Youth Radio - Topic: UC

John O'Connel High School Unveils Barn-Sized Woodshop

squevedo — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:14:58 -0600

In the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District John O’Connell High School is celebrating the premier of its new solar-powered “woodshop,” According to an article by Jill Tuckler in the San Francisco Chronicle. The barn sized space is equipped with power tools and according to David Goldin, the District Chief Facilities Officer, the space is big enough that students could wheel in a small airplane. The new building is impressive compared to the small classroom where carpentry classes were held before, a room that could fit roughly 15 students at a time. In addition to carpentry the school hopes to see robotics and aeronautics classes eventually taught there.

The introduction of the new space also ushers in a new curriculum where vocational and technical training are combined with college-prep, providing hands-on experience with the academics necessary to fulfill UC standards. Once frowned-upon, vocational training is now being seen as a viable means of giving student’s trade-skills necessary for career paths and the integration of academics with this training means students will be prepared for college as well.

Day of Action Crowds Building at East Bay Campuses

nishat — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:04:57 -0600

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.

California College Crisis: Origins. [An Interview with State Sen. Loni Hancock]

kchau — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:31:29 -0600

WEB EXCLUSIVE

SACRAMENTO-- California colleges and universities have been hit hard by state budget cuts cuts. Fewer classes are being offered, pay cuts for staff and faculty have been handed down, and classes sizes are blooming. In response to all this, protesters against these drastic cuts have held numerous demonstrations across the state at various college campuses.

We spoke with California State Senator Loni Hancock, a member of the State Senate's Education Committee about the budget cuts. Senator Hancock discusses the root of the budget crisis and what steps are being undertaken in Sacramento to address the budget shortfall.

Previously:

UC Students Walkout Thursday

denise — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:03:15 -0500

Students have joined forces with faculty and staff as part of a massive walkout at ten University of California campuses on Thursday. Student protesters say budget cuts have negatively impacted the quality of their education. Youth Radio spoke with 20-year-old Tu Tran who is going into his fourth year as an undergraduate at the University of California, Berkeley. Tran is also the executive vice president of the Associated Students of the University of California.

What role have you played in organizing the walkout?

I haven’t played any direct role, but ASUC has helped a lot. For example, we help ... to provide mics for the rally, and to build a bridge between students, faculty, and administration members. We also have been spreading the word, sending emails to our undergraduate population ... in support of the walkout. It shows that we stand in solidarity with the people who support this.

What reasons have students shared with you in terms of why they’re walking out or helping plan this walkout?

We have a diverse campus so it’s hard to tell you what they all think. But it boils down to being upset. Not only as a vice president, but as a student at Cal, we’ve had enough with the budget cuts. It hasn’t been since the 1930s that such a drastic increase in tuition [has been proposed]—it’s been proposed that tuition would increase 32 percent.

How have UC budget cuts impacted you and your Cal education? Please give specific examples.

I’ve seen services drastically decrease. We used to have computer stations and now we don’t. We use to have set library hours and now we don’t. It’s getting harder to get into undergraduate classes. I was looking into saving this year and now it’s looking hard to do so. What I don’t understand is, if we are going to pay more to close the budget, we should still have the same services -- but in this case we are getting the short end of the stick.

Previously:

UCs Walkout Against Budget Cuts

denise — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:57:17 -0500

Faculty and students of UC campuses are taking the system's budget cut crisis into their own hands and walking out on Thursday Sept 24th. It’s been announced that 10 UCs are taking part of this walkout--UC Berkeley being one of them. This year alone UC faculty experienced a cut of 4-10 percent in their salary, including 26 furlough days. Students are being hit by the budget squeeze as well. There has been an increase in tuition, less financial aid is available and school resources have been cut.

According to Dan Mogulos, Executive Director of Public Affairs at UC Berkeley: “last year in the fall 1500 classes were held on Thursday, there is no way of knowing how many classes we’ll be canceled for that day.” Mongulos says the number of faculty participating—as of right now—is 100 out of 2130 faculty members. Mongulos says this number is expected to change as the day gets closer.

