The Privatization of Your University A teach-in supported by GSOC

Former UC President Clark Kerr Architect of the Master Plan for Higher Education On the cover of Time October 17, THE MASTER PLAN … A UC education is a right and it is free Access to higher education is open to every Californian The plan works, and the UC becomes one of the finest institutions in the world.

Howard Jarvis, lobbyist responsible for passage of Proposition 13. On the cover of Time June 19, Proposition 13 severely limits the amount of taxes the state can raise for education. Prop 13 is a reaction against the movements of the 1960s, which had sought greater access to public institutions – such as the UC – for Californians who had been excluded from them.

Lasting effects of Prop 13 … 57% decrease in property tax revenues. The state has less than half of what it used to have to spend on education. The 2/3s majority rule in the legislature means a handful of conservative legislators may block pro-education bills. Because of this, legislators have been unable to respond to this decline in tax revenues. Prop 13 re-ordered public priorities without the consent of voters, and created an undemocratic system that starves the education system of funds.

2004: Schwarzenegger and the “Compact” CA governors and UC tuition/fee fluctuations. Chart from

CUTS: CA state funding for the UC compared to national average. Chart from The Compact cut the UC budget, and abandoned the view of higher education as a public good.

Privatization … the current long-term plan Privatization means to take a public service, in this case education, and eliminate its governmental funding, leaving it to rely on funding from private sources, such as corporations and students. The university is no longer seen as a public good, but as a business that sells products to individual consumers: students purchasing an education or investors purchasing research results. Current trends under a model of privatization: 50% drop in state aid per UC student since % fee increase: proposed by the Regents in September 2009 The Regents will meet to vote on this proposal November If this proposal passes, student fees will have tripled from $3,429 in to $10,302 in

Consequences …

1,477 … fewer freshmen admitted in than in

Lack of Accessibility. As fees go up, students of color and low-income students are increasingly unable to pay for a UC education.

Higher-Ed tuition/fee increases compared to CA prison population increase.

20% … increase in student debt in the first 5 years of 21 st century For students of color, that increase has been between %

Default - The Student Loan Documentary

Increased class sizes. Fewer class offerings. Faculty Flight.

What can we do?

Proposed solutions … Turning back Prop 13 A new Gas and Oil Tax Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico has proposed AB 656, a tax on oil and gas drilling that would be reserved for education. It’s up to you … Contact your elected officials and tell them how the budget cuts are affecting you. Write letters to your local newspapers. Tell your parents and everyone you know to follow the situation and/or support these important measures. Ask your TAs and professors in other classes to teach this curriculum, available at

What’s next? November 13: Science and Engineering Library Study-In. November 17-19: Regents Vote on Fee Increase. Get Involved with Actions around Campus. March 4: State-wide Day of Action.

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