UC Santa Cruz telling employees that journalists’ inquiries — including recently about layoffs at the school’s agroecology center and about last year’s academic workers strike — should go through the university’s media relations office could be seen as “inherently coercive” and restricting employees’ free speech, the legal director of the First Amendment Coalition told Lookout.
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More than 280 faculty, students, alumni denounce layoffs at UCSC’s agroecology center
Seeing five staffers, including two who spearheaded diversity and equity work, laid off as part of a broader reorganization “raised so many alarm bells for people,” one UC Santa Cruz provost said. “It’s been stressful, like I’ve been spirit-murdered,” said one student who described two of the laid-off staff members as mentors.
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UCSC graduate student union leader Jack Davies on strike, strong opposition to new contract
Nearly 48,000 University of California academic workers went on strike for better pay and benefits late last year — earning a new contract in December. The loudest opposition to the contract was at UC Santa Cruz, reflecting, UAW unit chair Jack Davies says, that members “were ready and prepared to continue the fight.”
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‘It’s a big removal of a barrier’: What housing at California’s community colleges looks like
Two California community colleges built housing in the past couple of years, with very different approaches. The projects give a peek at the future of student housing as the state rolls out $500 million in grants to build or expand dorms and apartments on a dozen community college campuses.
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UCSC set to open new arts and cultural hub on Santa Cruz’s Westside
The Institute of the Arts & Sciences opens its beautiful new Westside space Sunday, marking a new effort on the part of UC Santa Cruz to engage with residents of the city and county.
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About 5,000 UCSC students still without at least one letter grade for fall quarter in strike’s wake
About 5,000 undergraduates at UC Santa Cruz are still missing at least one letter grade for fall quarter assignments that went ungraded during the graduate worker strike. The university is encouraging faculty to prioritize grading for students who are most affected.
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UC intends to dock pay of workers who went on strike
The University of California said it would claw back wages paid to workers who went on strike in late 2022. The move affects 48,000 workers.