are going to make a dent in this budgetary mess, we need to stand together in unity. Interrupting classes and keeping fellow students from fulfilling their academic desires and responsibilities does not foster such solidarity. The plight of affordability is felt by all students, and compassion is key in these trying times. Determining who is important enough to enter and exit campus alienates peers and fellow sufferers. And road closures only breed anger and frustration, rather than rallying a passion and understanding for the issues at the core of the protest.

Undoubtedly, the near and distant future of UCSC will be marked by more protests. It is our right and our duty as students to let our concerns be heard and to fight for the educational rights we deserve. But it is important that as we protest, we make every effort to be inclusive and progressive, rather than alienating and destructive.

Preventing financially struggling students from attending classes is not progress. Vandalizing cars that are stuck in traffic because the campus is blocked by a wall of people is not progress. Keeping students from getting to the jobs that help them attend college is not progress.

I agree with the protesters that fee hikes are completely terrible, especially in light of already high tuition costs. I agree that the state’s dedication to higher education is questionable, to say the least. I do not, however, agree with the methods implemented by protestors on Wednesday in order to communicate their anger and financial pain.

Biking up Empire Grade, all I saw were downtrodden, frustrated faces captive in their vehicles with traffic stopped going both up and down the hill. The student body was not marching through campus in unity, it was dispersed amid frustration in the hundreds if not thousands of cars that day. The student body was both literally and figuratively divided.

True educational dedication was more apparent in the students who trudged to campus from downtown Santa Cruz just to make it to lecture on time than it was in the protesters themselves. It was in the bikers who arrived at their classes, flushed and sweaty, because they had to book it through a mob and up Hagar Drive just to get to class. That is student power.

Without the fee increases the UC will fall short $792 million dollars in its budget. We need the money. But demanding that regents eliminate the fee hikes is like asking to live in a house without paying bills: it’s an impossibility.

If we are actually going to be successful in our fight against fee hikes and for student rights, we need to convene, organize and consolidate and to come up with comprehensive, realistic solutions.

This Wednesday was not a success, but next Wednesday, two Wednesdays from now, or even 20 Wednesdays from now can be. We need to organize, discuss, and fight together to save our education, but this cannot happen in one day. Patience is power, and the student voice can be heard if we take productive action.

This is our university. Let’s work to save it.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Misinformed Enthusiasm

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Slug Comics

Illustration by Kenny Srivijittakar.

Sean Van Sommeran and his research team at the Pelagic Shark Research Foundation have spotted three great white sharks in Santa Cruz since October. Photo by Morgan Grana.

Next time you are out in the waters of Santa Cruz, don’t assume that the fin you spot out in the distance belongs to a dolphin. This time of year, it could belong to a ferociously hungry, 20-foot-long great white shark.

Lifeguards, researchers and boaters in Santa Cruz County have made numerous sightings of great white sharks in Carmel Bay, Marina, Moss Landing and Monterey Bay since the beginning of August. Over the summer, Seacliff beach, New Brighton state beaches, and Capitola city beaches were closed to swimmers and surfers after a shark was spotted.

While it may not be common knowledge that great whites migrate to areas in and around the Monterey Bay, Sean Van Sommeran, the executive director of the Pelagic Shark Research Foundation in Santa Cruz, said that this is actually very common activity for the sharks.

Sommeran coined the term “Sharktober” at his research center to give a name for the time of year when shark activity is most prevalent.

“I see great whites on a regular basis beginning in July,” Sommeran said. “With the increased number of people using the coastline in the summer and with the improvements in technology, shark sightings are much more common.”

Sommeran said that since October his research team alone has spotted three great whites. The number of great whites seen in these areas has increased dramatically from previous years due to increased technology and the ability to explore new territories.

Great White sharks are highly migratory because their prey — elephant seals and bait fish — swim in areas as large as their predators do. Additionally, the seasonal water temperature and swell shifts have influence over their migration.

“The environment acts as a kind of conveyer belt in an airport that moves the animals within them along the current and that’s why we see them in the Monterey Bay,” Sommeran said. “They are just following their prey and are moved along by the natural conditions.”

Giacomo Bernardi, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UCSC, said that there are two reasons why new technology has been so much more useful in discovering new deep sea animals.

“We are discovering more about the deep sea in rural habitats because we are probing it a lot more with updated submersibles and cameras,” Bernardi said. “And traditionally we discovered new species of animals from fishermen bringing them back, but because many fisheries have crashed, fishermen are resorting to go to more remote places to catch fish and they are finding these new species in the water.”

New Shark Discovery

The increase in technology has assisted researchers and scientists in the discovery of more shark species. A new breed of ghost shark that resides in the deep sea was discovered on the coast of Southern California in mid-September.

The black ghost shark is the 12th new species of ghost shark discovered in the past three years. Technically the black ghost shark is a chimaera, which comprises the oldest and most enigmatic groups of fish alive today, according to Science Daily.

Professor Bernardi said that the ghost sharks are also called rat fish and their names are based on their appearance.

“The name comes from the strange looking faces that they have,” Bernardi said. “Cartilaginous fish often look weird and they dwell in the deep waters.”

Bernardi is fascinated that researchers are still uncovering new species that has likely been around for millions of years in an area so close-by.

“It’s a major deal when a new species of chimaera is discovered because chimaeras are so ancient and they have been delegated to particularly dark and cold environments,” Bernardi said. “This discovery only underscores how little we know about the deep sea. I find it amazing that fairly big animals can be very inconspicuous.”

Sora Kim, a graduate student at UCSC with a degree in marine sciences, said that the reason we do not know very much about the chimaeras and sharks is because of their adaptations to stay out of human sight.

