The All-Alumni Reunion Luncheon held in the College 9/10 multipurpose room at UC Santa Cruz on April 26th was interrupted when students marched in demanding fair contracts for UCSC’s underpaid service workers. The luncheon was part of the annual UCSC Reunion Weekend where alumni were invited back to campus to “learn how innovation is going global, sip wine, tour new facilities on campus, explore the “unnatural” history of UCSC, and more…” The brief interruption was widely supported by alumni who clapped, smiled, listened, and took souvenir photos as students passed out flyers, chanted and spoke on stage to inform alumni about the contract campaign for UC service workers.
Since August the UC and the service workers’ union, AFSCME Local 3299, have been negotiating a new three-year contract. These negotiations present an important opportunity for workers to receive more recognition for their hard work. While George Blumenthal and other UC executives have declared their support for labor, little has been done to meet the demands of the workers. Read More and View Photos | More Photos
On April 24th and 25th, Centolia Maldonado Vasquez and Bernardo Ramirez Bautista, Oaxaca-based members of the Binational Front of Indigenous Organizations, gave presentations in Greenfield and at UC Santa Cruz on indigenous Mexican migration to the U.S. and its impact in the communities of origin, the current political situation in Oaxaca, the role of women in the movement for social justice in Oaxaca, and current challenges of indigenous governing community institutions in Oaxaca.
The tradition of students un-welcoming the military to UC Santa Cruz and disrupting their attempts to recruit is alive and well, as demonstrated during the “Career” Fair on April 22nd. Students Against War rallied in the Baytree Plaza and marched to the “Career” Fair held in the multipurpose rooms for Colleges 9/10. Campus police, administrators, faculty, other staff and students collected backpacks and identification cards from the students who entered the “Career” Fair. Colorful helium balloons arched over steel barricades at the entrance to the “Career” Fair featured signs that boldly proclaimed “Part-time Jobs!!!” Indeed, the future is very bleak for the generations growing up during Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton, Bush Jr. and whoever comes next. 
Thousands of students from around the Monterey and San Francisco Bay Areas participated in a 
On April 11th, hundreds of prospective and current UC Santa Cruz students demonstrated their solidarity with UC workers by demanding that UC settles a fair contract for service and patient care workers. According to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3299, the labor union representing the workers, a fair contract means moving away from 
The second public meeting to save the Beach Flats Community Garden took place on April 3rd. At the meeting, the gardeners put forward a plan for the garden to be managed by the gardeners. Reyna Ruiz of the Beach Flats Community Center said that the plan was something that she could work with and present to the Santa Cruz City Parks and Recreation as well as the Seaside Company which claims ownership over the land. The gardeners asked Brent, a supportive neighbor of the garden, to accompany Reyna when she presented the plan to the Santa Cruz City Parks and Recreation Department on April 4th. 
