Pledge of Action and Solidarity with Student General Strike

On November 22^nd, 2011, the General Assembly of Occupy UC Davis agreed to a general strike of all California campuses on Monday, Nov. 28^th to protest the recent cases of police repression and block the UC Board of Regents from voting on proposed fee increases and severe budget cuts. In their proposal, the students declared that “The continued destruction of higher education in California, and the repressive forms of police violence that sustain it, cannot be viewed apart from larger economic and political systems that concentrate wealth and political power in the hands of the few.”

We wholeheartedly agree with the students’ proposal and declaration. We know that the brutal pepper spraying of UC Davis student protesters is an attack on all Americans right to free speech. We know that riot police assaulting peaceful UCLA students is an assault on all of our right to assembly. We know that the UC Board of Regents gutting the California public university system is an affront to the ideal of accessible, quality education. And we know that the battle to defend our rights and protect our universities cannot be separated from the battle to get corporate power and money out of our democracy.

With the knowledge that our struggles are one, we, students on college campuses across the nation and Americans who support our struggle, pledge to take nonviolent action in solidarity with students nationwide. We will take part, within our means, in actions including, but not limited to, the following:

1)    Striking and joining a protest on a college campus. Click here for a list of campuses participating in the General Strike.

2)    Calling Chancellors at a UC school and demanding they allow students to peacefully strike and demonstrate without threat of repression.

•  Robert Birgeneau, UC Berkeley - (510) 642-7464
•  Linda Katehi, UC Davis – (530) 752-2065
•  George Blumenthal, UC Santa Cruz – Write a Message
•  Henry Yang, UC Santa Barbara - (805) 893-2231

3)    Calling UC President Mark Yudof and the UC Board of Regents demanding they veto the proposed budget cuts and fee increases. Use this contact list for the Regents.

4)    Spreading the word about the following petitions:

•  Demand UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi Resign
•  Emergency Petition to End the Police Repression of UC Students

Solidarity forever!

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"NO CUTS, NO COMPROMISES" PETITION

387 SIGNATURES

GOAL: 10,000 signatures

Do you know how much debt you will be in when you graduate? Do you know how much of what you will ultimately pay for your student loan will go towards education and how much will end up lining the pockets of financial institutions that contribute nothing to education? Higher education is the fundamental bedrock of American society. Education drives our ability to innovate, and is directly correlated to our future as a prosperous, successful nation. Education is the pathway for immigrants to find success and contributes to students becoming upstanding citizens and life-long taxpayers and learners.

With the cost of a college education becoming increasingly unaffordable, we propose a NO CUTS, NO COMPROMISE petition to all 50 Governors to urge them to commit to refrain from making ANY cuts to education in their state budgets this year. We ALL have the right to an affordable, high quality education and ask that our Governors consider their priorities by upholding these rights.

The average cost of college has gone up by over 66% over the last 20 years(http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=76) while administrator salaries have risen considerably. At Ohio State University, President E. Gordon Gee is the top-earning public college President in the nation, bringing in over 1.8 million dollars per year. (http://chronicle.com/article/Presidents-Defend-Their-Pay-as/126971/)
At the same time, it has become harder for graduates to find well paying jobs. In fact, recent graduates have seen a 10% decrease in their income since 2006, according to the New York Times. (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/19/business/economy/19grads.html)

It is time that we stand together and protect higher education in America. Let's stop burdening our youth with over $20,000 in student loans by the time they graduate. We believe that everyone  should have the right to an affordable, quality education without fear of financial ruin. Education for the 99% should NOT be dictated by the financial gains of the 1%.

We ask all America's Governors to make No Cuts to Education, in their state budgets.

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