“We also don’t fish them regularly and they are not a regular part of our consumption, so we don’t know a lot about their population numbers,” Kim said. “It is hard to watch what they do because they are underwater and they travel such long distances, so in the world of science there is still a lot that is unknown about sharks.”

Misunderstood Monsters

From Hollywood representations to urban legends, sharks have long been portrayed as vicious killers with a taste for human blood.

Lauren Smith, a second-year marine biology major at UCSC, recently completed a nine-day field study in Bahia de las Animas. While she knows her fear of sharks may be a little unfounded, she was nonetheless happy not to encounter one during her time there.

“You are more likely to be killed by a hole dug in the sand than you are to be killed by a shark attack,” Smith said. “But even with that said, I would still be scared to encounter one in the water because with a wetsuit on, a person looks a lot like a seal to a shark.”

Kim explained that sharks hunt sea animals that are easiest to catch and that give them the most nutrients, and humans do not possess either quality.

“In the case of great white sharks, they actually like eating things that are very fatty and have high protein content like seals and sea lions with blubber layers,” Kim said. “Humans are pretty small compared to other animals sharks could eat and we don’t have a very high fat content.”

Sommeran explained that it is normally not the shark attack that kills an unlucky human victim, but rather what occurs after the attack.

“Statistically shark attacks and injuries are really, really rare, but even though attacks are usually not fatal, when people are attacked it is injurious and they are usually far from help or from the shore,” Sommeran said. “Usually I find that people don’t go out too much further than the wave breaks because it gives people the creeps.”

Justin Mendez, a second-year from College Nine, frequently surfs at the beaches in Santa Cruz and has never encountered a shark but he still gets spooked on occasion.

“When I went out last Saturday, I was tripping balls because I thought I saw a shark and we were the only ones out there, so I paddled my ass back in for a little bit,” Mendez said.

On her field study, Smith learned some tricks to evade shark attacks.

“If you put a hand on a shark’s nose, which is full of sensory organs, they will fall back and swim away because they do not understand what it is and they do not want it to happen again,” Smith said.

Part of the work that Sommeran and his team of researchers do is to warn surfers of dangers in areas where there are sharks. However, they still joke about the inexperienced surfers and pedestrians in Santa Cruz.

“We have this ongoing inside joke that the sharks sort of weed out the kooks and keep the crowds down in a lot of the more remote spots in Santa Cruz,” joked Van Sommeran. “They help natural selection create a faster, smarter, and more alert breed of surfer.”

However, Mendez has a different take on the way sharks go about choosing their food.

“It doesn’t really matter to a shark if you are a weak surfer,” Mendez said. “If you are floating around out there, a shark is going to eat the guy who looks most like a seal.”

A Reverse Threat

Despite the fact that sharks pose a threat to humans, they face threats of their own as well. Even though sharks are apex predators, they are still in danger of extinction due to high sea fishing and because of their horrific reputation. Sharks are long-living, slow-growing and easily susceptible to being over-fished. In addition, a lot of small species like ghost sharks and skates get caught in troll fisheries.

Sommeran’s Pelagic Shark Research Foundation has been making efforts to conserve sharks since 1990.

“In many cases this by-catch [of sharks and rays] is discarded,” Sommeran said. “It is also estimated that numerous high-seas commercial fisheries discard more than 210,000 metric tons of sharks and rays annually.”

Several local efforts are targeted at addressing the threats humans cause to sharks.

At the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the tour leaders try to change the negative perception of sharks by emphasizing the danger that can occur from a diminishing shark population.

“Sharks are really in danger and they are a big part of the food chain because they are apex predators, so if you take them out there is going to be a great unbalance,” Ann Veneman, a tour guide at the aquarium, said. “They eat fish that are usually diseased or not as fast as they normally should be, so they are cleaning up the environment.”

Sommeran’s Pelagic Shark Research Foundation has three long-term monitoring programs at Moss Landing where there are critical breeding habitats threatened by a few real estate restoration issues.

In the Monterey Bay Marine Canyons, the foundation is checking pelagic sharks that are heavily affected by open ocean drift drill nets and whale liners. They track the sharks from the Monterey Bay pacific basin to Japan.

Sommeran recognizes the value sharks have in the field of marine biology and is doing all that he can to preserve them for the future.

“Sharks are fascinating for all of the obvious reasons because of their teeth and all that, but they are also interesting for showing a long tenure in the fossil record,” Sommeran said. “They represent some of the earliest, if not earliest, vertebrates of our planet.”

As a surfer, Mendez has developed a respect for sharks despite commonly held misconceptions about these ancient vertebrates.

“Sharks are interesting because everyone freaks out about them and thinks that they are crazy,” Mendez said, “but they are actually pretty calm creatures.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at ‘Sharktober’ is Upon Us

Illustration by Rachel Edelstein

Illustration by Rachel Edelstein.

She was stranded in Reno.

After being kicked out of her family’s house with no money, no familiar faces, and no place to stay, Danielle Keck* was stuck. With nowhere else to turn, she dropped her bags off at a hotel and set to the streets.

Her only way to get back to school was to earn enough money for travel, food and tuition. She was left with only two options: exchange her body for cash, or sleep on the street. She chose to have a roof over her head.

“I never thought I was going to get to go back home, in all honesty, or even come back to college,” Keck said. “Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do when you have nothing. I mean, maybe it’s a little degrading, but it’s all you have, especially if you have nothing.”

Despite the seemingly extreme situation, Keck is not alone. Education is expensive. The University of California tuition has undergone an increase of nearly 10 percent in the past year, with expectations of further increase in subsequent terms. With the addition of grant programs suffering significant cuts, can students afford a university education anymore?

Danielle Keck found a way.

