Attention all students of the univerity of california

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - San Diego
1

<p>Things aren't looking too good. </p>

<p>I'm sure most of you have heard of the state dramatically lowering its contribution to the University of California. I think that we as students and faculty at the different UC campuses need to see what's really at stake and exploring some options on what to do. </p>

<p>I'll start off by messily kissing up to the University of California. </p>

<p>We're part of one of the finest educational institutes in the world. Eight of the UC campuses are counted among the top 100 universities in the nation by US News and World Report. According to a press release by the office of the University of California, UC researchers and faculty are responsible for 5,505 inventions and 2,497 patents and create three new inventions everyday! UC faculty includes 389 members of the Academy of Arts and Sciences, 5 Fields Medal recipients, 13 National Medal of Science Laureates, and 32 Nobel laureates. </p>

<p>Not only does the University of California offer a world-class education to its students, it also contributes a tremendous amount to the well-being and prosperity of not just California, but the entire nation. UC Berkeley (1), UC San Diego (2), UCLA (3), and UC Davis (10) were among the top ten schools in an annual ranking by Washington Monthly that measured how much good a particular college or university does for the country. </p>

<p>The editors even took some time to give the UCs a spotlight in the introduction: “UC campuses enroll unusually large numbers of low-income students while maintaining high graduation rates, generating billions of dollars in research funding, and sending a healthy number of students into service programs like the Peace Corp." (For comparison purposes, Harvard was ranked 11th, Yale 23rd, Princeton 28th, Duke 33rd, and USC 41st) </p>

<p>Unfortunately, the very next line reads, "Tragically, steep budget cuts stemming from the current California budget fiasco are putting all of that at risk." </p>

<p>California recently cut its contribution to UC by $813 million and things aren't looking all that great.
The UCs are looking at raising undergraduate tuition by 32% to $10,302 a year. While this is still comparable to most public universities and MUCH cheaper than many private colleges and universities, this is still more than 200% what tuition cost only 10 years ago. If things don't change, the UCs will lose their ability to enroll large numbers of economically challenged students and eventually give them highly respected degrees that will stand out in the job market. </p>

<p>Students aren't the only ones feeling the pinch: UC faculty are paid salaries 19% below those of their peers at comparable universities, and that's not even including the 10% furloughs UC president Mark Yudof recently announced. Many extremely talented members of our schools' faculty are leaving for private schools that will pay them closer to what they really deserve. </p>

<p>Things are looking even bleaker at the CSUs: They don't have the benefit of large monetary endowments. All together, the 23 schools of the California State University have a combined endowment of $874 million. The 10 UCs have a combined endowment of $10 BILLION. Hell, UCLA alone boasts an endowment of $2.3 Billion. (Just in case you're interested, Harvard University has an endowment of $26 billion.) </p>

<p>We as students of the University of California have to do something about this. We have to let the public know that decreasing the amount of money going into the UCs and education system is akin to starving our state and country of food and water. We are the future and our schools play a large part in propelling humankind to a more prosperous future. </p>

<p>A few professors at my school (UCSD) recently gave an extremely unpopular suggestion that the University of California allocate more money to its more prestigious schools like Cal, UCLA, and UC San Diego and less money to Santa Cruz, Merced, and Riverside.
While I personally do not believe that cannibalizing each other for funding is not the right answer, at least the professors came up with a (somewhat) feasible solution. </p>

<p>UC students, we have to do something. There is a planned walkout on September 24th that includes many members of UC faculty and students not attending class on that day. I'm going to have to say that unless we come up with some ideas, the "protest" will fall on deaf ears. Merely complaining isn't going to fix this mess. </p>

<p>What exactly will it take?</p>

<p>-SDTriton
c/o 2012</p>

2

<p>1) Encourage state government to cut administrative costs in areas other than education. Looking at the list of California’s State Agencies ([State</a> Agencies Directory - State of California](<a href=“http://www.ca.gov/About/Government/agencyindex.html]State”>http://www.ca.gov/About/Government/agencyindex.html)) reveals many departments that while valuable are far less essential and time critical than education. You will be surprised to see where tax money actually goes. I can live with the museum being open only one or two days per week, filling the potholes on my street with gravel for a few years, and the public library relying on donated books and campaigning for donations. These are the first of a thousand examples people can come up with.<br>
2) Cut university costs in areeas other than teaching staff. Many small cuts add up to big $$$. With apologies to the people who currently have these jobs, we can clean our own dorms, do with less new construction (Why wasn’t Muir’s Sierra Summit adequate just because it was a little tattered?) replace some professionally run programs like the recreation program with student based offerings, require all students to volunteer 5hrs/wk to improve and maintain our campuses according to their own talents (such as groundskeeping, cleaning, office work, etc…), maximize recycling and energy conservation.</p>

