2010-03-10 message from "Northbay No Cuts Coalition":
Greetings!
In the wake of the historic student protests to defend public education on March 4th, and amidst the rise of youth activism all across the North Bay and beyond, students and young people are coming together on Saturday, April 10th for a mass meeting to form a North Bay youth coalition to fight for education and social justice!
As young people, we are facing an overwhelming and oppressive future. The state continues to cut education, lay off teachers and campus workers, and increase student fees. Meanwhile, funding for prisons and war is on the increase, while administrators, UC regents, and politicians give themselves a huge pay raise. Every day our futures are being traded off for short term profits. We can, and must, stop this now. The way to do that is to get organized, stay united, and fight back!
Several organizations are calling for a mass meeting of students and young people on Saturday, April 10th at Noon at Sonoma State University. We will meet in the Student Union at the center of campus. I've attached the flyer, which you can feel free to print out and distribute everywhere.
We encourage all young people to attend. If you are part of a school club, youth-led community organization, or if you're just an individual who cares about their future, we invite you to come make history with us, and help us form this massive youth coalition to fight back for education, and justice for all people. On April 10th, we will propose that all young people in the North Bay come together and build this new youth movement. You will get a chance to hear what we are proposing, then discuss it and decide exactly how we will go about this. We don't just want you to attend. We want you to participate. At the bottom of this email is a series of questions about this upcoming meeting. Please look over them and shoot us back an email with your thoughts, so we can incorporate everyone's ideas into this meeting in a more democratic manner.
Lastly, please spread this email to everyone you know. Let your friends know that young people are on the move in Sonoma County . We're fired up, and we can't take it no more!
THEY SAY "CUT BACKS," WE SAY "FIGHT BACK!"
In solidarity, carl
This meeting is being supported by:
IMPACT!, MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan), Free Mind Media, Zero Campaign, Students for a Democratic Society (Napa Valley College).
*let us know if you'd like us to add your campus group or organization onto this list!
CONTACT: email: srnocuts@gmail.com
phone: 707-579-1605
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QUESTIONS FOR THE APRIL 10th MASS MEETING
What would you like this coalition to focus on? If you could choose 2 or 3 issues for a youth coalition to focus on, what would they be?
What should the goal of the coalition be? Should we run a campaig or focus just on outreach and education?
What should the responsibilities be for those who want to join the coalition? Should it be a loose or formal structure?
How should the meeting on April 10th be run? What should the agenda be? How long should the meeting go?
2010-03-18 “Copwatch Report” by A. from UC Davis General Assembly [ucd-generalassembly@googlegroups.com]:
Turner says she has been disappointed by news media coverage that characterizes the protest movement at Davis as far broader than it truly is. On a campus of roughly 30,000 students, the protests actually haven't included more than 1,000 people at any one event, Turner says. Far more common than freeway blockers, she argues, are students piling up as many credits as possible to get out quickly. "Our students, they're at Taco Bell working," she says. "They're not protesting." wow - I can't believe she is trying to imply that student protesters are not truly the ones being affected, that we are the privileged kids who do this all for fun and show. - Just another tactic to try and delegitimize this struggle. [signed] -A
Report from Napa Valley College SDS!
On March 21st, Latinos Undios organized a march in Downtown Napa to bring awareness toward immigration rights and the cuts to education. Students for a Democratic Society endorsed the action and marched with the group. About 50 people met at New Tech High and marched onto Soscol street. The marchers were carrying signs such as “stop immigrant bashing” and “tax the rich, fund education”. The group stopped at a busy section of Soscol street by the Napa Cinedome. They received many honks of support by passing traffic. After about half an hour the group began marching. They passed through Downtown Napa and converged back at New Tech High School. The Napa Register published an article about it the next day. This action occurred the day before March 22nd which was another big march and day of action at the capital to protest the cuts to education. It was an indicator the student movement is alive in Napa. [www.napavalleyregister.com/news/local/article_b5ba8008-356e-11df-91f9-001cc4c002e0.html]
2010-03-21 “Latest Update” from Against Cuts [againstcuts@gmail.com]:
Thanks to all who came to the Against Cuts meeting on Sunday, March 13. There were 88 people from many different schools and groups. It was good to hear about the outcome of everyone’s hard work. We had reports from College of Alameda, Merritt College, Berkeley City College, Cañada College, Chabot College, DeAnza College, Diablo Valley College, Laney College, San Mateo College, Alameda High, Galileo High, Berkeley High, El Cerrito High, Oakland High, CSU East Bay and the California Faculty Association and UC Berkeley.
From the meeting it seems clear that most people had a very rewarding experience both at individual schools and at the various marches and rallies on March 4. There were a lot of positive comments about the rallies on March 4th, especially in San Francisco . People raised many possible activities for the future. We discussed the importance of doing more outreach where we are and ways to get more people involved and different ways we could mobilize our forces against budget cuts. Let us know what you are planning.
There will be an Against Cuts table at the Monday, March 22 Sacramento protest organized by the student governments of the Community Colleges and the CSUs. We will also have a table at an event on Friday, March 26 at Mission High School in San Francisco , where Indian activist and author, Arundhati Roy will be speaking. Come find us at any of these events and help out.
Spring Breaks are coming over the next few weeks, so everyone get some well-deserved rest. We will write more in a couple weeks.
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