Keck is a third-year health science major at the University of California, Santa Cruz with a GPA that sets her well on her path to grad school. She is also an escort. A prostitute. A “lady of the night.”

She currently has an income of $4,000 to $5,000 per week, but she claims even that is barely enough to scrape by. She pays for bills, rent, insurance, groceries and tuition on her own.

The fiscal situation that students and their families have been pressed into because of state-wide budget changes have altered lives, and while Danielle Keck stands out, she does not stand alone.

The Money

The local job market is shaky, with very few businesses hiring. A mere 11 percent of the UCSC student population currently holds a paid position on-campus, according to the UCSC Career Center, and only a handful actually make enough to pay their way through school.

“Hiring everywhere is down, but we still have a lot of opportunities for employment. I think you have to work harder to get the jobs, but they’re out there,” said Barbara Silverthorne, UCSC Career Center Internship Program Manager.

The life of the average college student has always been synonymous with economic instability. But when instability turns to desperation, desperate acts are certain to follow, and even those are all too often ground down by the current crisis.

“This is what really makes me angry,” Keck said. “I would have had my tuition paid in full by now, but with the University spike I have to bust my ass even more. And then on top of that I still have some other things to pay for.”

Yudof’s recommended 15 percent increase in in-state undergraduate fees for spring, coupled with a further 15 percent increase in fall 2010, would rocket the UC’s yearly tuition cost above $10,000 for the first time.

Factor in the cost of room and board, among various other living expenses, and a California resident will be paying over $24,000 for one year of university education.

Project You Can, a new UC-wide student scholarship fundraising effort for low-income students, is attempting to alleviate financial stress on low-income students, as are the changes to the Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan, a program that waives university fees for students with a family income of under $60,000.

While low-income students may be exempt from paying fees, the middle-income bracket has been left hanging out to dry.

This drastic swell in expense is calling budgetary allocations into question.

“The real problem here is that the California state budget has been cut back,” said Dan Friedman, UCSC professor and undergraduate program director of economics. “That’s why tuition has gone up. That’s why my colleagues and I have taken pay cuts. That’s why the job market is so poor. The state budget got trashed.”

Friedman proposes that the federal government go in and help states maintain their spending on essential programs such as education.

“The stimulus is way short of what it should be for helping states. The situation shouldn’t be as bad as it is,” Friedman said.

The Struggle

Because of this bad situation, many students have turned to a market that they know will always pay well: sex.

According to Ed Vincent, talent department recruiter for Kink.com, a popular pornography site based in San Francisco, the number of students who have applied to work for the Web site has increased notably within the past year.

“There’s been so many recently that we’ve added three new types of shoots per week for amateurs who want to see if they want to work in this industry,” Vincent said. “We do about 12 to 15 shoots per month just to accommodate all the new people.”

Vincent described numerous examples of Kink.com models who have used the job to pay for college — be it undergraduate studies or, more recently, graduate school in New York.

Johnny Lang*, a second-year at Cabrillo College, began sex work at 16. He studies social anthropology, and has become a strong advocate of safe sex. He believes that more and more students will soon turn to sex work out of economic necessity.

“I would rather have a regular, decent-paying, hourly job than being a sex worker because obviously it’s a lot more safe,” Lang said. “But if tuition hikes keep going up the way they are and the economy keeps heading the way it is, I’ll eventually be forced into sex work more than I am now, which puts me at further risk.”

He paused, and then added, “It’s a scary reality. It’s a scary reality, but it’s real.”

More and more often, students are turning to dangerous and risky ways to earn cash to stay afloat. Keck understands these risks and has faced the ugly truth underlying these hard economic times. She recounts a particularly powerful memory with a callous frankness.

“I had to fuck an undercover cop so my ass would not go to jail,” Keck said. “I had to have sex with him. He said I had two options: either I screw him, or I’d go to jail. And he showed me his badge and everything.”

When he booted her from the car, he threw a $50 bill at her, saying, “Well it would really be a shame to see you go to jail considering you’re a very nice girl.”

“If I had his gun I would have shot him in the face multiple times and I wouldn’t have minded going to jail for that,” Keck recounted, visibly disturbed and furious.

The psychological effects of this fiscal coercion run far beyond the present dilemma, according to Eileen Zurbriggen, associate professor of psychology with a focus on sexual assault and trauma.

The list of symptoms that prostitutes are at high-risk for are the same as women who have been sexually abused or raped: depression, anxiety, substance abuse, suicidal thoughts, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and dissociation, to name a few.

“The repetition — repeatedly having to have sex with people you wouldn’t want to be having sex with for your own pleasure — is a huge damaging aspect,” Zurbriggen said. “The more repetition, the more you’d expect it to have consequences.”

She expressed her sympathy for the students who have been backed into this situation, emphasizing the possible long-term damage they may suffer.

“I think it’s really a shame that any student feels that they financially don’t have any other choice than to do these things,” Zurbriggen said. “The loss of privacy that results might not seem like a problem now, but it might become an issue later. I would hope that students would be supported well enough to not have to do any of these things.”

The hazards that Keck and others in her situation have to struggle through are damaging — both physically and psychologically. Our students are stuck in a hole — a hole that only seems to get deeper and darker with every passing week. A hole that they are scrambling to escape out of.

Affordability is becoming less and less attainable in the university sphere. For Keck and Lang, budgetary problems have changed what it means to be a college student.

“I have to get through school and get through life on my own,” Lang said. “It’s just even worse that I would have to go beyond sex work and into debts or loans to find resources to get tuition.”

While families and students wait for an extended hand, Keck and Lang will continue to sell themselves for their education.

