About 150 University of California professors, including 33 from UC Santa Cruz, signed a letter urging UC President Michael Drake to take back his call for a “viewpoint-neutral history of the Middle East” in educational programming. Drake’s comments referenced a $7 million commitment to combating rising Islamophobia and antisemitism as campuses grapple with escalating tensions over the Israel-Hamas war.
Education
How UC is navigating the complicated response to the war in Gaza
Students on California campuses are fearful and upset weeks into the Israel-Hamas war, with Islamophobia and antisemitism on the rise at colleges across the country. The climate across the University of California system is especially tense and has students feeling unsafe, forcing system officials to navigate a delicate issue that is painful for many on […]
Ron DeSantis or ChatGPT? When is it cheating? UCSC chancellor on artificial intelligence in education
The emergence of ChatGPT and other generative AI applications has marked an inflection point in education, technology and beyond. UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Cynthia Larive sat down with local tech heavy hitter Guy Kawasaki for an insightful conversation about education in this new era, what Larive considers cheating and the role of a teacher in a world when knowledge sits at the tip of our keyboard.
‘Israel/Palestine Learn-In’ at UCSC seeks to inform on ongoing conflict
Amid fraught campus debate over the Israel-Hamas war, UC Santa Cruz’s Center for Jewish Studies brought together several dozen students, faculty and community members Wednesday in an attempt to answer any questions on any aspect of the conflict.
UCSC, Cabrillo confront fraught campus debate over Israel and Gaza
The Israel-Hamas conflict has triggered a reckoning for college campuses across the country — including at UC Santa Cruz and Cabrillo College — where tensions over free speech and academic freedom have simmered for years until boiling over in the past month, challenging students, faculty and administrators alike.
UCSC students, supporters block campus entrance in Palestine protest
A protest called “Shut it down for Palestine” saw more than 300 demonstrators block the UC Santa Cruz campus entrance Thursday morning into the afternoon.
Cabrillo College governing board censures trustee Steve Trujillo after offensive social media posts
In a 6-1 vote Monday, with Steve Trujillo as the lone dissent, Cabrillo College trustees registered their disapproval of Trujillo’s Facebook posts and found that the posts violated policy; Trujillo reiterated his defense that the account had been hacked. The formal censure also prohibits Trujillo from serving as an officer of the board for three years.
Cabrillo College probe recommends against censuring trustee Steve Trujillo over offensive Facebook posts
A Cabrillo College committee investigating complaints of inappropriate and offensive language on trustee Steve Trujillo’s Facebook found that the posts do exist on his page, but could not verify Trujillo’s claim that his account had been hacked. The governing board will decide Monday whether Trujillo violated the school’s code of ethics, but said policies that would allow the board to censure a trustee over social media posts didn’t exist until recently.
Grief, anger, fear on college campuses as Israel-Hamas war divide comes home
College campuses are supposed to be bastions of intellectual discourse and debate, but the war in Gaza underscores tense narratives and little if any interchange between students.
At UCSC vigil for lives lost in Israel, community members share sorrows, and find hope
Community members, students and faculty from the UC Santa Cruz campus gathered Wednesday night to mourn the lives lost in Israel to attacks by militant group Hamas.

