DAVIS -
Professors ditched the grading curve for the roadway curb, and students dropped their books and picked up signs, angrily protesting against staff reductions and fee increases in a series of demonstrations throughout the campus of UC Davis on what would normally be the first day of school.
Despite overwhelming support of the demonstrations, some students did attempt to attend classes, but many were met with One student told FOX40's Darsha Phillips he went home and slept after trying to attend classes this morning.
Two days after students at UC Davis ditched their clothing to protest an increase in school fees, angry Aggies -- and their teachers -- walked out in a statewide demonstration to protest possible fee hikes for students and staff reductions for school administration. An increase in student fees proposed last week by the UC Board of Regents would have students dishing out $10,000 annually for education and other expenses by 2011.
The proposal also suggested slashing the admittance of incoming freshmen over the next few years by as many as 2,000 applicants and reducing staff and administration across the University of California's ten campuses.
Those cuts are causing some to think twice about whether a UC education is financially possible for them.
"I think it's really affecting a lot of people's decisions on where they're going to go to school," UC Davis senior Baye Gerke said. "A lot of us are on financial aide, and even that's hard to come by. Somewhere, you have to find time to make money to pay for your books and your $130 parking permit."
Teachers and students aren't alone in their struggle against the proposed fee hikes and staff reduction. Politicians, including San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, are showing their support for those affected by the plan proposed by the Board of Regents.
"All across the state, we are choking off opportunity for hundreds of thousands of young Californians to build a better life for themselves and a better future for California," Newsom wrote on The Huffington Post blog. "And it's our fault. We've allowed our system of governance to de-fund and de-prioritize higher education, putting our state's economic future in jeopardy."
Last week, ten people were arrested for trespassing after demonstrating at the UC Board of Regents meeting in San Francisco, where the fee increase and staff reduction plan was discussed.
Despite overwhelming support of the demonstrations, some students did attempt to attend classes, but many were met with One student told FOX40's Darsha Phillips he went home and slept after trying to attend classes this morning.
Two days after students at UC Davis ditched their clothing to protest an increase in school fees, angry Aggies -- and their teachers -- walked out in a statewide demonstration to protest possible fee hikes for students and staff reductions for school administration. An increase in student fees proposed last week by the UC Board of Regents would have students dishing out $10,000 annually for education and other expenses by 2011.
The proposal also suggested slashing the admittance of incoming freshmen over the next few years by as many as 2,000 applicants and reducing staff and administration across the University of California's ten campuses.
Those cuts are causing some to think twice about whether a UC education is financially possible for them.
"I think it's really affecting a lot of people's decisions on where they're going to go to school," UC Davis senior Baye Gerke said. "A lot of us are on financial aide, and even that's hard to come by. Somewhere, you have to find time to make money to pay for your books and your $130 parking permit."
Teachers and students aren't alone in their struggle against the proposed fee hikes and staff reduction. Politicians, including San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, are showing their support for those affected by the plan proposed by the Board of Regents.
"All across the state, we are choking off opportunity for hundreds of thousands of young Californians to build a better life for themselves and a better future for California," Newsom wrote on The Huffington Post blog. "And it's our fault. We've allowed our system of governance to de-fund and de-prioritize higher education, putting our state's economic future in jeopardy."
Last week, ten people were arrested for trespassing after demonstrating at the UC Board of Regents meeting in San Francisco, where the fee increase and staff reduction plan was discussed.