“This life corrupts you. Sometimes when I’m at school I just think, ‘This is time I’m losing to earning money right now,’” Keck said. “But then part of me lets that go and is like, ‘Education is better.’ I don’t want to be doing this for the rest of my life, you know?”

~~~~~

*Indicates name has been changed.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at The New Price of Education

Illustration by Maggie McManus.

Take a deep breath in, and let it out slowly. Do this a few times with the intention of breathing in the world around you. Let this respiration quiet the mind and bring awareness to the heart space within you. Allow gratitude to fill you, and enter you into a place of thanksgiving.

For many years I have traveled with my father and brother to Los Angeles to visit relatives for Thanksgiving. As a boy gathering with cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents, the reunion was, and still is, my favorite holiday. Around the dinner table, three corn kernels would be placed under each plate. We would all listen as each person shared three things they were grateful for and would symbolically place the kernels, one at a time, into a beautifully painted gourd. This gourd has been used for longer than I can remember and is now quite full, full of thanksgivings. But for most of my youth I dreaded this very tradition. I can remember trips down to Los Angeles, where days in advance I would be thinking of things to say, finding it surprisingly hard it to muster something I was thankful about.

More recently, I have come to value the kernel tradition, finding myself at times overflowing with thanks.

Living in gratitude is a way of placing oneself into the holism of the natural world, as a participant. To give thanks is to give back; it is a form of spiritual reciprocity, a meaningful exchange with the forces of nature.

But how do we ever give back in way that is meaningful? For all that we receive every day, to what do we give thanks?

For me, expressing gratitude releases the affairs of my ego and I am filled with the joys of the world. By creating this as a daily ritual, I remember that I am a part of something much larger than myself. When I am grateful, I am giving and receiving love. Gratitude becomes authentic and we can bring this awareness into our daily lives consciously, as opposed to just once a year.

Take a deep breath in, and let it out slowly. The world is animated and you are alive. Take a moment right now to give thanks, however you want, to whatever you want, and allow less to become more, and watch as life becomes richer. What role can gratitude have in our daily lives?

The life of modern humans is filled with materials from all over the world transformed and molded into products we consume. We often don’t know what things are made of or from where they came. It is hard, then, to appreciate the process of production, and we are disconnected from the original materials extracted from the earth.

Most of us eat three times a day. What better way to express appreciation for the natural world than through the celebration of food? Through remembering to appreciate simple things, like food and water, family and friends, ancestors and the stars, we can allow ourselves to be fulfilled with joy.

The holiday of Thanksgiving is familiarly centered upon a special seasonal dinner of corn and pumpkins, with a turkey as the centerpiece. But are not all meals special and worth giving thanks for? When there is abundance, like during the fall harvest, share in celebration. We, as a species, have done this for thousands of years and it is an important function of community.

The meal doesn’t start at the table either. Spending time preparing the meal can be of equal enjoyment to eating the meal itself. The product of Thanksgiving is not solely the finished dishes, but rather the good intentions had throughout the process of cooking; eating will nourish all involved in more ways than just from consuming the physical nutrients.

Next time you are at a dinner party, whether it is from your backyard bounty, a local farm, or from the supermarket, try initiating a “thanks-giving” circle: it could be a one-word go-around or open-ended sharing.

The uncountable gifts of the world are more felt than measured. Each flower opens with beauty, blooming courageously into an unknown world. As humans, our bodies are vessels of the world; our nourishment is both physical and spiritual. From the fertile belly of the earth we are fortified with food. When we dance or cry, we let flow through us energy larger than ourselves. We are invited daily to participate in the sensuous and invisible of life.

Take a deep breath in, and let it out slowly. I am grateful. And to those who have come before, to our ancestors, to the elders in the community, to the people and spirits who made life possible for us today, to the work, to the time and energy spent in creating the world we call home today, I give thanks.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Giving Thanks Year-Round

Photo by Sarah Naugle.

Photo by Devika Agarwal.

Photo by Devika Agarwal.

Photo by Devika Agarwal.

Photo by Sarah Naugle.

Nestled between bookshelves in the Chinese literature section of the Science & Engineering Library, Amu Sidhu, a third-year undergraduate student, slept in the most unexpected of places. Sidhu, along with around 75 others, made the library their bedroom after hours of negotiations and studying at a sit-in last Friday.

“I’m just a science kid who wants the science library open,” said Sidhu, who organized the nearly 24 hour library sit-in.

The newUC, an organization seeking to implement new policy in the UC system regarding the fiscal future, hosted the Science & Engineering Library Overnight Study-In to protest the cut in library hours.

Similar library sit-ins happened at UC Berkeley and UCLA — however, both of these campuses ultimately found an outside source of revenue to restore hours.

The new library hours include early closures at 5 p.m. on Friday and no services on Saturday.

A little before 5 p.m. on Friday, students crowded into the lobby area of the library, fearing that the library administration would lock the doors before the event began. More than 100 students crammed into the lobby area and spilled out the double doors onto the causeway leading to the building.

The protest got off to a rocky start as organizers and the library administration were not on the same page.

University librarian Ginny Steel described the negotiations in the weeks building up to the event as unclear.

“It’s not how I would like to work with student organizations,” Steel said. “I think it would have been great to be able to talk about this before the whole event was planned and really talk about what the goals are.”

The student organizers thought they had administrative backing until midnight.

Initially library administrators wanted to collect students’ IDs in case of any damages, but the idea of compiling a list of protestor names rose instead. The point of contention was whether the list of participants would be made available to administrators after the event was over.

As the deliberations continued, demonstrators became restless and at 5:15 p.m. demanded to know what was going on.

“[The administration is] basically going back on what they’ve said,” said someone from the student group. “So it is now our decision, it is up to us what we would like to do from here.”

At that point, the large crowd made its way through the gates chanting “Whose library? Our library! Whose books? Our books!” After the steady hum of confusion and subsequent eruption of shouting, the library then became quiet.

“Everyone was confused at that point,” Sidhu said. “To my surprise, people rioted and then went in and studied.”

Administrators locked the doors, allowing people to exit but not enter. Fifty-six students gathered outside hoping to participate and study in the library. At around 7 p.m., a general assembly was held addressing the “comrades” left outside as well as conditions for the remainder of the night. Eventually they were let in.

The library administration and public affairs cooperated with student organizers, and by the end of negotiations all parties agreed upon leaving the doors open until 12:00 a.m., to reopen at 8:00 a.m. and close at 5:30 p.m. the following day. Around 75 students opted to stay the night.

Steel spoke directly to the assembly, describing how the library and its staff are being hurt as well.

“I feel as though the library and all of us who work in the library share the goals of the students of trying to make the library as accessible as possible,” Steel said. “That being said, I don’t know that this approach will help us reach the goal that I think the group wants because it is costing money that we have to spend for staffing.”

The library budget has already taken a $1.9 million cut over the past two years out of an initial budget of $11 million. If the library endures the cut it has been told to prepare for, it will have had nearly a 32 percent reduction in three years.

In order to preserve the safety of the collections and the students, 17 staff members volunteered part of their weekend, many in the middle of the night, to watch over the library.

During the course of the study-in, students passed around a hat to collect funds to help make a dent in the cost to the library. The final count at the end of the night was around $300.

Sidhu said the general assembly was the most crucial part of the sit-in.

“People realized that it is not us versus them,” she said. “After Ginny spoke about it hurting them, we realized we should all work together.”

The following Saturday there was a general assembly to discuss the plan for actions on Wednesday the 18, and to hold a teleconference with similar university occupation groups in Italy and Germany.

At the request of the librarians, the students left an hour early, exiting the building at around 4:30 p.m. after a collaborative cleanup.

Sidhu hopes that the study-in was an example of what could come.

“In the future we will try to be more clear,” Sidhu said. “I think the main thing that came out of this is that there is now a committee that will head trying to figure out how to get more library hours.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Students Study and Slumber to Protest Library Hours

Photo by Devika Agarwal.

The fall quarter is quickly coming to a close, which also means the end of several campus sports for the year. City on a Hill Press gives you the lowdown on how UC Santa Cruz’s teams did this season.

