This year marks the 45th anniversary of Mario Savio's tremble-worthy speech on the UC Berkeley campus at the pinnacle of the Free Speech Movement. Notably, 45 years later, the faces of the new UC Berkeley movement now include women leaders and students of color. As part of a week of events to celebrate both Savio and the public university itself, I will be speaking on a panel with University of California faculty, California State Assembly members, and local government officials about the erosion of public funding, diversity, and popular support for public education in California.
On November 17, the UC Board of Regents, a group of decision makers appointed by the Governor of CA, will vote on a proposed 32% increase in student fees for in-state California students. Accompanied by additional fees for UC professional, engineering, and business schools, this will force fees above $10,000 for the first time in University history, systematically denying access to underrepresented, lower-income, and now, middle-income students.
Come out if you are in the Bay Area! The week of events also includes a guest lecture by Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine, on Californian crisis politics:
10/26 The Crisis of the Public University
Monday 4-7 PM
Pauley Ballroom
Speakers:
Ariel Boone, ASUC Senator
Jayna Brown, UC Riverside
Stan Glantz, UC San Francisco
George Lakoff, UC Berkeley
Ananya Roy, UC Berkeley
Nancy Skinner, California State Assembly
Phil Ting, San Francisco City Assessor-Recorder
Alberto Torrico, California State Assembly Majority Leader
10/27 Naomi Klein "The Shock Doctrine: California Style"
Mario Savio Memorial Lecture
Pauley Ballroom 8pm
10/28 Robert Cohen "Freedom's Orator: Mario Savio"
Book Release Event
With Lynne Hollander-Savio, Leon Litwack, Robby Cohen, Scott Saul, and Colleen Lye
FSM Cafe 5pm
10/29 Ruth Gilmore "Life In Hell"
Center for Race & Gender Distinguished Lecture
Bancroft Hotel 5pm
All events are ADA-accessible.
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The problem, in my opinion isn't a Crisis of the Public University. The real issue is the brainless leadership of California embodied by its laughing stock of a Governor.
I teach at a public university myself, though thankfully not in California, and we are doing great. A lot better than most Ivy League schools, actually.
Except that in California, we've had UC administrators who were complicit with the state government in wrecking the university - the Compact with the governor well before the economic crisis, the massive ramp-up of administrative salaries and positions, and some dreadful investment strategies for the endowment and pension funds.