beautiful josh, thanks so much for getting these up so quickly and for covering this!

Great job, Josh! Excellent coverage of the event.

Not only are the photos and the commentary great, but they tell an interesting and important story. More, more, please!

apologies for not being in attendance. and may i say WOW! i've been to at least half a dozen regents meetings over the past few years and it gives me chills and makes me feel so blessed to see all of you up there - and SO ORGANIZED! thank you so much to the new generation of Demilitarization students at UCSC... you are incredible. and all the students, from UCSB, Berkeley, Davis as well as the supporters.

An additional "bravisimo!" to the woman that read the Richard Blum study. the Chronicle article focused on it (www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi).

Gary Novack (whom i once had the displeasure of sitting next to on a bus tour of LANL) voted NO in the meeting today. it wasn't unanimous, but 11-1 to partner with Bechtel and move ahead with the bid.

Last, but not least, for more information listen to this interview from Free Radio Santa Cruz on the UC, it's corporate ties, and the weapons labs. Recorded May 31st 2004 on Corporate Swine Radio.

radio.indymedia.org/news/2004/06/1781.php

Oink!

The Regents have again brought our quality of life down a notch. The City of Santa Cruz voted years ago to be a NO NUKE city, where no Nuclear weapons,or research are allowed. It may even be by city ordinance. The Regents have just spat in the face of the vast majority of residents of Santa Cruz.

Also, by having a nuclear weapons research facility at UCSC, the University has become a legitimate enemy target for any foreign power that deems the United States an enemy.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/05/27/BAGQQCVO6A1.DTL

Don't break your arm patting yourself on the back. The UC system has continously supported and built nuclear weapons since the first bombs were dropped in Japan. Thats a 60+ year legacy of building deadly weapons. It is hardly a new thing. Yet there seems to be no problem in being hypocritical enough to support it by going to UC schools. The UC was building bombs when these students, the richest student base in the state, chose to go to school here. I'm sure the money their parents spend sending them here was made in very politically correct ways. None of them are funded by the "national Intrest" that the UC Regents speak of?

We don't wan't recruiters on campus but we don't have any problem supporting the institution that builds the weapons that kill the people in the wars we don't wan't to fight in.

Get off your high horse! You are part of the problem.

Let's do X and spread HIV to stop the war.

If these students are really against war they wouldn't be going to a UC school in the first place.

"Yet there seems to be no problem in being hypocritical enough to support it by going to UC schools"

"Get off your high horse! You are part of the problem."

"If these students are really against war they wouldn't be going to a UC school in the first place."

----------
You seem to have a lot of anti-student sentiment. Why is that?

It's not hypocritical at all to attend a UC while organizing against the injustices it perpetuates. The UCs are the best schools in CA that are somewhat available to the public. There are virtually no alternatives if our youth wish to attend an excellent school.

Furthermore, UC is not alone in it's collusion with the Department of Defense and militarization - many schools nation-wide are a part of what some have called the Military-Academic-Industrial-Complex.

Are you critical of the more than 1,000 UCSC students that shut down the campus for a day to support AFSCME workers? We eventually helped them to win a better contract. Was that hypocritical of us?

What you would rather us do? We do the best we can to change the system - inside and out - so who are you to criticize us?

I find it odd that you call yourself a native santa cruzan yet despise UCSC and the students so much. If it weren't for our involvement, Santa Cruz's economy would be bust and our politics conservative as they used to be prior to UCSC.

Luckily, I grew up in Santa Cruz and know that your opinions do not represent most locals.

Truthfully Josh I have friends that have gone and still go to the UC. Personally I think the school sucks and is an elitist institution. I'm not anti student just anti UCSC. I do like CSUMB where they've converted a war facility to a learning facility.

But as Einstein says "You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war." Which pretty much holds up in this argument. You cant simultaneously protest a 60 year old WMD program while supporting it. They supported it when you started and will most likely continue to support it until the world goes up in smoke. The Berkley movement in the 60's and 70's didn't sway it. I still have flyers protesting Lawrence from the seventies. It's still going strong, it's still a cash cow.

I've known plenty of people who have worked at UCSC and they thought it sucked too.

So you helped get some workers better contracts. That is not a bad thing. But off topic. The point is that supporting the UC system supports Lawrence Livermore, Lawrence Berkley, and Los Alamos. Anyway you slice it.

