In the run-up to a UC systemwide faculty walkout and union strike scheduled for Sept. 24, members of the UC Berkeley community met on campus yesterday to discuss the fiscal situation of the university.

More than 100 students, faculty and union members gathered at the Multicultural Center in the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union for a meeting initiated by the Student Worker Action Team. Those in attendance voted to issue demands to university administrators, including a halt to fee increases, layoffs and furloughs.

"The regents understand that they have stirred up something big," said Tanya Smith, president of the local chapter of the University Professional and Technical Employees union. "On the 24th, they're going to find out how big. ... If we don't team up together they're going to crush us all."

Graduate student Blanca Misse, a member of the action team who led much of the meeting, said she thinks university administrators are not being transparent enough in instituting cuts.

"We believe that maybe there's a financial crisis," she said. "But in this university there's foremost a crisis of leadership."

Meeting attendees planned events for the day of the walkout. Some of these events include a rally on Sproul Plaza, a march off campus and teach-ins to discuss the budget crisis.

Misse said the rally on Sproul will be held from noon to 2 p.m. next week, and some faculty members have committed to bringing their classes.

Although the exact number of faculty members and students who will participate in the walkout is still uncertain, a Web site publicizing the walkout has gathered the names of about 800 UC faculty members who pledged their support for the event.

The ASUC Senate voted to support the walkout yesterday in a meeting that included a special order at which a panel of professors spoke in front of almost 100 students.

During its regular meeting yesterday, the ASUC Senate voted to support the walkout after a panel of professors and administrators spoke in front of almost 100 students about the budget crisis.

"In the 15 years that I have been here, this is unprecedented," said Alan Karras, a senior lecturer in the department of international and area studies, while addressing the students at the meeting. "You are being short-changed. There is no doubt about it. You need ... to be active in this. We cannot do it alone. The only way for you to do that is to take action to not accept what you are being told is acceptable for a public university."

Ananya Roy, associate professor in the department of city and regional planning and a member of the panel, also said student participation is vital.

"As is the case with many issues, students often lead and they teach us," she said. "But most importantly, faculty are concerned. Whether or not they walk out, they are worried."

But Associate Chancellor Linda Williams, who addressed the senate before the panel presentation, defended the university's response to the budget cuts.

"The reality is (state legislators) don't have enough money to fix the situation that they understand very well," she said. "At the end of the day, they do say to us that they understand their roles and are interested in trying to identify ways to get this all turned around."

Williams added that she did not think the university's prestige was threatened.

"I don't think that's really in jeopardy," she said. "We won't compromise on that. It's a matter of how to sustain it."

Tags: BUDGET CUTS, ASUC SENATE