UPDATE: After a two-day sit-in,
"Occupy CCSF" resulted in a promised meeting of San Francisco City
College with its chancellor, Thelma Scott-Skillman.
To chants of "No cuts! No fees! Education it must be free!" students
at San Francisco City College marched through the campus on Feb. 21st to
protest cuts that could harm the school's accreditation. It was a vocal, lively
group, but small in comparison to the old protests of San Francisco's past.
Of course, the protests of the 60s and the 70s are distant memories and the
tenures of Gov. Jerry Brown (two terms) have made their mark on the fiscal
psyche of California. But while the protests of yore were large and boisterous,
the tenacity and intensity may have remained - at least with this protest - and
in it, Jerry Brown may have met his match
More Stingy Than Reagan
The tenures of Jerry Brown and Ronald Reagan as governors have often been
compared to each other in terms of social issues: while seen as a progressive
in terms of social issues (like education) it was in the fiscal area where
Brown has proved more conservative - and more ruthless.
wikipedia:
After
taking office, Brown gained a reputation as a fiscal conservative. [9] The American
Conservative later noted he
was "much more of a fiscal conservative than Governor Reagan."[10] His fiscal restraint resulted in one
of the biggest budget surpluses in state history, roughly $5 billion. [11][12] For his personal life, Brown refused
many of the privileges and perks of the office, forgoing the newly constructed
governor's residence and instead renting a modest apartment at the corner of
14th and N Streets, adjacent to Capitol Park in downtown Sacramento. [13] Instead of riding as a passenger in a
chauffeured limousine as previous governors had done, Brown
drove to work in a Plymouth Satellite sedan. [14][15]
With a reputation like that, it was no surprise that Brown threatened enormous
cuts in education to offset the state's $16.5 billion shortfall unless the
stated would acquiesce to a property tax hike.
In a referendum, the state said "yes":
According to news sources:
Overcoming decades of anti-tax sentiment in California, Gov.
Jerry Brown's Proposition 30 -- billed as a tax hike to rescue the state's
schools -- has emerged victorious in surprisingly decisive fashion.
But then ...
Bloomberg:
Most Californians would be surprised to learn that 100 percent of
education's share of the tax increase proposed by Governor Jerry Brown will go to pensions instead of
classrooms. But that would be no surprise to longtime observers of the California State Teachers' Retirement System,
which administers teacher pensions.
Where Did It Really Go?
At the rally, one of the main points about Jerry Brown's dealings was that he
pulled not one, but two switcheroos: one of the protesters, 45-year-old Pat,
student at San Francisco City College questioned the measure: "We know
that the money was supposed to go into the pension fund, but now hear that it
is in 'reserve', so now we're wondering, really, where it went."
The Question Of Accreditation
The most serious problem of cuts to colleges and universities within California
is the problem of losing accreditation, since thinly stretched budgets and
losses cause accreditation boards to pull the treasured status. Lack of proper
accreditation would, as one student put it "reduce City College to a rinky
dink junior college."
Back To The 60s
In a scene straight out of old-time Berkeley (from Save
CCSF) :
While waiting for a response from the Chancellor, students and
allies shared their stories about why they loved CCSF, sang songs, studied,
made signs, ate pizza and fruit donated by faculty and community supporters,
and slept wrapped in blankets on cold floors. For first-year student Christian
Guevara, this was his first participation in a political action: "I occupied
because I felt that this wasn't just another issue. I couldn't just continue on
my way. I knew that I had to be here." Dozens of new students got involved in
the movement.
What now?
Today's meeting
will seek to present these demands to the chancellor:
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