It looks like this academic year will start off with a bang for the University of California system.
Thousands of faculty, staff and students are expected to participate in a systemwide walkout to protest against the effects of the UC budget cuts.
A strike by the University Professional and Technical Employees, a union that represents over 11,000 UC workers, will take place on the same day.
Carolan Buckmaster, UCSD Research Associate and San Diego Chapter President of UPTE-CWA, explained that the two events were planned to take place on the same day to achieve maximum disruption.
The total number of faculty that will participate in the walkout remains unclear.
‘The faculty decided themselves [at last Tuesday’s faculty forum] what would be best for them as individuals,’ Buckmaster explained. ‘Some of them will go to the picket lines, some will bring their classes to the picket lines and some will do teach-ins. We see this as step one.’
On July 29, the Academic Council voted unanimously to implement at least six instruction-day furloughs ‘mdash; meaning that professors opted to take their mandatory days off on days when they had class.
However, President Yudof and the Chancellors rejected the plan, announcing that faculty would have to take their days off on non-teaching days usually dedicated to research.
Subsequently, an Open Letter to UC Faculty began circulating, calling on faculty to suspend teaching on Sept. 24 unless three demands are met: no furloughs or paycuts on salaries below $40,000, immediate institution of the Academic Senate Council’s July 29 recommendation regarding the implementation of furloughs and full disclosure of the budget.
Since then, the online petition has gathered over 1,000 signatures from faculty members in support of the walkout. Sixty of the signatures come from UCSD.
Additionally, the number of Facebook groups and YouTube videos on the subject of the walkout and the budget cuts has been growing rapidly.
The University of California Student Association, which represents all students within the UC system, unanimously passed a resolution in support of the systemwide walkout shortly after the petition began circulating, and the American Association of University Professors has endorsed the walkout as well.
‘We recognize that the current budget crisis in the state of California impacts people across the state, and that we must do our part to deal with the budget, but we also hope to broadcast the fact that ‘business as usual’ cannot continue in a state of crisis,’ Michael Davidson, UCSD literature professor and vice-chair of the literature department, said in a statement.
Davidson emphasized that walkout organizers are not merely concerned with faculty pay issues, but also aim to preserve the quality and accessibility of education within the UC system.
‘I signed the walkout petition because I believe those of us who study, work and teach at UC San Diego must begin to educate each other and the public about the very real possibility that the UC system is increasingly becoming a private enclave accessible only to the wealthy,’ Spanish and Chicano literature professor Jorge Mariscal said. ‘We do not believ
e students and their families should carry the burden for financing the university or that students should have to go into debt for a public education.’
Warren College freshman Andrew Lum is among the students who support the walkout.
‘I guess since none of my teachers are doing it, that might have an impact on whether or not I go to class, but I’ll probably go to class just because I’m a freshman and don’t want give a bad first impression,’ Lum said. ‘But I definitely support them ‘mdash; I’m tired of always hearing about UC cuts on the news.’
According to Buckmaster, the University of California released a letter to the faculty indicating that there are emergency funds available to replace professors if they are not in class. However, Buckmaster explained that professors have called the university’s bluff, questioning use of the alleged emergency money.
‘I think that President Yudof only wants to keep what is making money, and that is usually the sciences,’ Buckmaster said. ‘We see that his vision ‘hellip; [of the university] ‘hellip; will turn us into a sciences university with a minimum of humanities. A lot of the faculty are worried about this becoming a lopsided university, and also financially unavailable to San Diego families.’
The walkout and strike at UCSD will both start from the Gilman entrance information booth and the Gilman parking structure and last from 12:30 p.m. until 4 p.m.
Readers can contact Connie Shieh at [email protected].