Did I commnet on students supporting workers? No.

Students...."expressed the need for a University of California that is focused on education and a science rooted in humanity, rather than greed and war" That is why, as you claim that "The UCs are the best schools in CA that are somewhat available to the public."

I like the somewhat comment. I think that says a lot. Believe me I think education should be available to all.

Without greed and the big bucks that come from creating WMD they wouldn't have the dough to be such an "excellent" institution.

It's an unfortunate vicious cycle.

And yes, it is hypocritical to support it.

Santa Cruz Native,

I understand your frustration that UCSC students protest the University of California while simultaneously enjoying the benefits of its education and privilege. You call us hypocrites and suggest we should either get out of the UC system or shut the hell up. But the logical extension of your argument is laughable.

Following your logic, all U.S. citizens who protest the Iraq War while simultaneously benefiting from the protections of the Bush Administration’s foreign policy are raging hypocrites. Maybe we should quit this war protesting all together? Your logic also suggests that any critical voice originating from the inside the system is hypocritical and…what? Should be silenced? I think I’ve heard that argument before and I think its usually phrased “love it or leave it.� Come on.

Your proposed criteria for college choice is cute and noble, but in reality most student’s decision to attend a UC is the result of family pressures and economic considerations…not ideological orientations or clever arguments crafted on indymedia message boards. So let’s say you enter UCSC as a bright-eyed 18 year old and soon discover that the Regents do some things you don’t agree with. We should drop out immediately right? Well, go for it man. Or maybe we should ignore the problems and go about our college lives without disrupting things? Most do. But frankly, some of us aren’t satisfied with those two options and feel compelled to voice our opposition, spread awareness, and work to change things from the inside. Hypocrites? Come on, life does not hand us tidy packages of black/white good/bad ideological consistencies.

Mara,

As long as i'm being "cute" I thought I would respond. I've heard plenty of criticism come out of the mouths of many a UC student, criticising one thing or another, so i think a little in return is fair play at the very least.

The difference of choosing a school and living in the U.S. is most people are not born into a school.

Again I've heard plenty of criticism from UC persons condemning those who support Bush.

UC students like to scream loudly about the things they don't care for, or people they don't agree with. I've been witness to many self reightous finger pointing aimed at others from UC students. So now a finger is pointing back.

"Economic Considerations?" Like I wan't to spend a lot of money to go to school so I will choose a UC? A CSU being the more affordable schools.

Drop out or sell out is that the question? Well when I've heard so much criticism about peoples choices from UC students it certainly begs the question.

"Following your logic, all U.S. citizens who protest the Iraq War while simultaneously benefiting from the protections of the Bush Administration’s foreign policy are raging hypocrites."

Did they choose to vote for Bush or some one else?
The difference here being choice.

Also interesting to note, is your endorsement of bush's policies. Do you really feel that US citizens are safer under Bush?

Who's logic is laughable? Following the logic I've seen here. It wouldn't be hypocritcal to CHOOSE an SUV, while opposing drilling in ANWAR. Or CHOOSING to join the KKK while being opposed to racism.Or, for that matter, vote for Bush,while opposing the war. While I would still support their choice to protest the war, I would find it hypocritical.

Gee you UC students seem awfully critical of others choices, and very defensive when you come under criticism yourself.

If I had not seen such criticism spouted by many a UC student I doubt that I would have been motivated to be so critical in my analysis.

Your cake and eat it too. People in glass houses. Living in an Ivory tower, and the like.

UC research isn't all nukes ... UCSC does research on sustainable agriculture, adaptive technology to help blind people see, sequencing the human genome, etc.
I think SAW is one of the voices for the conscience of the University. They can't do that from outside.

You can if you do it from another institution. UC students act like all they do is good while not ever being complicit as part of the problem.

I have personally seen UC students alienate people who are antiwar because they did not fit into their predefined PC image of what an antiwar citizen should be. As I said previously, I doubt I would have been so compelled to comment in the first place, if not for such experiences.

Let me guess. You are another UC student unwilling to accept that in order to acheive your desired education, you are supporting the same system that you blame others for supporting. BY CHOICE.

I see this as an important factor in Bush still being in office. The alienation of the "ignorant" red state mentality by smug little twits armed with a degree, who in turn think they are the answer to all the worlds problems, and don't even, in the slightest, see their place in it.

