Whereas the California Legislature has for more than a decade not
adequately funded public education and necessary social services,
public safety and infrastructure, and
Whereas California is currently facing a budget deficit with
threats of possible additional cuts to public education and
social services, and
Whereas California’s financial plight is not inevitable but the
result of political choices made by legislators intent on
preserving tax breaks for the corporations and for the rich, and
Whereas additional cuts to public education and social services
are looming because of the California budget deficit; and
Whereas the income of the rich has been growing exponentially
while their taxes have been declining, thanks to their aggressive
lobbying and generous campaign donations to politicians; and
Whereas public education and social services in California have
been cut by billions of dollars during the past decade while
student tuition has been raised, in some cases as much as 300
percent, at public universities; and
Xpress editor Juan De Anda and photographer Cynthia Waters hit
the streets to find out what SF State professors say they hope to
accomplish through the informational picketing, which took place
on the corner of 19th and Holloway avenues Nov. 8.
The situation for higher education in California has grown even
more dire over this past summer. The California State University
system is not a private corporation, nor should it be run like
one—we are a public institution charged with supporting the
public good by providing an education to the people of
California. But the state budget and Chancellor Reed’s moves
during the collective bargaining process this year reveal
competing visions for the future of our public university system
and of California.
