Civil Disobedience Towards a Democratic Education System
Fri, 05/16/2008 - 16:17 — smonahan
The act of civil disobedience which took place yesterday at UCLA was an expression of the demand that the UC Regents must be democratized. I, along with 15 of my compatriots, engaged in this direct action to force the issue of democratization into the deliberative forum which the UC Regents use to pass tuition hikes upon the student body. This unelected body has been operating without the consent of the governed for too long, and the situation demanded that someone take action in an attempt to raise awareness of this body and their sordid history of abuse of power. We took this action as participants of the UCLA Take Hold! University event, which attempts to create a democratic community of students on campus which may be replicated in the institutions of our society at large
On May 14 The UC Regents met at UCLA to vote on a tuition increase that would further burden students and families with the subsidization of what should be a public good: higher education in California. The meeting was attended by over 100 California students protesting the proposed increase, endorsing instead Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi’s proposal to freeze fees which would force the issue of sufficient funding on the California State legislature where it belongs.
What unfurled before the collection of students gathered was the starkest image of bureaucratic buffoonery which lies at the heart of this tuition “crisis”. First the Regents discussed the need to form an investigative body to search for waste within the UC system which would mitigate such fee increases. This item must have been on the agenda for the last six years as student fees have been steadily increasing. Second, the Regents identified the reasons that fees must necessarily be increased, one of which was the class action lawsuit filed against the Regents the previous year. This lawsuit was filed by first year students when the Regents failed to submit a finalized tuition plan before students made their intent to register at various UC campuses. Apparently this bungle is being passed onto students and their families in the newest set of tuition taxation. Then, in the most naked form of this governing body’s idiocy, came the vote to freeze or increase tuition. A motion was made to delay the vote if possible, to investigate ways in which waste in the current budget may be addressed before voting to increase fees. After much deliberating, it came to light that such a delay would not be possible; the intent to register for incoming UC students was May 1. It seems the Regents had missed the deadline again, giving them another reason to increase fees next year.
Myself and 15 other students had attended the meeting of the Regents to oppose the tuition increase, and call for the democratization of the Regents. This demand was rooted in the democratic ideals of our society, and outrage at various immoral policies of the UC Regents. What we were given at the meeting in the form of this gross negligence was all the evidence we needed to support our demand that the UC Regents must be democratized. These 18 regents appointed for 12 year terms have no interest in fiscal responsibility and should be fired for their indiscretions, replaced by elected officials directly responsible to the people of California. Wouldn’t these representatives serve the interests of Californians with greater attention and care? Wouldn’t the policies of this board present our collective interests more precisely? And if they do not, would we not have recourse?
The direct action my compatriots and I engaged in was an act of civil disobedience forcing the deliberative space to become democratic for a few moments where our voices were heard, before the Regents left the room. Refusing to leave when the police ordered us to do so was an act of reclaiming that deliberative space for the students and families whose voices were silenced in the proceedings of 18 appointed Regents. We were acting as participants of the Take Hold! University event at the UCLA campus, which is aimed at reclaiming space for UCLA students and forming a democratic community we hope will soon be replicated in our society at large.
-Nathan Wright
naw@ucla.edu
(408) 314-8409
On May 14 The UC Regents met at UCLA to vote on a tuition increase that would further burden students and families with the subsidization of what should be a public good: higher education in California. The meeting was attended by over 100 California students protesting the proposed increase, endorsing instead Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi’s proposal to freeze fees which would force the issue of sufficient funding on the California State legislature where it belongs.
What unfurled before the collection of students gathered was the starkest image of bureaucratic buffoonery which lies at the heart of this tuition “crisis”. First the Regents discussed the need to form an investigative body to search for waste within the UC system which would mitigate such fee increases. This item must have been on the agenda for the last six years as student fees have been steadily increasing. Second, the Regents identified the reasons that fees must necessarily be increased, one of which was the class action lawsuit filed against the Regents the previous year. This lawsuit was filed by first year students when the Regents failed to submit a finalized tuition plan before students made their intent to register at various UC campuses. Apparently this bungle is being passed onto students and their families in the newest set of tuition taxation. Then, in the most naked form of this governing body’s idiocy, came the vote to freeze or increase tuition. A motion was made to delay the vote if possible, to investigate ways in which waste in the current budget may be addressed before voting to increase fees. After much deliberating, it came to light that such a delay would not be possible; the intent to register for incoming UC students was May 1. It seems the Regents had missed the deadline again, giving them another reason to increase fees next year.
Myself and 15 other students had attended the meeting of the Regents to oppose the tuition increase, and call for the democratization of the Regents. This demand was rooted in the democratic ideals of our society, and outrage at various immoral policies of the UC Regents. What we were given at the meeting in the form of this gross negligence was all the evidence we needed to support our demand that the UC Regents must be democratized. These 18 regents appointed for 12 year terms have no interest in fiscal responsibility and should be fired for their indiscretions, replaced by elected officials directly responsible to the people of California. Wouldn’t these representatives serve the interests of Californians with greater attention and care? Wouldn’t the policies of this board present our collective interests more precisely? And if they do not, would we not have recourse?
The direct action my compatriots and I engaged in was an act of civil disobedience forcing the deliberative space to become democratic for a few moments where our voices were heard, before the Regents left the room. Refusing to leave when the police ordered us to do so was an act of reclaiming that deliberative space for the students and families whose voices were silenced in the proceedings of 18 appointed Regents. We were acting as participants of the Take Hold! University event at the UCLA campus, which is aimed at reclaiming space for UCLA students and forming a democratic community we hope will soon be replicated in our society at large.
-Nathan Wright
naw@ucla.edu
(408) 314-8409