~~~~~

Men’s Soccer
Record: 13-4-4 (8-2-3 in Division III)

With new head coach Michael Runeare at the helm, the UC Santa Cruz men’s soccer team greatly improved over last year’s record of 8-7-2 and made the NCAA postseason for the fourth time in five years. They started off the year strong with two overtime road victories over University of Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran, and went on to win 12 straight games. The second half of the season proved to be more difficult for them, however, as they lost four games on the road. These losses included their last two games of the season, after seven players were suspended from the team during the last weekend of October for an undisclosed team misconduct incident. The Slugs then hosted Claremont Mudd-Scripps in the first round of the playoffs on Nov. 14, but were defeated 2-1 to end their national championship hopes.

~~~~~

Women’s Soccer
Record: 12-6-0 (8-5-0 in Division III)

The women’s soccer team slightly bettered last year’s final record with two fewer losses and made the playoffs for the fourth straight year. They had two significant winning streaks during the season, winning four in a row after a first game loss as well as three straight wins at the beginning of October. Unfortunately, they too also suffered a first-round playoff loss at the hands of Claremont Mudd-Scripps, and will have to wait until next year for a chance at redemption for their early postseason exit.

~~~~~

Women’s Volleyball
Record: 20-11 (10-8 in Division III)

The Lady Slugs had a successful season, nearly equaling their impressive 2008 record of 22-8. After losing their first game of the year to Carthage University, the team went on to win six in a row and 13 out of 14 games in a single stretch. They had a difficult October, however, losing seven games straight on the road at two tournaments, in Thousand Oaks and Colorado Springs. Unfortunately, this losing streak lessened the team’s playoff chances, and they were unable to make the NCAA postseason roster this season.

~~~~~

Women’s Cross Country

The team started off the year with the University of San Francisco 5K Invitational on Sept. 5, where they placed sixth of 10 colleges and junior Mikayla Murphy finished second out of 100 participants with a time of 18.25.70. Their most successful meet of the year proved to be the Bronco Invite on Oct. 17, as the team finished fourth overall out of 14 teams in the open portion of the event. They then met at the NCAA DIII West Regionals in Claremont on Nov. 14 where the team finished 11th out of 17 teams. While this was not enough to continue on to the championship in Cleveland on Nov. 21, Murphy’s performance at the Regionals meet (where she placed seventh out of 113 runners) was enough for her to make it to nationals on an individual level.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Fall Quarter Sports Review

Illustration by Kenneth Srivijittakar.

“The Daily Show” has launched UC Santa Cruz into the public eye. On November 11, Jon Stewart lampooned the McHenry Library’s announcement that they are looking for a Grateful Dead archivist to help organize their massive collection of memorabilia from the acid rock band.

Part of the reason Stewart found the announcement so humorous is the same reason we find it so troubling. The library plans to offer $68,000 for the position. That’s right. $68,000 a year to have various posters, t-shirts, set lists and other items organized into a comprehensive and properly archived collection.

Much of the funding for the Grateful Dead archive comes from private sources, but the University has put the archive at far too high of a priority. On Sept. 29, UCSC’s Public Information Office celebrated a $615,000 grant to the collection. Meanwhile, the McHenry librarians are concerned about a cumulative 28 percent budget reduction that began in fall 2008 and will continue into June 2011.

The administration encourages people to donate and help the Grateful Dead archive grow. We want to see that level of support for other programs, departments, classes and lecturers that are routinely threatened to be placed on the chopping block. This is not the time to be adding a new salaried position for archiving when many faculty members are seeing their salaries dwindle under a difficult furlough plan.

The $68,000 archiving salary is not our main concern, however. Our main concern is what it represents: the misdirection of a school that does not prioritize the needs of its students. It is about the the construction on the McHenry Library that began in 2007 and chugs along even as the library takes away more hours. When it comes down to it, students would rather have a library that’s open than one that is “state of the art.”

The University needs to make a greater effort to prioritize the needs of its students. Rather than trying to “wow” the world with an extensive collection of rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia, we need to encourage donors to better support the things that make college intellectually stimulating, enriching, worthwhile and affordable.

If the rapid deterioration of the University continues, the student body will turn into the walking un-Grateful Dead, only able to admire the enthralls of a library from outside locked doors.

But at least we will have a well-organized rock band archive.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at The Grateful Who?

Illustration by Joe Lai.

It’s been just over a year since the passing of Proposition 8 in early November 2008, the amendment that restricted the marriage between same-sex couples in California. One long year that has left the gay community questioning the legitimacy of their unions, and the potential for official state recognition.

Although it has only been a year since a major setback in what is being called our generation’s civil rights fight, it seems that gay marriage, no longer the “hot” topic of the day, has faded from the minds of most citizens. Replaced by concerns about the economy, health care and education, most Americans have pushed the question of gay marriage to the back burner.

