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True story—these babies are all over the place, coloring our field of vision in strikingly (get it? Strike? Cleveeeeer.) foreboding shades.
Didn’t know this coming week’s been designated Sh*t Goes Down: The Remix? Well, to begin with, we recommend removing your heads from your … um, readers. There’s a bright, sunny world out there, people! Filled with walkouts and pickets and rallies galore.
A guide to “No Business As Usual” in a nutshell: read more »
So remember that depressed and hopelessly downtrodden economy? You know … the one that’s got our asinine state government squandering in the sh*tter, bailing water (also known as public education) in a desperate attempt to keep itself afloat?
We’re assuming most of you have already figured this one out, but for those of you who are a little slower adding two and two, we (and Mark Baldassare) are here to inform you that cutting funds in the UC system is not exactly the best means of redress. To prolong our prior metaphor, it is, in fact, exactly like chucking all the life-vests overboard. Or throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Substitute idiom of preference here.
Let’s break it down: College costs more. –> Fewer people attend college. –> Fewer people graduate college. –> California becomes stupid.
Or, in slightly more articulate terms, read more »
Since you can’t turn your head without hearing the words “budget crisis,” we’ll assume you’ve heard about the cuts in funding to various departments on campus. Since the problems began, some faculty even raised the question of cutting back funding for athletics. And this Thursday, the faculty voted to “urge the school to stop subsidizing its money-losing athletics department as soon as it legally can.”
Now take heed—this doesn’t mean that the football team is going be thrown unceremoniously from the gravy train. The legal part makes everything much more difficult. The Chancellor himself noted that contracts don’t expire for a few more years, so the university will “continue to help the read more »
The Clog is here in Pauley Ballroom at the Q&A Townhall with the Chancellor. We’ll be liveblogging the events so stay tuned. (Note: the picture is of a pretty town hall in Vienna. It has actually nothing to do with the post. Except that it’s pretty, and I don’t have my camera with me. If you have a better picture, hook us up).
Moving right along… read more »
Oh, Mark Yudof. You are not having a good year. First all the problems with the UC system, and now this. A cemetery in your own backyard.
Yes, you read that correctly. After the long conference about the California public education crisis, a crowd of protesters were so riled up that they journeyed all the way to Yudof’s Oakland Hills home and built a “mock cemetery” on the hillside. read more »
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Enjoy your California friends while they last, because next fall you’ll be gettin’ a real big dose of the rest of America (maybe even the elusive “heartland” full of “real Americans”).
OK, that might be a little fear-mongering. But it is true that next fall Berkeley will play host to far more out-of-state students than before. The damaged budget has reared its ugly head once more, and read more »
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Nobody takes away our libraries. Budget cuts flung the Cal student body into nerdtacular diaspora, and we responded like the pack of (amphetamine raddled) bears ousted from our cave that, indeed, we were. There was confusion; we sat in; most effectively, we phoned mom and dad.
By mid November, read more »
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Calling all Bay Area hipsters music lovers: the time for Treasure Island Music Festival has almost arrived. Make sure to check out the “Ferris Wheel Confessions” booth, the live mural wall or the Madu Salon booth for a complimentary hair cut. [Site]
Still figuring out your Halloween plans? Instead of partying at the co-ops or trying to weasel some shame-tainted candy out of your neighbors by reliving your youth, change it up with a Halloween-themed concert. [The SFist]
With the university endowment down 30 percent, cookies are no longer being served at Harvard faculty meetings and students are now being denied a hot breakfast. Well, they may have raised our tuition, but at least they haven’t taken away our breakfast. [The New York Times]
A recent health inspection at Smart Alec’s found a few rat droppings near the cash registers, but don’t worry, they still have an ‘A.’ No biggie. [Daily Cal]
Earlier: We Left Our Heart in San Francisco
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Yes, we regret to inform you that the university isn’t looking too good. All these budget cuts have led to some kind of gangrenous infection, and it’s spread too far too fast. You might have to lose that leg. But, if you like, we can replace it with some kind of insanely badass gadgetry.
Okay, so this isn’t the real scenario. But you have to admit, it sounds pretty flippin’ awesome. Could we turn our university into a cyborg? Well, UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau seems to think so: he’s considering turning Berkeley into a state-federal “‘hybrid’ that receives basic operating funds from the government.”
You had us at “hybrid.” Our ailing university will now come back stronger than ever, howling with revenge-lust for its lost workers and ready to kick some financially unstable ass. Libraries will always be open … in the matrix. Lectures will be downloaded into our consciousness. No one will ever have to wait in line again.
Apologies, we exaggerate. Essentially the UC system is in the poor house, and we’re going door-to-door in Washington asking for scraps of federal funding. Our state is obviously not helping enough.
It really is a shame Berkeley isn’t a human/machine hybrid, though. With the Terminator as governor, we’re going to need all the help we can get.
Image source: Daquella manera under Creative Commons
State-federal ‘hybrid’ eyed to save UC [Daily Democrat]
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F*ck, these budget cuts have teeth. Still, the surgeon’s hand must have slipped when it shaved off 23 percent of University Health Services’ annual budget (about $2 million.) No really, faculty pay cuts and student fee hikes are a pain and all, but what are we supposed to do when we get swine flu? See what to expect next time you visit the Tang Center (grab on to your wallet and brace yourself): read more »
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