UCSC Chancellor Thwarts Demands for Student Press Conferences, Turns to Edited Videos
Before 2020, UC Santa Cruz chancellors held quarterly in-person press conferences with students and addressed their concerns face-to-face. “It was a really important and useful connection,” said third-year UCSC student and Student Media Council (SMC) co-chair Darwin Melchiorre, in reference to the chancellor’s press conferences....
58 Out of 166 Language Classes Cut in 2 Years
UC Santa Cruz has cut 58 of its language classes over the course of two academic years. In the 2024-25 academic year, UCSC offered 166 language classes. Starting this September, it will only offer 108. That means about 35 percent of language options that were...
Dance and Defiance: The 54th Annual Los Mejicas Spring Show
Editors’ Note: Sources in this piece are left anonymous or mentioned with a pseudonym for safety and privacy reasons. City on a Hill Press is committed to protecting the identities of these individuals. The warm light of center stage illuminated a hopeful newly-wed woman, writing...
The UCSC Mauna Kea Protectors Today, Advocacy in Solidarity
The Mauna Kea Protectors (MKP) was originally a global movement with branches spread across the University of California system. Now, one of the only active student-based MKP branches in the UC system is rooted at UC Santa Cruz’s campus. Founded in 2019, UCSC MKP is...
AFSCME 3299 Union Reaches Tentative Agreement With UC. Is it Over?
The anticipation that comes the night before a strike is more than familiar to Christopher Contreras, a senior custodian at UC Santa Cruz and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) local 3299 Member. Contreras and his colleagues are no strangers to picketing...
Fighting to Maintain Connection: Students Gather in Remembrance of Lyle Prijoles and the Negros 19
As heels clicked against the hardwood floors of the Redwood Lounge and students and friends sang in remembrance of Lyle Prijoles, his wife Marienne “Yenyen” Cuison was pushing through after an emergency trip to the Philippines. During a 12-hour gunfight from April 18 to 19,...
What Dr. Cornel West Has to Say to UCSC Students
“When you come to a place like UC Santa Cruz, you come here to learn how to die.” These were the words of keynote speaker Dr. Cornel West at engaging education’s (e²) event, “Changemakers: Resisting Hopelessness, Shaping Our Future Through Love.” West is a celebrated...
The Reality for Unhoused UC Santa Cruz Students
Editor’s Note: One source has asked to be named under a pseudonym, indicated in italics. Additionally, certain details about sources are left purposefully vague for safety and privacy reasons. City on a Hill Press is committed to protecting the identity of these individuals. Justine Zolnoorian...
Committee on Faculty Welfare Calls on TAPS to Suspend Parking Price Increase
When Measure 82, a transportation reform, passed in spring 2025, Ph.D. student and Voices for Empowerment and Safety in Transportation (VEST) commissioner Jerry Hernandez was one of many students filled with a newfound sense of hope. “It felt like a historical moment. It showed students...
44 Years of Resistance: Multicultural Festival Brings a New Meaning to Community
As the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives permeate public universities across the country, students are at the forefront of the resistance. Over 400 students and 19 vendors gathered at Oakes Lower Lawn to celebrate the 44th annual Multicultural...