UCSC Students Begin Day-Long Protest

University of California at Santa Cruz students surrounded the Hahn Student Services building starting at 5:30 a.m. and plan a day of protests asking for the resignation of the UC Davis Chancellor, the removal of police from all campuses and no more fee hikes.

"I want my voice to be heard," undergraduate student Bryan Mathewson told KION news.  "One of the main things that I'm really disturbed by is the discouragement of any sort of dissent and the silencing of voices."

At 3 p.m. the protestors moved inside Hahn and were debating whether staying there would hurt the 1 percent or hurt students who need help getting financial aid.

In a press release, students expressed solidarity with UC Davis protestors who by police there.

"This attack threatens the freedom of students not only at UC Davis, but also of nonviolent protesters everywhere," students wrote in a press release. "Police brutality is being used to enforce fee hikes and growing student debt. The Regents have justified their hikes with the budget crisis, but they have enough money to fund their violence: last year, UC spent a total of $35.4 million on police, with an average pay of $92,700—that is, over six times as much as teaching assistants make.''

Students at Davis called for a general strike Monday and the UCSC students are joining in support.

Chancellor George Blumenthal issued a statement saying that Hahn is closed for the time being — and indicated that the approximately 100 people who work in the building may work at the Stevenson Events Center (formerly Stevenson Dining Hall).

Employees who can do so may also work from home. Employees who can neither work at the Stevenson Events Center or from home will be granted administrative leave with pay today.

There will be another protest at the Bay Tree Plaza at noon and a  general assembly meeting at 2 p.m. at the Quarry Plaza, where students will decide what more to do and for how long.

"We are planning on staying there all day and into the night, maybe," Mathewson told Patch.

Mathewson said there were no negative interactions with campus police. In fact, he said, one officer who looked to be high-ranking talked to students shortly after the protest began, Mathewson said.

"He told us to let him know if we needed anything."

Students had a lot to say about the protest.

Healthcare inequalities major Ryan King said he has an especially vested interest in refunding education" to future generations" as one of the last students at UCSC to get a degree from the Community Studies Division.

"We chose {the Hahn Student Services Building because this is where we literally pay the tuition hikess that we are fighting," said King. "I don't think these actions are going to immediately lead to a total restructuring of the UC system, but they are already questioning the responsibilty the people in these offices have to us students."

Cory Knudson, a 19-year-old literature and philosophy major said that most student services staff were either "supportive or at least understanding" of the protest that kept them going to work early Monday morning.

Debate over how long to hold the Hahn building and how to unify the group there with the General Assembly in Quarry Plaza, led to the decision that a small group would stay at Hahn to gaurd the entrances. The GA in the quarry will decide around 2 p.m. whether to move and join the blockade.

"In the quarry it is more visible, but it's just for show, so people see us camping out. This is actually making a statement," said one student during the debate over location.

Around noon one student rode up on his bike like a mellowed out Paul Revere, informing the occupiers that UCSC police cruisers were parked just down the road, apparently waiting to retake the building of the students left.

"Not to worry anyone too much but there are five police cars just down the road," he said. "Around 2:30 is about the latest they could call people back to work if they were able to retake the building."