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The last few days have been spent up at UCSC at the student strike in support of the TA cola4all strike [cost of living].
Today there were close to 1K students in the middle of the street blocking the entrance.
There were at least 100 cops today. Here is one deployment from yesterday. They also had a large truck to put people into the size of a 20 ft Penske. These men are in riot gear with batons.
Food not Bombs brought food for everyone and many folks made contributions. The No On Recalls committee rented porta-potties for them.
We did voter reg, talked about issues we had endorsed. It seemed like most of the students were going to vote for Bernie. This is the crowd gathering just before the evening caucus to plan for the next day.
I have been setting up at 7:30 before they block the entrance and breaking down around 4:30 and working with the campus organizers and the No On Recalls folks as we, Henry (last term senior and organizer for No On Recalls) and I, can. Tired, but in a good way. Sleeping deeply.
Reminds me of the Viet Nam protests. Bern it down...
Comments
Wish I could be there
Are they blocking both entrances? You know that they can get in via the West Entrance if they don't go in through the regular one.
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
No it’s not blocked
But no one is crossing the picket line. Not city busses. Circuit busses are, bc they have a contract that says they must. They often honk as they go by. Many profs have cancelled their classes. Tenured likely. And are down at the strike in their robes. Their presence is stopping some actions by the police.
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Wish I could be there as well
magi, I would love to be able to lend a hand. I would even sit at one of those "card tables" to hand out food and water. Keep those youngsters fed and hydrated. They are the future.
Keep us posted when you can....best wishes.
Wish you could too
That would be so cool. It’s really amazing, the whole thing. This is day four. A bit overcast today, a good thing bc of the dehydration issue.
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UCSC Alumna Here. . .
I had to post, after seeing this report. I'm glad to see/hear that political protest is alive and well at UCSC and applaud you for your support role for the students and doing the voter registration work. . . .
I was part of the spring 1977 sit-in of the administrative building, protesting the UC system's South Africa investments and calling for divestiture. There were something like 455 of us arrested. With those numbers--the highest at a UC campus since the Berkeley Peoples Park days (we even made the 6:30 news that night...)-- the local authorities were totally overwhelmed. They ended up, over many, many hours, transporting us from the various offices and down to the county courthouse on bus after bus, and stuck us in the open air/underground parking area for the night. Ah, memories of hard concrete, crappy food, solidarity songs, and resting my head on someone else's butt as I tried to doze. . . .
As #451 to be processed, it was a long night, morning, and afternoon the next day. We were all going to be tried in SF courts. We were broken up in smaller groups, each one taken on by a lawyer offering to represent us pro bono and had, I think, a court day set, but the UCSC admins decided to make it all go away and dropped the charges before then. And then, eventually, the UC system DID divest. . . .
The uc system
Has the money but they are a profit center now. Also I think they are afraid to give into to students in particular. There are folks, profs and students, negotiating with them. But it sounds like they are refusing to deal with “students”. Meh.
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Well worth it
Thanks for your activism.
We need more of it.
question everything
Right on
Power to the people!
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Perks the coffee up this morning, magi,
happy to read and see this, fills the heart with hope.
Good on you for all the work and fun.
Thanks for the song,
. It's just right. This might be the bare beginnings of the time that we've been waiting for. The reawakening of the collective spirit. Finally.
Lurking in the wings is Hillary, like some terrifying bat hanging by her feet in a cavern below the DNC. A bat with theropod instincts. -- Fred Reed https://tinyurl.com/vgvuhcl
Thanks smiley
The kids are okay. Heh.
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Cops in riot gear
ready to stamp down a peaceful student strike. Looks like TPTB are becoming a bit nervous of late.
Thank you so much, magiamma, for giving your time and effort in this and for reporting it here. Good news from the front. Much needed.
Lurking in the wings is Hillary, like some terrifying bat hanging by her feet in a cavern below the DNC. A bat with theropod instincts. -- Fred Reed https://tinyurl.com/vgvuhcl
Yes riot gear
With pepper spray and rubber bullets. Fucked up. They have cops from the valley here to “help”. Right? Not engendering a lot of confidence for them or the system. Blatant power play. edit
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@magiamma Yeah, quite a
Yeah, quite a change--a chilling one--from what I experienced all those years ago with our Out of South Africa UCSC protest. To get us all off campus and down to the courthouse, they used some local school buses to ferry us. No weapons or military vehicles in sight. . .
Sanders builds double-digit national lead:
Sanders builds double-digit national lead:
"The latest Morning Consult poll finds Sanders at 29 percent support, followed by former Vice President Joe Biden at 19 percent and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg at 18 percent. Sanders gained 3 points in the poll after winning the New Hampshire primary this week, while Biden lost 3 points after a disastrous fifth place showing.
[...]
Electability is the top issue on voters minds and Sanders is now viewed as the best positioned to defeat President Trump, with 29 percent saying he’s most electable, followed by Bloomberg at 25.
[...]
But the Morning Consult survey found a 10 point drop among black voters in their confidence that Biden has the best shot of defeating Trump. Thirty-two percent of black voters said Sanders has the best chance of defeating Trump, followed by Biden and Bloomberg at 21."
https://thehill.com/...
Encouraging news.
Bernie’s lead with black voter
Was not mentioned in either the NYT or Guardian articles on S.C. this AM. They barely mentioned him at all. In case you were wondering...
We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg
Woo hoo !
Dayum, that makes me happy. We must keep on pushing.
Cats for Bernie
Feline the Bern!
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Good work, Magi
Wish I could find a strike or protest near me. Living in the middle of nowhere sucks.
This shit is bananas.
Hi daenerys
It looks like the union will as of today negotiate with the students. This is a big step in the right direction. If this works for them maybe more students will strike.
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Thank you magi, for your activism.
The energy generated by you and the others you are participating with is palpable.
What else is palpable, is the relentless heat and drought NZ is experiencing. Pray for rain while berning it down!
In Auckland maybe
We narrowly missed the deluge in Milford sound about 10 days ago. I gather that was pretty unusual.
We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg
Nothing is usual anymore, as you would know, Hawkfish
I'm glad you missed the deluge. Yes, it's quite unusual at this time of year. At other times (like winter) it's quite usual. I've never seen so much water falling as in the neighbourhood of Milford Sound in April.
You are right
For janis...
Not only is the energy palpable but the movement is growing each day as more and more students are politicized. The presence of police in riot gear with pepper spray, batons and guns !! with rubber bullets is definitely helping this process.
The students held their line yesterday and the cops backed off. Progress.
We hiked the Milford track in the 90s and it was amazing. Three days with no rain in the rainiest spot in the planet. And the color of the streams was psychedelic - moss greens and multiple colors of turquoise. And shades of ice blue. Yummy.
May your country be filed with needed rain.
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It is wonderful to hear,
that the contrast between peace and conflict is becoming more apparent and peace more respected. I really appreciate the spirit and excitement your participation brings here and elsewhere.
Your description of the Milford Sound is also very tangible. I can almost see it. I suppose if you recorded any of it, it would be on slides?
good morning hawkfish
Wow. Enjoy your travels.
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