According to Mongulos faculty members have the right to walkout, but before they do they need to ensure their students have material to work on. “If they—professors—walkout, they have to notify the students ahead of time and make sure the course material is done.”

More after the jump...

John Hurts, a professor in the graduate division at Cal, says he will be walking out along with his students “I think if anyone believes in public education and higher education... it’s important to support it—the walkout”

Hurts has been a professor for the past 50 years and says this is the worst case of budget cuts he has ever seen. The budget cuts have forced him to reject students this semester. “A lot of my courses have lost their GSI (Graduate Student Instructor) I can’t offer many sections. This fall I supervised at our undergraduate minor in education and we turned away almost 300 students.” He hopes that by walking out it will show people that UC faculties are not accepting the cuts and will fight until the end.

One thing both Hurt and Mongulos agree on is that it’s going to take more than one walkout to make a case to the California State Legislature—explaining that there is no better investment than in higher education.

Previously on Youth Radio:

Budget Cuts Force Students To Work Multiple Jobs

denise — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:59:25 -0500

University of California leaders decided to move forward to cut 4-10 percent of employees’ salaries and to take 11 to 26 furlough days.

• Faculty furlough days will vary depending on academic or 12-month calendars.
• Berkeley Lab employees are exempted under UC's contract with the U.S. Department of Energy.
• Most student employees, such as graduate students, also are exempted, as well as personnel whose funding comes entirely from contracts and grants.
• To ensure essential patient services are not disrupted, alternate plans for achieving the required savings for some or all of the medical centers may be considered.
• Employees working reduced hours under the START program also may be exempt, if their reduced pay under START is already equal to or greater than the proposed cuts.
• Implementation of the plan for represented employees will be subject to collective bargaining agreements and all applicable laws.
This plan is expected to address approximately a quarter of the $813 million budget shortfall. Read more at "University of California"

Are students getting the shorter end of the stick? That’s what it seems like for 21–year-old anthropology major Richard Jimenez of UC Santa Barbara. Jimenez is the first to go to college in his family and received a full ride until now. His financial aid was cut in half and he is now forced to get loans, grants, scholarships and work two jobs to pay his tuition. Jimenez works as an office assistant at UCSB Arts and Lectures and a teller at Chase bank.

Have you been affected by UC’s budget cuts?
Student hours have been cut and places for us to study are no longer open late. People who used to study late at our dorms are now heading towards the library—the only place that stays opens until 12am. There aren’t many places for us study. One coffee shop that was part of our school was cut; they are closing at 6pm instead of 9pm. Classes are being cut. Classes that are needed for students’ majors are not being offered as much. Everybody is fighting for those classes. My major is anthropology and there aren’t many choices because they’re closing classes. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t plan ahead because the classes that I want to take are closed, so I have to get what’s open and snatch it.

Will you receive financial aid next semester?
Yes, but my financial aid will be reduced. I have to take out loans for the first time…. I went online and I saw I was eligible for loans and I was like, “what are all these loans?” I had my friend help me because I didn’t know the difference between this loan and the other one. I was expecting the cut because of the budget cuts, so I wasn’t too surprised.

How much did your financial aid get cut?
For the past 3 years it covered 100 percent of my tuition and I still had money for books Now, I have to make up half of my tuition and on top of that I have to buy books and personal necessities.

How will you pay for your tuition now?
I have a job right now but I don’t get a lot of hours … at least it is something. I also started working at a bank and I’ll be working full time. I applied at the bank thinking that it’s going to help me out with understanding loans. My parents are also helping me. They each have two jobs. There are times that my mom doesn’t come home and stays at her job instead. My dad only comes home just to switch work clothes.

What are your future goals once you graduate?
I want to pursue graduate school. I want to continue and get into advertising. When I finish I have to pay for all those loans and that’s why I decided to get a job. I have to save money for when graduation comes because loans will be waiting for me. I have to save money this year.

What keeps you motivated through out these hard times?
Throughout this process I keep reminding myself that I have to continue and save money. I can leave any time; no one is forcing me to continue school, but I do this because I want to. I want this education and I’ll do anything to get it and finish it.

Previously: