Are you tired of the price of college going up? Are you tired of not getting into the classes you need to graduate on time? Are you tired of the feeling that the people making these decisions don’t care about the students?

Then it’s time to do something about it. This is a Call for Action to the students of the CSU. This is our time. We need to band together and show the people at the top, who are not invested in our education, that we care, that we want things to change, and we are NOT going to take this lying down!

These budget cuts and tuition increases effect all of us. When students can’t afford to go to school full time, more students stay in school longer. When students can’t get the classes they need, then the courses become more impacted and everyone gets pushed behind a semester or two. When you get pushed back a semester or two that’s more money, that us broke college students don’t have, have to spend. Or it means another loan we have to take out. (Don’t get me started on the business of student loans, that can be another post) When you have to take out another student loan, that’s just more money you have to pay back after graduation, PLUS interest. If tuition keeps going up and up and up more and more students will apply for financial aid. The school does not have an infinite amount of money to give out. And what about the Cal grant and Pell grant? Those keep getting threatened at every budget committee hearing because its excessive spending. Well that excessive spending is what is sending most students in the country to college.

It is time to band together and raise such a ruckus that we make sure that the Board of Trustees and Chancellor (g)Reed can hear us! That we wont stand for their irresponsible behavior any more. These administrators are supposed to be safe guarding our education, and instead they are squandering our money on themselves. This injustice has to stop!

We are here for ourselves and the quality of our education, but for the students who come after us. If we can’t get our classes or graduate on time, what can the future hold for the students after us?

What kind of legacy will we leave behind? We must stand up and fight!

How many have had a tough time getting into required classes?

How many have had to drop classes because you can’t afford the tuition?

How many of you can afford all your books?

How many of you are looking at an uncertain future because school is too expensive?

How many are taking out more student loans? ( I know I am)

There are many other hurdles that face the students of the CSU, more than what I already posted. And what is our administration doing about these problems? Nothing. Nada. Zilch. These administrators are supposed to be the people who safe guard my education. They are the care takers of this fabulous institution of Higher Education. This is their job. They are supposed to be standing up for the students and fighting for us! Instead they sit back and watch as the Capitol cuts so deep into the heart of education that we are bleeding out. They give themselves raises, instead of putting the money back into schools so our universities can offer more classes. They come up with new plans to make it even harder for students to graduate!

This is unacceptable!

So what as students can we do about it?

We have the power. We can make them listen to us.

So students I want you to channel your inner Martin, Malcom, Gloria, Cesar, or whoever you look up to and channel their spirit and speak up!

We have the power. We have the voice. It is our time to use it.

Does this make your blood boil? Make you want to do something? Then join us for our first meeting of the semester! We will be talking about what to do for the semester and what action we want to take so the Administration knows that we aren’t giving up the fight. Our first meeting will be this Saturday (September 10) at 10am at Eureka Hall room 450.

Hope to see you there! It will definately be an awesome year!

Jesse, Estevan and Professor Vega arrested Day 1 of Sacramento Capitol sit in. In protest of cuts to education.

They are being charged with trespassing skiing on close trail. It is considered a misdemeanor and they have to pay a $1000 fine. Court date June 1st.

Will Sacramento State’s recent after-hours crackdown against a student sit-in protest of campus administrator salaries and fee increases spark or squelch a new era of activism? Only time will tell, but one thing’s certain: The stakes are higher than ever.

The political clash heated up just after 3 a.m. on April 16, when Sac State and San Francisco State police in riot gear ejected 27 nonviolent student protesters, most of whom were sleeping, on day three of a sit-in at Sac State’s Sacramento Hall.

Soon after, the Sac State administration brought three charges of violating the school’s student conduct code against a quartet of protesters, who now are being referred to as the “Sac State Four.”

One of the Four is Yeimi Lopez, 21, of Southern California by way of Texcoco, Mexico. The communications major credits her father, younger brother and Sac State mentors for her political activism.

Sociology major Amanda Mooers, 23, of Fullerton, also faces charges for the sit-in. A course on class and race privilege from Paul Burke, a sociology professor, sparked her activism.

“During the sit-in, students from other CSU campuses, from UC campuses and from locations throughout the country indicated this was the type of thing they’ve been waiting to see,” Mooers said. “Students are ready to take this battle to the next level.”

Mooers argues that the way Sac State President Alexander Gonzalez and the administration chose to deal with the students “really highlights their mismanagement, from giving administrators raises during harsh budget cuts to calling in police from two campuses.”

She noted that “Leadership begins here” is the Sac State motto.

The California Faculty Association labor union, for which Mooers interns, represents some 23,000 tenured and tenure-track faculty, lecturers, librarians, coaches and counselors on all 23 CSU campuses. Kevin Wehr, president of the CFA Capitol Chapter, says the administration showed its “misplaced priorities” by using campus funds for police overtime to raid the student protesters. “What the students are doing is defending their education in a way that I have not seen before,” he explained.

Students say they’re just exercising intelligent thought. “We are critical-thinking students at Sac State,” Lopez said. “More than anything, the administration’s actions are bringing light to their priorities. Students are beginning to ask questions.”

Moors and Lopez said that Facebook and Twitter helped the sit-in protesters update scores of people. Their messages spurred kudos from as far away as Glasgow, Scotland. And a digital photo of two campus police officers clad in riot gear at Sacramento Hall to evict the 27 students went viral.

“Students are asking why that was necessary,” Mooers said.

Sac State spokeswoman Kim Nava declined SN&R’s repeated requests to say who ordered police to oust the student protesters.

A week after the Sac State sit-in, CSU Fullerton students launched a similar nonviolent protest. Students there occupied a campus building for three days to protest management’s six-figure salaries and skyrocketing tuition.

Lopez was one of three Sacramento-area college students who traveled in solidarity to Fullerton. “It’s a class struggle and movement that we’re seeing right now,” she said of the higher-education protesters.

“A change of people’s consciousness can create more accountability for policymakers,” Lopez said.

Meanwhile, much hangs in the balance for higher education, now and in the future.

As the Sac State Four fight school disciplinary charges, they and thousands of fellow activists are busy advocating for state legislation to strengthen public higher education. Such as Assembly Bill 1326, which would impose a tax on California natural gas and oil producers. The annual revenue from this levy would go to the state’s colleges, universities and community colleges.

Placing a state tax extension on the November ballot also would generate revenue to prevent a second $500 million in spending cuts for CSU; the same amount already has been cut for the 2011-12 academic year. A total $1 billion loss of CSU funding would mean more faculty furloughs, staff layoffs and tuition fee increases, plus fewer courses offered.

The process that the school has set up for any student that is faced with a disciplinary notice is flawed. Before the initial meeting you are not givin any information regarding your case, the only answer you will recieve is that “all your questions will be aswered at the meeting”. You are not allowed an attorney at any point in the proceedings, and this particular order comes from President Gonzalez. The Sac State 4 feel that the process could be changed and that information regarding student conduct should be made more accessible to students.

The Sac State 4 acknowledge that they could not have done this on thier own. The overwhelming support of the students, the faculty Academic Senate, the community and legislative aided in the victory.

Now that this distraction is over we can move forward with the movement and continue to fight for higher education. Come to the Capital on May 9th – 13th for a “Wisconsin Style” occupation sponsored by the California Teachers Association.

The Sac State 4 are four students who are being singled out by administration, and facing disciplinary action for their supposed involvement in the April 13th day of action and sit in.

They have a meeting today (4/28) with the administration to discuss what will be done. There will be a silent protest outside of Lassen Hall in support of these sudents. What the administration is doing to these students is unacceptable. Please show your support!!

More updates to follow.

In conjunction with students and the broader campus community, the California Faculty Association has called an all-campus meeting regarding the events of the week of April 13, including the rally that CFA helped organize, the student occupation of Sacramento Hall, and the administration’s use of riot police to remove students from Sacramento Hall at 3:30AM Saturday morning.

The meeting will take place on:
Thursday 4/28 from 1-2:30PM
in the Forest Suite of the University Union. 

All members of the campus community are invited to attend, as is the news media. Student activists and CSU staff, and faculty members will be on hand to answer questions and lead the discussion. This will be an open discussion for all to participate in, facilitated by students.

The need for such a meeting is clear.Many issues need to be discussed, among them these that are of concern to the Sacramento State Chapter of the California Faculty Association:

The campus administration has made insinuations both to the news media and in their own communications to the campus that the students who sat in for three days and nights at Sacramento Hall were put up to this by the faculty union.