After a brief period of hope in 2008, when over 18,000 couples were officially married in California between June and November, it seemed that we were finally taking a step forward. However, after the grievous blow of Prop 8, the only meager concession given to the state of California was the upholding of marriages performed that past summer, before the amendment’s passing. A small victory, but by no means satisfactory or acceptable.

While several concessions have been magnanimously imparted to the gay community by our glorious land of opportunity since 2008, it is clear that we are far from winning the war against ignorance and intolerance. In fact, in recent months several states have taken steps backwards in the fight for equality.

On Nov. 3, the state of Maine repealed its same-sex marriage statute. This most recent injustice was the latest in a series of repeals and rejections. Maine marks the 31st state to put gay marriage laws to a popular vote and lose. Presently, only Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Iowa have officially legalized gay marriage. Out of the 50 states in our union, only five allow gay couples the same bonds that heterosexual couples have access to.

The UC, even with the budget crisis and fee increases, is doing more to support gay marriage than many states in the U.S. — a country that is currently undergoing similar financial crises and reassessment of priorities. According to the University of California Human Resources and Benefits Department, any UC employee with a domestic partner, regardless of gender, is eligible to the University of California’s retirement benefits and survivor benefits.

This public entity of California recognizes unions that many states have officially denied as being valid. Although we as a state are making some progress, conservative state statutes such as the Alabama Marriage Protection Act, take a step backwards, claiming same-sex marriage is not only against the laws of the state, but of nature.

We protest libraries closing and fee increases on a bi-weekly basis at UCSC. Why can’t we unite in the same spirit to protest this infringement of our constitutional rights? While Proposition 8 had yet to be voted on, UCSC was up in arms. Do we take defeat so easily? This is not to say that there are not many people still fighting on a daily basis to have these laws repealed all over the country, but what happened to our fire?

On January 11, 2010, the issue of the unconstitutionality of Proposition 8 will be presented and debated in the federal courts by two lawyers, Ted Olson and David Boies. We must show our support and take up our right as citizens of this often great country by letting our lawmakers know that we will not stand for this breach of our social contract any longer. As a country of progress — go Obama! — we need to keep our momentum and not lose the fervor of 2008. This is no trend that will be idly passed by.

While the issue of same-sex marriage may no longer be splashed across every front page, the problem is still undeniably present. Students and non-students alike need to rally to the cause and make sure that this violation of human rights doesn’t goes unnoticed until it is rectified.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Here, Queer and Not Going Anywhere

To raise awareness about a foundation in Israel that provides heart surgery to young children, the Santa Cruz Israel Action Committe put together a photo gallery at Stevenson College featuring pictures of the children. Photo by Morgan Grana.

Heartwarming photographs of a humanitarian organization line the Stevenson Fireside Lounge.

The photo gallery displays professional and amateur photography depicting Save a Child’s Heart, an Israeli organization that performs cardiac surgery on young children. Santa Cruz Israel Action Committee (SCIAC), a campus organization, put together the photo gallery which has been on display since Monday.

SCIAC is a student-run organization that attempts to raise awareness about Israel and provide opportunities for UCSC students to learn more about the country’s culture.

“This is the year when the group is kind of exploding,” said Nathan Habib, a second-year Cowell student who is the co-president of SCIAC. “We try to advocate [for Israel] in a fun way and interest a student who has no connection to Israel.”

SCIAC’s goals are based on shining a positive light on the cultural aspects of Israel, letting students know that the country is not just about conflict.

“Israel is a country with conflict, but it’s not a country of conflict,” Habib said.

This past summer, Habib and several other members of SCIAC went on a “birthright” trip to Israel. The opportunity for this free trip is open to Jewish young adults between the ages of 18 and 24. During the trip, Habib first learned about Save a Child’s Heart.

“We went to the house where the children stay during their treatment and got to play with them,” Habib said. During the visit, he and the SCIAC advisor came up with the idea to have an event at UCSC to raise awareness about this organization and let people know that there are many volunteer opportunities within the organization.

Each surgery that Save a Child’s Heart performs costs approximately $10,000. Children from all over the world who are in desperate need of heart surgery are sent cost-free to Israel. The waiting list is currently about 1,000 children long.

For the photo gallery, Save a Child’s Heart provided images of some of the children who have been helped by the organization, taken by professional photographers. With funding from Hillel, the photo gallery had been in planning stages for about a month. Several SCIAC members are artists, and one member even works at an art gallery. A number of the photos at the gallery were taken by SCIAC’s own members on their birthright trip.

“We got together a few weeks ago and discussed what to order and what materials we needed,” said Shana Barnett, a third-year Stevenson student. Barnett works at an art gallery, and thus was essential in setting up the display.

The moving photos displayed around the Stevenson Fireside Lounge were admired by many, and helped SCIAC to achieve its goal of raising awareness. Along with the photos, a short film was played explaining Save a Child’s Heart’s goal and purpose.

There was an information table at the gallery’s opening event, providing pamphlets and informational reading about Save A Child’s Heart. Also on the info table was a large poster board with many small red hearts on it.

