'Naked Rally' At UC Davis Sets Stage For Thursday Walkout

Sacramento Bee ^ | September 23, 2009

[Steelfish]

'Naked Rally' At UC Davis Sets Stage For Thursday Walkout

Laurel Rosenhall Sep. 23, 2009

Depending on whom you ask, a walkout planned for the first day of classes at UC Davis on Thursday could be a minor sideshow or a major disruption.

Professors at all 10 University of California campuses planned the walkout to express frustration with UC's furlough program. They wanted to take some of their furloughs on teaching days, but the administration won't allow that.

Now the walkout has grown to include students who are upset about a proposal to increase fees by more than 30 percent and non-teaching staff who are locked in labor negotiations. Across UC campuses on Thursday, union workers will picket, students will rally and professors will walk out.

But how many?

More than 1,100 UC professors statewide have signed an online pledge to participate in the walkout – out of a faculty of about 19,400. That includes nearly 200 UC Davis professors out of roughly 2,000 faculty members.

About 1,000 UC Davis students – of the school's 31,000 students – have joined a Facebook group supporting the student walkout, said student activist Sarah Raridon, 21.

On Tuesday, she encouraged UC Davis students to participate in the walkout. Raridon and about a dozen other students held a "naked rally" to protest UC President Mark Yudof's recent proposal to raise fees.

The students – wearing underwear or bathing suits but holding signs across their midsections so they appeared nude – chanted, "Higher tuition, we can't make it. Three more grand, we'll get naked."

[tired1]

Just lookin for pics. UC anything’s not worth reading.

[Obadiah]

I'm begging you, no pictures, PLEASE!!!

[Brookhaven]

So instead of furloughing everyone for a few days (and spreading the pain around so everyone experiences a little) they want the admin to do what...fire people.

They’d rather see some of their co-worker lose their jobs (and suffer all the consequences that go with it) than lose even one dime of pay themselves.

Typical liberal mindset. All in favor of sacrifice, as long as it’s someone else being sacrificed.

[RC2]

The students need to remember one thing....”Higher taxes, WE just can’t make it.” Welcome to the club. Blame your President.

[snarks_when_bored]

I'm begging you, no pictures, PLEASE!!!

Now hold on a sec...UC Davis...there could be some possibilities here...

[Wuli]

So the narcissistic, arrogant academic intelligentsia, who preach the “shared sacrifice” gospel all day in every class, want someone, somewhere, besides them, either in the UCal University system, or the state, to make it possible that the professors don't have a share of the state's financial burden - just everyone else. And who says liberals aren't hypocrites????

If the students wanted to understand their financial plight, as education consumers, someone might help them direct the focus of their protests where they belong. Between 1978 and 2008 the average annual cost of a college education went up 935%, and thereby considerably higher than most other things and higher than aggregate inflation. If the per-gallon price of retail gasoline had kept pace with college costs, it would have been selling for over $12.00 in 2008.

Yet the professors are among those preaching hatred for Exxon mobile while screaming, every year, that if federal college aid isn't increased the poor children will not be able to get into college. What they really mean is that if the Dims don't deliver their federal subsidies they won't be ab;e to sustain their extravagant and wasteful industry.

[Steelfish]

Super analysis. Well said!

[the anti-liberal]

Anybody happen to know if the university employees are SEIU? They are here in Oregon.

[Iron Munro]

Not enough subsidies, perks and free stuff for these people.
They want to dictate where, when and how much they get and where the taxpayers should deliver it.

They should send Obama an eMail - they put him in office so he will be happy to help them out.

PS - If they are upset now, wait until they see the cost of the “free” health care they have been whining about.

[PrincessB]

Here is my favorite line: They wanted to take some of their furloughs on teaching days On non-teaching days, how many of these people are actually on campus? (Think day before Thanksgiving, Spring Break)

[taillightchaser]

Hey, UC Davis administrators, do the words Ronald Reagan — Air Traffic Controllers——mean anything to you??
FIRE THEM!!!!

[CommerceComet]

Professional schools and science departments will probably see few impacts from the walkout, she said, while humanities and social science departments likely will have more participants.

Exactly what I would figure. The strike will take place in the departments that Dr. Thomas Sowell refers to as the "ghettos of the university." You know, places were they admire Churchill: Ward, not Winston. IMO there are too many people in these departments who have an overly-inflated view of themselves and their value to the university and society.