Nothing could be further from the truth. We at CFA, which represents the CSU faculty, were as surprised as anyone when the students decided to stay in Sacramento Hall on Wednesday April 13, after a day of rallies and activities that we in fact did organize to address cuts and policies that we believe are undermining the quality of public higher education in our state.

But once the students has taken this course of action, CFA provided some support to the students by sending e-mails to the campus community and interested people, forwarding their public statements, and providing some food, water, and art supplies. Faculty members  did not participate in the decision-making process of the students.. 

It is offensive to the faculty, an injustice to our students and blindness to the critical pressure students are under in light of cuts and cost increases to suggest that students are not capable of undertaking their own analysis and moving to take action based on what they are witnessing and experiencing.

We in the Sacramento State campus chapter of CFA are proud of watching them stand up to exercise their First Amendment rights to speech and peaceful assembly, rights that are dear to our democracy.

Furthermore, the university’s managementhas claimed that it spent $14,000 in police overtime because of the occupation. This is yet another example of the administration’s misplaced priorities, wasting the precious resources it has. The students maintained a non-violent, peaceful protest with no destruction of property. They were well aware that public university property really belongs to them. There was no need for management to call in police in riot gear at 3:30 in the morning to remove these protesting students. All of this could have been handled much better.

These are some of the issues that will be raised at the open forum.

Today we witnessed firsthand and participated in a truly amazing growing student movement. Early this week news reached us that CSU Fullerton had launched a sit-in campaign in their administration building. We immediately got into contact with them and we began to build a relationship via phone. They kept us briefed on their changing situation throughout the week. The Sac State Coalition was able to send solidarity pizza to show Cal State Fullerton support! 

The dynamics of their struggle were markedly different from the occupation at Sac State last week. First of all their demands were calling for a meeting with President Gordon whereby they could draft a new joint resolution of school priorities. The students wrote the first draft, and the administration responded with their own version. The resolution exchanged hands in volley for four days. An agreement was finally reached Thursday April 21^st around noon. Through dialogue with Vice President Dr. Silas Abrego and other administration representatives a collaborative resolution was drafted they both publicly support. Immediately after the meeting the students called a press conference and stated there compromise. 

In comparison to Sac State’s sit-in, Fullerton administration demonstrated concern for student safety and support for student civic engagement. Administration allowed for doors to remain open to maintain air quality and allowed for food and supplies to come in. CSUF administration willingness to respectfully work with students as it was clear that it was a peaceful sit-in was portrayed by reports of only having two campus police patrolling at a time. 

Our trip to Fullerton was inspired by student representatives from ten different campuses who joined Fullerton and of course by the courageous acts we witnessed here today. A feeling of gratitude, responsibility, and awe was present among students of different schools. A sense that civic engagement and taking our futures into our hands is exactly what needs to continue the student movement. Inter-campus communication and coordinated campaigns will be key to successfully advocate at a campus, board of trustee and legislative level. The Sac State Coalition was thanked profusely by Fullerton students as we were an “inspiration” for their struggle. 

Our experience from first leaving Sacramento to then cheering with the Fullerton students as President Milton A. Gordon signed the “Statement in Defense of Public Education” assured us that we just ran our first lap of this very long marathon. We arrived early Thursday morning at three am. We cautiously approached the campus and searched for Langsdorf Hall. Expecting to meet a line of police we were instead greeted by a campus janitor emptying trash. We asked for directions and he walked us over to his work space office to show us a map. As we were all studying the map, one of us asked… ‘Well do you know where the student sit-in is being held?’…. He smiled and said ‘Oh! Why didn’t you say so?’ He then proceeded to open his jacket to show us his ‘Take Class Action’ shirt, and said in Spanish ‘Yea! I know about the students. You know this president lives in a very expensive house and I haven’t gotten a raise in five years.’ We told him we were here from Sacramento State to show solidarity and support and he extended his hand in gratitude and said ‘Muchisimas Gracias’. 

It is clear that this campaign for state level reprioritizing in affordable, quality, and accessible education will go beyond college students. This campaign is about our communities and will spread into our homes to our parents, sisters, brothers and grandparents. It’s been a great experience and we are bringing back to the Sac State Coalition lessons learn and energy to continue to work for a state we all want to live in.

 In Solidarity,

Estevan, Jesse, Yeimi

Sac State Coalition