[Vision2020] College Cuts Draw Protests

[Tom Hansen]

"At the University of Illinois, about 200 professors, instructors and
graduate faculty marched through campus carrying signs that read 'Furlough
Legislators' – a reference to recent furloughs and 4 percent pay cuts
imposed on thousands of university employees."

Courtesy of today's (March 5, 2010) Spokesman-Review.

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College cuts draw protests

BERKELEY, Calif. – Students staged raucous rallies to protest education
funding cuts on college campuses nationwide Thursday, but some
demonstrations got out of hand as protesters threw punches and ice chunks
in Wisconsin and shut down a major freeway in California during rush-hour
traffic.

In Oakland, protesters clambered onto Interstate 880 near downtown Oakland
just before 5 p.m., forcing the closure of the freeway in both directions
for more than an hour and causing traffic to back up for miles.

Police arrested more than 150 people who blocked the freeway after
breaking off from a peaceful rally at Oakland City Hall, said Officer Sam
Morgan, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol.

One protester suffered serious injuries after jumping from the elevated
freeway while officers were making arrests, authorities said.

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee police arrested at least 15 people
protesting tuition hikes after protesters tried to enter an administrative
building to deliver petitions to the school chancellor. When police turned
them away, some protesters threw punches and ice chunks, university
spokesman Tom Luljak said.

No serious injuries were reported in the melee that followed.

“We have no problem with a protest,” Luljak said. “We do have a serious
problem when individuals decide to become violent.”

The university was among dozens of campuses nationwide hit with marches,
strikes, teach-ins and walkouts in what was billed as the March 4th
National Day of Action for Public Education.

Organizers said hundreds of thousands of students, teachers, parents and
school employees were expected to participate in the nationwide
demonstrations.

The steep economic downturn has forced states to slash funding to K-12
schools, community colleges and universities to cope with plummeting tax
revenue.

In Northern California, rowdy protesters blocked major gates at two
universities and smashed the windows of a car.

Protesters at the University of California, Santa Cruz, surrounded the car
while its uninjured driver was inside. Earlier, demonstrators blocked
campus gates.

At the University of California at Berkeley, a small group of protesters
formed a human chain blocking a main gate to the campus. Later in the day,
hundreds gathered for a peaceful rally in the middle of a busy
intersection near Sproul Plaza.

“We’re one of the largest economies in the world, and we can’t fund the
basics,” said Mike Scullin, 29, a graduate student in education. “We’re
throwing away a generation of students by defunding education.”

At the University of Illinois, about 200 professors, instructors and
graduate faculty marched through campus carrying signs that read “Furlough
Legislators” – a reference to recent furloughs and 4 percent pay cuts
imposed on thousands of university employees.

In Olympia, a group of about 75 protesters arrived at the Capitol bearing
a faux coffin emblazoned with the slogan “R.I.P. Education.”

They were later ejected from the state Senate gallery after interrupting a
debate with a protest song that followed the tune of “Amazing Grace.”

“I once could eat, but now I find, I can’t afford the food,” they sang.

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Students from Evergreen State College in Olympia push a car up a hill near
the state Capitol after it ran out of gas Thursday while carrying a fake
coffin during a protest against higher-education budget cuts.

http://tinyurl.com/Evergreen-Students

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Motorists stand outside their vehicles on an interstate highway in
Oakland, Calif., on Thursday as student protesters, not seen, are
arrested. The California protest was one of several held across the
country Thursday.

http://tinyurl.com/Oakland-Protest

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FCK, Idaho legislature.  The only thing missing is U.

Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown