Vanguard at UC Davis

As fees to attend the University of California continue to rise, funding and support for affordable student housing have noticeably gone down. In recent weeks at UC Davis, this trend has been revealed and is facing much resistance.

Built in 1972, the historical cooperative living community known as the Domes received a letter from Student Housing on January 24th announcing that not one of its leases would be extended. By August of this year, the Domes will be empty.

My dad taught me that only one thing that matters when it comes to housing in college: it’s all about affordability; well that and don’t live under insomniac tap dancers, apparently it results in many endless nights. But with all buzz surrounding UC Davis’ West Village apartments I’m starting to think there might be a little more to it than that.

The Ramble, the first complex of West Village, is said to open this fall, and although no models are open for public viewing at this time, the main office has been remodeled to look like the interior of the apartments and it has already seen hundreds of interested students.

Imagine being billed for a semester of college not once, but twice; and wait it gets better; imagine being billed that second time without any warning. For students all across California State University (CSU) campuses this was very much a reality.

Originally, the CSU Trustees voted to raise the fall tuition of 2009 by 10 percent demanding all students, including those who already paid, to pay by July 9. However, on July 21 fall tuition was raised another 20 percent.

Davis, being the college city that it is, has its fair share of “raging” parties; and where there are parties there are noise complaints and that is where the police come in. But what exactly constitutes as too much noise? Who should be held accountable for the noise violation? What is standard protocol for dealing with noise complaints?

These were some of the questions raised at the City-UC Davis Student Liaison Commission meeting last week as they discussed an ASUCD noise ordinance reform proposed by the Director of City-County Affairs Dylan Schaefer, a second year Political Science and Economics double major.

Elected on November 2nd and inaugurated on January 1st, Governor Jerry Brown has recently managed to spark more debate amongst the students of UC Davis then the latest hook ups on Jersey Shore. Why all the fuss and commotion? Could it be the budget Brown proposed on Monday, or more specifically, could it be the $500 million dollars the UCs will be losing under his proposed budget?

“He cut so much, I knew cuts were inevitable but the repercussions of a slash like that are deep, this will cost students their education. We trusted him,” these were the passionate cries of Fidel Garcia, a third year psychology major, as he spoke of Brown’s “betrayal”.

On November 8th, UC Davis students received a message from UC President Yudof regarding a letter he wrote speaking to the budget crisis and other issues that face UC and CSU systems today. Yudof’s letter comes at a time of great uncertainty and dwindling faith in the Californian government and its devotion to education.

Sentiments of discontent and disappointment are accompanied by widespread lack of awareness on what exactly has pushed a nationally renowned system into crisis. Yudof’s letter attempts to fill the gaps in students’ and professors’ knowledge about fiscal issues that shape the university.

The upcoming election will undoubtedly affect the lives of students across California. Both Attorney General Jerry Brown and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman have promised to reinvest in education and reshape the UC and CSU systems. But how do students feel about the issues? Have they formed opinions on different propositions or researched each candidate’s campaign?

As I have learned from my recent reporting expeditions on the budget crisis, student activism is hardly thriving at UC Davis. This is not to say, however, that nobody is involved; there are a number of students working to increase involvement and awareness about UC issues.

One week ago, students gathered in Mrak Hall to discuss the future of their University and, despite some disagreement between student activists and student government, they agreed on one thing: the necessity of strike.

Since then, an email group, “UCD General Assembly,” has been set up to spread awareness about meetings on campus and other opportunities for mobilizing students and encouraging participation on a broader scale. Student activists want to get campus clubs and organizations involved in the struggle, and student government is currently in the process of communicating with the Capitol. ASUCD representative Osahon Ekhator explained that ASUCD “reached out to…lobbycorps to assess what more we could do in terms of influencing policy and getting into contact with policymakers.”

On September 23, 2010, Fall quarter began at UC Davis. I arrived to campus on time for my first class, with a new pen and a blank notebook. I stepped into Olson Hall, home to a large portion of my academic career, only to be greeted by a giant banner reading WELCOME TO A FAILING SYSTEM and a flustered professor who explained that the syllabi and course materials would be exclusively available online due to budget cuts.

The first day of Fall quarter marked my first day back at UC Davis since the Spring tuition-hikes. After spending a year studying abroad, I was anxious to return to a university in crisis. When I signed up for classes I noticed that many discussion sections, which once served as the only way for students to get close attention from instructors, had been eliminated. Classes had been cut. I was, as promised, welcomed to a failing system.

A couple of weeks ago, a report found that the UC Retirement System was facing a shortfall of more than 20 billion dollars.  These problems appear to stem from decisions made roughly 20 years ago, when UC and its employees stopped paying into the retirement system, largely because they believed it to be over-funded.

The other problem was that the retirement plan took a huge hit with the downturn in the economy and the loss of investments.  In 2008-09 the fund took a 19.2 percent hit.  That will amount to roughly $700 million per year for the next fifteen years.

Senator Dean Florez chaired a meeting on Monday in which he questioned Chancellor Linda Katehi about her decision to eliminate four sports teams including the women’s rowing team along with three of men’s teams.

Senator Florez expressed skepticism about the university’s commentment to gender equity in its college sports program.  Senator Florez, who chairs the Senate Select Committee on Gender Discrimination and Title IX Implementation plans to question the Chancellor in order that she will outline her rationale for the elimination of these programs.

Around 100 UC Davis athletes have filed a “grievance” with the Student Judicial Affairs alleging that the university has engaged in “arbitrary treatment in elmination of teams.”  According to a five page release, the University, “announced their plans without sufficient advance notice for us to make alternate plans or to seek redress within the normal academic calendar, we seek not only a permanent reversal of their plans but also interim reinstatement of our teams before the effective date of their elimination.”

The grievance asks the university to reinstate the Men’s Swimming and Diving Team, Wrestling Team, Varsity Crew Team, Novice Crew Team, and the Men’s Indoor Track Team.  It asks the university to reinstate the teams for at least one year while the decision is reviewed.

Last week Brice Harris chancellor of the Los Rios Community College District, and Linda Katehi, chancellor of the University of California, Davis wrote an op-ed in the Sacramento Bee in which they argue against those who “worry that California – mired in one of the worst financial crises in the state’s history – can no longer sustain its commitment to its students or the master plan.”

Instead they argue that “there is a renaissance in the air.”