<p>Overall, the system can run much more economically, albeit with less gloss and shine. It’s called belt-tightening and it shouldn’t start with reducing educational opportunities for the state’s high achieving students.</p>

3

<p>Good points but it should be pointed out that UCSD’s Housing and Dining is completely self sufficient.</p>

<p>Edit: I just realized that I unintentionally plagiarized your phrase about UCSD proposing to cannibalize each other.</p>

4

<p>Cut out FallFest and Winterfest. Stop funding the retreats of A.S. Council members. Cut the Campus Loop shuttle. Raise parking permit prices. I’m sure there are other unnecessary things that we can cut out of the A.S. Council’s budget.</p>

<p>This is all I can think of for now. There are definitely more ways to watch our budget.</p>

5

<p>It’s not really a solution but here is my take and my opinion on this matter (please excuse it if it makes no sensible comprehension). </p>

<p>It will take the entire student population of all UC to become informed, if not already informed about this unbelievable occurrence. This is tragic indeed, there is absolutely no excuse to take money away from education AT any event. Education is what is driving the U.S. in being the number one place in the world. If a large state as California undergoes education reform, and students are forced to go to community colleges or transfer out, the future of many students, as well as mine are gone. </p>

<p>With tuition rising, I can see myself going to community college, or taking a large amount of debt to go to an out-of-state university.</p>

<p>What can we do? We can protest, call the legislators, rebel against this monstrosity. But there are sacrifices to be made. </p>

<p>Is it possible that we need to shut down other “lesser” UCs to keep the “top three” UCs going? What will happen to the student population of those UCs who are demanded to leave? What will happen to the hundreds of brilliant professors at those UCs? We are losing a lot of brain power both ways. But maybe this is a possible, but sad solution to an already terrible problem. </p>

<p>We can start a state wide protest, but that requires a tremendous amount of money. And no student, especially those already as a Junior or Senior would want to assist. They just want to get the hell out with their degrees and be finish with the UC system before it gets to them.</p>

6

<p>We don’t have Winterfest anymore, anyway.</p>

7

<p>Excellent points from comp sci guy.</p>

<p>I think every UC campus has thousands of dollars that can be better spent elsewhere. There is a ton of inefficiency going on. </p>

<p>Problem. Instead of thinking hard about some cuts, we cut library hours, courses offered, and lecturers…things that drastically hurt the educational experience. I don’t think we are capable of fixing the budget in a rational manner. Campuses protest each year for union workers’ benefits. I don’t see the UC president calling for the firing of 50% of the union workers. </p>

<p>There are also programs and campus jobs that I think are very unnecessary and must be eating up money. Again, I doubt these will be cut.</p>

<p>UC is a political machine and just like politics in America, it is impossible to find a solution that everyone can agree with.</p>

8

<p>Housing and dining are only self supporting because we pay for them. Money saved there becomes available for other educational costs. If my housing/dining costs are lowered because I work a co-op shift, I can better afford the tuition increases that mught be coming.</p>

<p>By throwing “lesser” UC’s under the bus, we do two things - first we deepen the gap between the educated and less educated classes in society which leads to anti-intellectualism in the general population. Historically, that never ends well.</p>

<p>Second, recall the World War II poem: </p>

<p>First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a communist;</p>

<p>Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a socialist;</p>

<p>Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a trade unionist;</p>

<p>Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew;</p>

<p>Then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak out for me. </p>

<p>Closing any UCs is NOT a precedent that we will be happy to have set and we will have undermined our support base by tens of thousands of voices. Who do you think will defend UCSD when Cal and UCLA claim to be the only UC’s worth preserving?</p>

9

<p>Compsci: Was the second half of your post directed towards me? Or were you just elaborating?</p>

10

<p>No Triton, I think you make excellent intelligent points and add a great deal to the needed debate. I just disagree with the stance that UCSD took in making the proposal to close other UCs. As a society, we have to hold fast to a consistent value system and I can’t support a motion that protects the “elite” institutions of Cal, UCLA, and UCSD while gutting the more accessible programs at UCM, UCR, and especially UCSC.</p>