CALIFORNIA- About 500 people are gathered at Telegraph and Bancroft Way in Berkeley, and 250 more at Laney College in Oakland, as the March 4th Day of Action kicks off at public schools and universities across California.

Twenty-year-old Cal student Eddie Rivero said he has friends who will have to drop out of school because they're undocumented immigrants who can't get financial aid and are paying part of their tuition with scholarships. He said they won't be able to cover costs as tuition rises.

Gladys Rodriguez is a 20-year-old Humanities student at Cal who said resources and supplies are limited in her department and a lot of classes have been cut.

At Berkeley, some members of the MeChA student group gathered in advance of the 12 o'clock rally have their faces painted, using skeleton designs to symbolize "the death of public education".

At Laney College in Oakland, a crowd of about 250 people is growing steadily in the main quad, where students trickling out of classes are watching a rap performance about the Day of Action. Dozens of signs are being waved in the crowd of mostly black and brown youth.

Oakland's 17th street has been closed down at Martin Luther King Jr. Way. A march to Frank Ogawa Plaza is planned from Laney College and Oakland's Fruitvale BART.

Youth Radio's Day of Action coverage is also available at Twitter.com/youthradio, or you can follow our Day of Action list.