OCCUPIED CAL Journal

Reclaimuc.blogspot.com / Berkeleycuts.org OccupiedCalJournal@gmail.com

The fight back in the US is on!

Thousands shut down the port in Oakland on November 2, 2011

Join the Occupation! Join the Movement!

Why Occupy Cal? Because the campus is our Wall Street, and the Regents are the 1%

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What is a UC Regent? The question itself seems alienating, let alone the phrase UC Regent. How many of you know the names of the 26 Regents? How many know what they even look like? In feudal times, regents were those that ruled over a kingdom in the place of a monarch. However, last time I checked, we were no longer living in an era of knights, serfs, and lords. Is this not supposed to be the modern world of democracy? Why, then, do a group of 26 individuals, who are so disconnected from campus life, who are so alienated from the masses, have essentially total control over the thousands of students, faculty, staff, and workers that keep the universities we admire running? Their decisions to cut budgets and to raise fees affect all of us, and believe me, they are not in our best interest, but in theirs. To understand why this is so, we must first clarify who the UC Regents are. The Board of the Regents was created in 1879 during the California constitutional convention. At that constitutional convention, a group made up mostly of financiers and industrialists from San Francisco managed to push for the establishment of the UC Board of Regents. This was done against the wishes of the less privileged, who demanded the university system serve the needs of the people, not private interests. The Board of Regents, as a governing body, was the brainchild of elitists with obvious financial interests at stake - both inside and outside the university - from the very beginning. This board was essentially given total ownership and total control over the university system. All matters, property, and money pertaining to the UC system continues to go through and is decided by the UC Regents. This is why when you or your parents write a check for tuition, they do

it to the UC Regents. This is why the UC campuses are not public property, but rather the property of the UC Regents. When so much power is concentrated into the hands of the few, does that not sound like a dictatorship? And that is how the university system is governed: through the dictatorship of the Regents. There is little, perhaps zero, democracy involved in the administration of our universities. The Regents have the power to set policies throughout all the UC campuses and they also determine the UC budgets. Basically, as stated before, they have total authoritative control of the UCs. Most interestingly, though, I dont remember voting these people into positions of power, and neither should you, because they are not elected public officials. Instead, the 18 voting members are handpicked by the Governor of California and approved by the State Senate. Since the Regents control all the money and property under the UCs, which is valued at roughly around $53 billion, the position of Regent is one of the most prestigious appointments the Governor can give. As a result, those that tend to give the Governor hefty campaign donations tend to also become Regents. Strange. Isnt it? Furthermore, each appointed regent is given a 12-year term! And each Regent can be reappointed for another term upon expiration of a previous term. Since Regents are not elected, and since they serve such long terms, those appointed to be Regents are not held directly accountable to the people of California. Interestingly enough, Article 9, Section 9 of the California State Constitution states that, The university shall be entirely independent of all political or sectarian influence

and kept free therefrom in the appointment of its regents and in the administration of its affairs." This might remind you of a certain federal institution, the United States Supreme Court, whose members are not elected, not answerable to the public, serve life terms, and who are supposed to be politically neutral, but in reality often serve obvious political interests. Additionally, there are 7 non-voting members of the board, 3 of whom are the Governor of California, the Lieutenant Governor, and the Speaker of the State Assembly. The last position is a student-regent, who is picked by the rest of the Regents; however, due to the student-regent's one-year term, lack of strong voting power, and the fact that this position is appointed by the Regents themselves, student-regents exist primarily as tokens to provide the illusion of student representation. Moreover, due to the fact that the 18 voting Regents are personally picked by the Governor and that the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Speaker of the State Assembly are also Regents, it is foolish to separate the Board of the Regents and the State of California as different entities. The Board of the Regents is merely an extension of the state, and this body pushes policies that the state and private interests want, which seem to go hand-inhand these days. When the Board of the Regents claims that fees must be raised due to decreased state funding, it is not the State of California that is solely responsible rather, these groups work together to push the same policy. This means that the State of California gets to play the bad guy while the Board of Regents get to blame the state and they can say they valiantly fought for our funding only to lose. And then they push the load onto us, the students, the faculty, the staff, and the workers. Well, if the Governor handpicks the Regents, it is done under the premise of good intentions, right? The Governor will surely only pick those that truly have the best interest of our education and the university system in mind, right? Nope. Nope. And a thousand times no. The individuals that make up the UC Regents themselves are a contradictory bunch. They are the administrators of a so-called public university system, but they are also so entangled with the private sector. Now, how do these conflicting interests play out in reality? This is an irreconcilable contradiction that ultimately leads to the university system being run more like a business or corporation on Wall Street, than a public educational institution meant serve ordinary Californians. Many Regents are involved with banks that profit off of student debt. Other Regents are involved in using public money to fund UC construction

projects that are contracted out to corporations that they are major stakeholders in. Here's a quick rundown list of some of the UC Regents and other UC administrators, their inflated finances, and their conflicts of public and private interests: 1. UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau: $436,800 base salary (24% increase from predecessor). Why do these administrators need pay raises? Their reasoning is that they need to pay people top dollar so they can compete with other schools to get the best administrators, which is pretty much the same excuse Wall Street executives use for handing out bonuses.

2. UC President Mark Yudof: $591,084 base salary (46% increase from predecessor). Richard Blum once said of Yudof, I dont imagine we could have found one person in the United States or abroad who is better suited for the job of president of the University of California than Mark Yudof, which is worrisome when you see the type of person Richard Blum is. 3. Regent Russell Gould: Appointed Regent in 2005 and term expires in 2017. Former Senior Vice President of Wachovia Bank, which was acquired by Wells Fargo in 2008.