“It is a “Send Your Heart to Israel” poster,” Explained Maiyan Bino, a third-year student from College Eight. “People sign it and we are going to send it to Save a Child’s Heart in Israel.”

The photography and the event as a whole drew students from many different parts of campus and informed them about the organization while showing proactive ways students can participate to make a difference.

“It is a gallery that is shown all over,” Habib said. “This wasn’t a fundraiser — the goal of our event was to raise awareness of humanitarian aid in Israel and to show that there are opportunities to help.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Saving Children’s Hearts Through Photography

Rosie McCann’s staff foresees fee increases next year due to a new mandate by the Santa Cruz City Council and Police Department. Photo by Isaac Miller.

The Santa Cruz Police Department would like to see certain alcohol outlets pay higher fees, meaning the downtown scene could soon be changing for some nightclubs and restaurants.

The change would affect restaurants that turn into nightclubs at night, such as Clouds Downtown and Rosie McCann’s Irish Pub, which has already begun receiving calls asking for their upped drink prices.

“I think it’s a bad time with the economy,” said Rosie Mccann’s manager Verna Lyon. “Everybody’s in a space where they can’t afford to pay anymore. We never had calls before for how much our drinks are.”

In July, the city council voted to increase fees for all alcohol outlets by 80 percent, the first increase in ten years. Those fees are determined based on the risk that an alcohol outlet creates and previously ranged from $207 to $1,527. However, the fees for the 2009 fiscal year will range from $377 to $2,775. Restaurants that bring in DJs and turn into nightclubs after the sun goes down will have to reclassify as “high risk alcohol establishments.”

“People are having a great time, and I don’t mind it at all,” said Councilwoman Katherine Beiers. “But it’s clearly when things close between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. that there are an enormous amount of issues on the street, and we really have to increase police control.”

The rules for nightclubs and restaurants had been relaxed after the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake as an attempt to stimulate businesses, Beiers said.

“We purposely designed the downtown district so that it would become an entertainment place — with the theater and lots of restaturants,” Beiers said. “So, it was very purposeful to have all that. And it’s successful. But we also have to maintain safety.”

The Santa Cruz City Council is adopting other measures to attempt to increase safety in Santa Cruz. These include plans for bilingual teams of officers to do outreach in various neighborhoods, increased funding for gang and violence prevention programs, and a decision to accelerate the installation of new lighting on Pacific Ave.

These plans come after a spike this year in homicide and rape throughout the city, which included a break-in and sexual assault on the Westside, a double shooting downtown, and the stabbing of a 16-year-old high school student on Chestnut St. and Pacific Ave.

“We don’t understand how a boy got stabbed out in front of 7-Eleven, and now we’re getting charged,” Lyon said. “Why aren’t they charging the liquor stores?”

Zach Friend, spokesperson for the Santa Cruz Police Department, said the department’s recommendation that the zoning laws be changed is independent of the city’s recent incidents. Instead, he noted, the recommendation is designed to address an overall trend.

“It’s been going on for a few years, and we’ve been working on addressing it for a few years,” Friend said.

Lyon said that Rosie Mccann’s works very closely with the police and that while she “loves working with the police because it keeps us safe,” she felt the City Council was doing the restaurant a disservice.

“We work with the police to keep the sidewalks clear and our bouncers are always helping the police whenever there’s an issue. We work hand in hand, so I’m not sure why we’re getting a write-up.”

Lyon worries the change in zoning laws on top of an 80 percent increase in alcohol fees will force them to pass the cost on to their customers.

The Santa Cruz City Council and the police department said the plan is a way for all bars and nightclubs to help pay for the police presence needed to handle complaints and issues downtown. They said that restaurants that turn into nightclubs are paying fees too low relative to the risk that their high alcohol sales create.

Beiers said she recognizes that the new regulations aren’t necessarily beneficial to local businesses or customers.

“Certainly some of the owners of some of the various establishments are questioning the necessity, and it’s a tough time, and they may have to pass the increase on to the customer,” Beiers said. “I’m certainly sympathetic to all that.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Nightclubs Brace for Increased Fees

Illustration by Joe Lai.

Off the coast of California near Santa Cruz earlier this year, a small team of scientists aboard a research vessel witnessed a group of bottlenose dolphins attacking a small harbor porpoise near the beach of Pajaro Dunes. They could be seen drowning it, chasing it, beating and ramming into it.

It was on this trip on Sept. 16 that Dr. Daniela Maldini, the chief scientist at Okeanis, a small non-profit organization dedicated to research and understanding of marine life, witnessed the alarming behavior. Despite the morbidity of the situation, Maldini was excited to witness one of the rare attacks.

“There were clues that this was going on, but nobody had ever actually seen a bottlenose dolphin doing it,” Maldini said. “Now we have a confirmation of that.”

Since 2004, residents have noticed harbor porpoises being swept ashore with various injuries including broken ribs and spines, and with bruise marks on the bodies. Bottlenose dolphins had long been suspected of being responsible for the attacks.

According to researchers from UC Santa Cruz’s Long Marine Laboratory, in the last year alone 74 porpoises were washed ashore dead.

