UC Regent Watch: George M. Marcus Loses His Temper at Protest to End Poverty Wages at UC

On June 6th, George Blumenthal was inaugurated as the 10th Chancellor of UC Santa Cruz during a ceremony on UCSC's East Field. Students and workers, organized through the Student and Worker Coalition for Justice (SWCJ) and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), held a 10-hour day of action to deliver a loud and clear message -- end poverty wages at the University of California. George M. Marcus, a Regent of the University of California, was a passenger in one of the many cars rerouted or delayed by the demonstration.

Many cars on UCSC's Hagar Drive had already turned around to avoid the demonstration, however a woman driving a Mercedes-Benz GL450 SUV decided to encroach upon the people in the intersection of Hagar and Coolidge Drive. After a couple of minutes, UC police officer James Lunnen directed the woman to turn the vehicle around. She began turning the SUV, but then stopped and George Marcus began shouting out the passenger window. Referring to the workers, he yelled that he would not give them anything and that he was a UC Regent.

I had been taking photos, so I took another photo. George Marcus violently smacked the camera I was holding with his open palm. I took another photo. After that, the woman drove the SUV away, and I took another photo. ((i)) | more info