AGAIN I WOULDN"T HAVE EVEN COMMENTED IF I HADN"T SEEN SUCH FINGER POINTING FROM UC STUDENTS>

Yes how could anyone ever question a UC student? They are above criticism.

Hmmmm. Who alinated the Red states? I wonder.

Everyone else is the problem. Isn't that it.

Thank you all for clearly illustrating my distaste for the propaganda the UC system produces. They Churn out nuclear weapons while at the same time churning out self reightous, finger pointing, PC robots as a smoke screen for their true agenda.

Santa Cruz Native,
I'm trying to understand your concerns, so please correct me if I misinterpret them. You claim that it is hypocritical to attend a UC while protesting the labs that are under its control, and that attending the UC means supporting the arms development it takes part in.

However, I can only think of one way that a student in Santa Cruz directly supports the Los Alamos labs just by being a student, which is their tuition fees that may partially support the labs. But if it is hypocritical to indirectly fund weapons when you are morally opposed to them, then all US taxpayers fall under that judgement. It is a person's choice whether or not they pay taxes to support a government they may or may not agree with, just as it is a person's choice whether or not to attend a University whose policies they may not agree with. As far as attending a university that dabbles in nuclear warfare, I’m sure a lot of people would like to go to an “ideologically pure� college that doesn’t have its hands in any dirty money or military research, but I’m not aware of any such places, and most people don’t have the luxury of choosing a college based on ethical principles anyways.

However, what really seems to be bothering you is that UC students don’t seem to realize their place in the immoral practices of the University, that the “blood is on their hands,� so to speak. Certainly, most are complicit to these injustices, and many don’t even recognize their own privilege within the system. But the key words are “most� and “many;� a great deal of UCSC students do recognize what’s wrong with the University and take active measures to voice their discontent and mobilize change around these issues.

You mentioned many times that UC students are finger-pointers, but you’re also pointing the finger yourself – and the point I think you were partially getting at is that placing blame and arguing who’s at fault does nothing in the end: it’s what actions you take to create positive change in your community that really matters. The SAW kids didn’t put a gun to anybody’s head, didn’t exploit anyone for profit, and certainly didn’t build any bombs; what they did was to peacefully protest nuclear arms.

Just what I expected another lame attempt at justification. The difference between choosing not to pay taxes and not to choose a school, is that they won't throw your ass in federal prison if you don't choose to go to a UC school.

Man, if these are the best arguments you guys can put up no wonder the war party is so successfull in ramming their agenda through.

In fact the finger pointing indeed come from the anti war crowd from the UC.

Making hard choices is tough when getting a college education. I went through hell getting a degree while refusing to sign up for Selective Service. I made sacrifices for my choices, but I did manage to get an education. I feel I am better off not compromising my integrity to get an education.

I was supportive of the anti-war voices from the UC untill I saw how they chose to alienate others who did not follow their PC dogma, such as members of militias. Who while, they supported the right to bear arms they did not support Bush or his war. As well as others. I got sick of the choice to alienate people who did not follow their dictatorship.

They Deserve Bush and the regents. Bunch of whiners.

Other lame arguments are, well, the UC does other stuff too. Bush has supported AIDS funding, as well as, believe it or not, wind energy. I still don't see that as a reason to support him.

This has only reinforced my disgust with the UC and the brainwashed supporters of it. They should call themselves SAR Students Against Reality. Because that is what they are avoiding.

I don't have any more time to waste arguing such poor rebuttals so you are free to go on stroking each other off with how great the UC is.

The difference between refusing to pay taxes and quitting college is the degree of consequence, not the moral implications. You said earlier that it's hypocritical to support a military institution if you are against the military. Now you're saying that it's OK to support the military against your conscience if the consequence is federal jail. Well, try as you might, you can't really prescribe your moral judgements to all people. Even thought it might not be so cut-and-dry for you, some people have different morals.
I don't know what person keeps pointing all these fingers you're talking about, and which anti-war protester it was that chose to alienate people who want to bear arms, but it sure as hell wasn't me. You talk as if all anti-war protesters are the same person with the same beliefs. I don't know how many people from SAW you've actually met, but they're all individuals, with different opinions and morals concerning every issue... believe it or not. However convenient it might be to picture them all as PC robots, most of them actually are human!
If it's against your 'morals' to debate arguments that you don't want to hear, then don't. Just don't pretend like I have any love for the UC.