Late Tuesday afternoon, UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau sent out a campuswide message calling on state leaders to debate about California’s “disinvestment in public higher education.”
To the Campus Community:
We all share the distress and anger at the State of California’s disinvestment in public higher education.
IN THE SPIRIT OF TODAY’S DAY OF ACTION, I AM URGENTLY CALLING ON THE POLITICAL LEADERSHIP FROM SACRAMENTO TO COME TO CAMPUS TO ENGAGE WITH ME AND STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES IN A PUBLIC FORUM TO DEBATE THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION.
The issues require bold action and time is short. I will inform you of the time and place as soon as possible.
Robert J. Birgeneau,
Chancellor
Campus spokesperson Dan Mogulof said the debate — targeted at Gov. Jerry Brown and other state leaders — was not necessarily prompted by today’s strike or last week’s protests.
“It’s part of something the chancellor’s been thinking about for a while,” Mogulof said.
He added the debate would be something that is “beneficial for students and leadership in Sacramento.”
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Did they bus riders accomplish anything?
Why is he shouting at us?
Is he drunk?
I hope this will be a productive discussion and that Governor Brown is committed to helping his alma mater (UC Berkeley c/o 1961, B.A. in Classics).
Can someone explain why Cal students aren’t taking their protest to Sacramento, where the State Senators who are responsible for cutting the UC budget actually are?
Protesting in front of their classrooms may be convenient, but it doesn’t make sense.
They’re just preaching to the choir.
No, they weren’t.
They were opening a dialogue with the community at large. And they ARE making change. Birgeneau went from calling the protesters “violent” and justifying police brutality to openly saying the state should listen to them. Why?
Because he looked out his office window. And realized there are a lot more of us than there are regents and UCPD.
Also, busses are going to Sacramento tomorrow. So… we are.
What did the protests last year accomplish? And the year before that? And the year before that?
The cuts are coming from Sacramento. Blaming the Regents just makes it clear what a bunch of fucking uninformed jackasses you all are.
“Dialogue with the community”, “raising awareness”, or whatever common feel-good action is in vogue among progressives is a poor substitute for coming up with real solutions.
They did today…