4. Regent Sherry Lansing: Appointed in 1999 by Gov. Davis and reappionted in 2010 by Gov. Schwarzenegger. Her second term will expire in 2022. Former CEO and chairman of Paramount Motion Pictures

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5. Regent Richard Blum: Appointed in 2002, term ends in 2014. President of investment firm Blum Capital, husband of US senator from California Dianne Feinstein, a primary owner of Career Education Corporation (the worlds second largest for profit education firm), chairman of CBRE (the worlds largest commercial real estate firm), served 30 years on the board of the URS Corporation (the primary contractor for the UCs construction projects). By the way, as a side note, these UC construction projects are financed by loans that banks give to the Regents because they guarantee student fees will be raised as collateral. 6. Regent Paul Wachter: Appointed in 2004, term ends in 2016. An investment banker and on the Board of Directors for Time Warner. Wachter and Schwarzenegger were long time business partners since the 1990s. Coincidentally, it was Schwarzenegger that appionted Wachter as a Regent.

9. Regent George Marcus: Appointed in 2000, term endsin 2012. Founder and Chairman of Marcus & Millchap Company (one of the largest real estate investment companies in the US), Chairman at Essex Property Trust (a company that handles many foreclosure sales). 10. Regent Leslie Tang Schilling: Founder and Director of Union Square Investments Company (another commercial real estate investment and management firm).

7. Regent Norman Pattiz: Appointed in 2001, term ends in 2014. Founder and Chairman of Westwood One (the largest radio network company in the United States).

8. Monica Lozano: Appointed in 2001, term ends in 2013. Director at Bank of America (one of the largest holders of student debt, not to mention one of the biggest banks in the world), on the Board of Directors for Walt Disney.

Of those listed, 8 of them make up the 18 voting-Regents. The other 10 of those Regents arent much different from those listed. Keeping that current list in mind, read what Article 9, Section 9, Paragraph D of the California Constitution states: Regents shall be able persons broadly reflective of the economic, cultural, and social diversity of the State, including ethnic minorities and women. However, it is not intended that formulas or specific ratios be applied in the selection of regents. This doesnt seem like a group of individuals that are representative of Californians. In fact, the make-up of this board doesnt come close to reflecting contemporary society. No, this sounds like a political body for the 1%, made up by the 1%, and utilized to manipulate the 99% into paying for the 1%s troubles, only enriching them further. Despite the rhetoric of the economic crisis. which calls on everyone to share the burden of sacrifice, and despite the justification of increasing student fees as necessary in such a crisis, the Regents and the UC administrators are not the ones suffering. In fact, theyve been getting pay raises, theyve been getting nice bonuses, and they all sit in comfy financial positions by being on the boards of some of the largest corporations and financial institutions in the world. In short, the burden is not being shared by all - it has fallen disproportionately on students in the form of raised fee hikes and increased debt. It has fallen upon workers, staff, and faculty in the forms of less jobs, slashed wages and salaries, and reduced pensions. Weve tried to get our voices heard

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These kids would put many seasoned Berkeley protesters to shame with their energy.

by protesting in Sacramento. We've tried voting. We've held our rallies. And nothing has changed. The Regents either refuse to listen to us or are unable to do so. Well, if they have hearing issues, how about we make things easier for them. Let us, the 99%, the workers, the students, the faculty, and the staff - in other words, the ones that truly keep our universities functioning, let us put down our tools, our books, our files and folders, our pens and pencils, and let us bring this university to a halt. Let us make it so that the only thing the Regents will be able to hear is our collective voice, and perhaps their own fear. But, lets not stop just at our campuses, lets also confront the Regents themselves when they hold their meeting on November 16. Lets shut down their meeting to show them that there are no longer any safe enclaves for them to hide behind. Lets shut down their meeting so that business as usual is abruptly ended. Lets shut down the meeting to show that we arent the ones that run on the Regents clock, but rather it is they that run on ours. Let us halt the gears of this machine from moving so that all the Regents can pay attention to is our collective call for change to a broken system. Starting November 9, we will demonstrate our collective force. We will demonstrate who truly runs and who truly should be in charge of our universities. The Regents don't run this campus, we do. The Regents shouldn't rule our campus, we should. This is our university and let us show that by turning on and off the everyday operations of the university at our will. Ultimately, it is us that teach classes, that keep the campus beautiful, that provide the services we need, and it is us that keep education continuously flowing throughout the university. The Regents do none of this. Instead, they sit in their positions of power deciding what to do with the profit, wealth, and knowledge we create. So how about we remind the Regents that the

monarch has long been dead? Lets tell them there isnt another one coming back. And you know what else? Lets tell them we dont need Regents in place to rule over us anymore. We can do that fine just by ourselves, because if it werent for us there would be no university. The same cannot be said of the Regents. In addition, we should stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters at Occupy Oakland and all the other Occupations in the world, whose struggle against socioeconomic injustice is linked with ours. The fight against bailing out private corporations on the backs of the people. The fight against the looting of the public sector by the private sector. The fight against greed. The desire to put people before profit. It is clear that their struggle, is also our struggle. And in light of recent events at Occupy Oakland, which included violent actions from police against demonstrators and a general strike on November 2nd that involved tens of thousands of individuals, I offer this small statement to anyone reading this: History is unraveling before your eyes, and those that do not act are destined to be silenced.

Tahrir Square? Nope, its Oakland

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