| Editor's Note: Caitlin Emmons is a freshman at the University of California at Santa Cruz. |
| Caitlin's College Blog By: Caitlin Emmons Worries about money are following us everywhere, yet for me I always saw school as a separate world from all the financial concerns, I may have to pay rent and buy groceries but at least my education is being taken care of. However, this year has come to show something different. Many of you may be aware of the budget cuts affecting California education institutions. Billions were recently cut from the University of California system, leaving a gigantic budgetary deficit. The immediate response at many of the UCs was to cut programs and cut back on employees. Those measures were not enough, however, to make up the gap. The Regents in response passed a plan to increase student fees 32% by the fall of 2010. For many this makes a public resource completely unattainable. I am lucky enough that I will be able to continue in the UC system, but the response from the students is what has truly inspired this column. Students, despite their reputation for apathy, tend to become quite active when the issues start affecting them. My first run in of the year with these active students was actually on my first day of the quarter, though this was long before the fee increase was passed. Students at all of the UCs planned a walk-out during which they held rallies rather than attend classes. I watched dozens of students call for reclaiming the university and it inspired me to truly value the education I was receiving. Shortly after the end of the rally, a group of students actually took over a building and “occupied’ it. This would be the first of four occupations to date. The occupations made the experience that much more surreal. It was hard to imagine that there were actual students living in the academic buildings on campus and really fighting tooth and nail for what they wanted. The first occupation would last for almost a week before it was ended peacefully. The most recent of occupations ended last week, when the school sent in the riot police to bring a halt to what had been a weekend long occupation. The students in the most recent occupation had made a list of demands for the administration, all of which had been voted on by the students involved in the “Kerr Hall” occupation. Everywhere you went there were signs that something was happening on campus, whether it was the posters or CNN’s coverage of the events. It made me feel like I was in the middle of a real struggle, one that I could take part of. This is when it began to hit me. College students are fighters. We know what we want and we’ll do what we can to get it. This year, when administrators made decisions that will ultimately force people out of the education system, students, even those that were not directly affected were up in arms. There are international rallies being held in support of actions taking place across the state at the UCs. It is a reminder that I am part of something bigger, an entire generation that is facing similar problems regardless of where you are. It is a reminder that while I may be a small part of something huge, I am still a part of it. This is becoming a time for action, a time that is going to shape the rest of my college experience and will be one of the stories I look forward to telling about my “college days.” |
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