Calif. Budget Crisis Cripples UC System

(NEWSER) - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today declared a fiscal emergency and ordered lawmakers to produce a plan to close the state’s $24.3 billion deficit within 45 days, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. To accomplish that, Schwarzenegger called a special session of the legislature, and also ordered 220,000 state employees to take a third additional furlough day each month. More»

Campuses a 'sanctuary for narrow ideology,' says conservative group

(NEWSER) - Leftist faculty and "politically correct" thinking at University of California campuses are giving students a dangerously unbalanced education, according to a study by an organization of conservative educators. Humanities departments in particular have been hijacked by a leftist agenda that merely teaches about minorities grievances, according to the report, "Crisis of Competence: The Corrupting Effect of Political Activism in the University of California," by the National Association of Scholars . Campuses have "become a sanctuary for a narrow ideological segment of the spectrum of political and social ideas," according to the report. UC officials, not surprisingly, disagree. More»

Activists win concessions after 7 hours on ledge

(NEWSER) - A tense day of protests against massive budget cuts at UC Berkeley ended with protesters claiming victory. Eight activists who spent seven hours chained together on a fourth-floor ledge as riot police faced off with protesters below came down after reaching an agreement with campus officials, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. As part of the arrangement, university officials have agreed not to punish the students involved and to drop charges against several other protesters arrested over the last year. Officials haven't budged, however, on cuts to the university system. More»

Students demonstrate as regents vote at UCLA

(NEWSER) - Student protesters chanted “Shame on you! Shame on you!” on the UCLA campus today as the University of California board of regents approved a whopping 32% tuition hike. A year at a UC school—not including room and board—will now cost $10,300, three times the price in 1999. The moves comes as the university system struggles with draconian cuts in funding from the state's strapped government. More»

College moving out of reach, students charge

(NEWSER) - Angry students took to the streets yesterday to blast a proposed 32% fee hike for University of California schools. The Board of Regents is expected to finalize the increase today during a meeting at UCLA. It will hike tuition bills some $2,500. UC students will soon be paying $10,500 a year in tuition, triple a decade ago, on top of an estimated $16,000 in living and book costs. More»