“We’ve been studying the bottlenose dolphins since 1990 so we know the population very well, and the animals have been around for many years,” Maldini said. “I think that it’s a natural phenomenon.”

Scientists are trying to pinpoint the biological reasons for the dolphins’ odd behavior. Okeanis looks at the social structure of bottlenose dolphins, sex ratios, survival rates of calves and the contaminant levels in the blubber of the animals, including mercury. By exploring all these factors, Maldini hopes to narrow the possibilities down.

“At this point, I’m not sure what level of concern we should have for the harbor porpoises because we do not know what the impact on their population has been,” Maldini said. “Aggression between species has been reported before, it’s just never been seen before in California, so certainly there may be environmental stressors that we have to consider.”

Moss Landing Marine Mammal Center is a local non-profit organization dedicates itself to saving the porpoises from being killed off the coast. While Okeanis’ main goal is research, Moss Landing Marine Mammal Center takes a more hands-on approach.

“When an animal comes in still alive, we are the primary responders. We put it into a pool and try to rehabilitate it,” said Susan Lambrecht, a researcher at the center.

On the same day that Okeanis researchers witnessed the attack, Moss Landing Marine Mammal Center launched a rescue mission for a harbor porpoise being harassed by the same pod of bottlenose dolphins. Lambrecht’s team was the first to respond.

“We picked up the porpoise, but it died on the way to the rehabilitation pool,” Lambrecht said. “We tried our best to let it live.”

The porpoise was turned over to the Long Marine Laboratory to be used as further evidence.

This and other pieces of evidence are being compiled and will be well into the future. Researchers are eager to find answers but also remain focused on the long term results.

“We’ve been out there for the past 20 years and we will continue to be out there for the next 20 years,” Maldini said. “We don’t plan on quitting anytime soon.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Dolphin Attacks

Fourth year Student Mikayla Murphy placed 7th at NCAA Division III Regionals last weekend, hosted by Pomona Pitzer in Claremont. Her finish qualified her for Nationals, to be held in Cleveland, Ohio this weekend. Photo by Maggie McManus.

Junior women’s cross country runner Mikayla Murphy placed seventh out of more than 100 participants in the NCAA DIII West Regionals on Saturday, Nov. 14, earning her the chance to represent UC Santa Cruz in the NCAA Championships this weekend in Cleveland, Ohio. City on a Hill Press spoke with Murphy about her accomplishment and the team’s season as a whole.

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City on a Hill Press: How do you feel about representing UC Santa Cruz at the NCAA DIII National Championships?
Mikayla Murphy: I’m really excited. It’s really cool because I know we don’t get much representation in athletics, so to be able to go to Ohio and have the Slug uniform on is great.

CHP: What do you feel attributed to the success you had this season on the UCSC women’s cross country team?
MM: My whole entire team worked hard and I worked hard, too. I think it was consistent running and coming to practice every day — you can’t really argue with that.

CHP: What would you say is the most important component to being a successful cross country runner?
MM: The thing about running that I really like is that it’s really how much work and time you put into it and how much pain you’re willing to put yourself in — it’s really about how much you want it. It’s also about being able to stay healthy and I’ve been really lucky to not be injured this year so I’ve been able to train.

CHP: How would you say the team did as a whole this year? What were the high and low points of the season?
MM: This is the most competitive my team has ever been. We’ve worked so hard and came together as a team a lot more than ever before. The only thing is that we had a tough break at Regionals; it was a bad day that didn’t reflect our skills and it was hard for our team to end on that note, [but] I’m really grateful and lucky that I get one more shot at it at Nationals.

CHP: The team finished eleventh out of 17 teams in the Regionals last weekend, which unfortunately was not enough to make it to Nationals. What do you think were some of the reasons for this result?”
MM: It’s hard. We don’t know why and it was frustrating and definitely hard to have a day like that, but that’s what running is and you have to be willing to bounce back and be vulnerable again. We have to work on whatever it was — nerves or tired legs — for next time.

CHP: What are the team’s goals to improve going into next season?
MM: We were a young team and we have no seniors, so I think another consistent year of training and racing more is going to make a big difference, [as well as] having another year together.

CHP: What is your strategy going into the championships this weekend? How do you feel you will do?
MM: It’s a hard race for me after coming off a race that wasn’t my best … [but] I would love to get a personal record for my 6K and I think I have the ability to do that. It’s just a matter of being able to control my mind and legs that day.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Women’s Cross Country Runner Makes Nationals

Men’s Soccer
11/14 vs. Claremont Mudd-Scripps (home) 2-1 (loss)*

Women’s Soccer
11/14 at Claremont Mudd-Scripps (away) 2-1 (loss)*

Women’s Basketball
11/17 vs. William Jessup 69-58 (loss)

Men’s Basketball
11/11 vs. SF State (home) 69-68 (win)

{Upcoming Athletics}

Men’s Basketball
11/20 vs. Puget Sound (away) at 8 p.m.
11/21 vs. Whitworth (away) at 8 p.m.
11/27 vs. Claremont Mudd-Scripps (away) at 5 p.m.
11/28 vs. Pomona-Pitzer (away) at 5 p.m.

Women’s Basketball
11/21 vs. Mount St. Mary (away) at 12 p.m.
11/22 at Emmanuel Tourney (away) at 3 p.m.
11/25 vs. Menlo (home) at 6 p.m.
11/27 vs. Claremont Mudd-Scripps (away) at 7:30 p.m.
11/28 vs. Pomona-Pitzer (away) at 5 p.m.

*Indicates NCAA postseason game

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at This Week in Sports