As many may have already heard, there is an ongoing, large scale graduate student strike that begun at UC Santa Cruz. They have been met with a ton of support from other students and faculty from the entire UC system, but have also faced threats and retaliation from UC administration. They are asking for a cost of living adjustment because the vast majority of students are rent burdened, spending at least two-thirds of their wages on rent alone. Personally, I am a large supporter of this strike as everyone has the right to ask for better working conditions without penalty.
People deserve to make enough to live where they work. The university has been overworking student workers with no penalty. Napolitano hid $175 million in secret funds while requesting more money from the state. They are also trying to increase undergraduate student tuition. With the public knowing this, it feels like a slap in the face while a lot of students don’t know if they will be able to afford their next meal.
All of this surfacing recently has made me ashamed to be a UC student. I can’t believe I am pay around $14 thousand in tuition a year to go to a school that refuses to pay students enough to live. I was considering going on to get my PhD somewhere in the UC system, but I have definitely changed my mind. I hate the fact that one of the only ways the I will be able to make enough to live later in life is by going to a money hungry institution like this. It is sad that HUNDREDS of UC employees make more than $500 thousand a year and they refuse to increase student’s pay enough to no longer be rent burdened.
If/when UCB students start to strike, I will be at the front of the picket line.
College with Sarah 