On October 18th, hundreds of students marched and rallied at UC Santa Cruz to protest the presence of military recruiters at the campus career fair.

A Queer Kiss-in was staged in front of recruiters' tables during the march and rally. From inside the fair, kissers were able to effectively block access to military recruiters without shutting down the entire career fair.

The military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" hiring practices are in violation of the UC system's non-discrimination policy. Protesters demanded that the UC adhere to its own policies by protecting all students from discrimination and securing UCSC as a hate-free zone.

Currently, the Solomon Amendment states that any university which denies military recruiters "equal access" to students will lose federal funding. The Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights (FAIR) is challenging the constitutionality of the Solomon amendment in a Supreme Court case, FAIR v Rumsfeld, which will be heard in December. Protesters on Tuesday urged the University of California to become the thirty-ninth school in the country to join FAIR.

SAW Press Release: Students Greet Military with Rally and Queer Kiss-In

Audio: FRSC: Military Off UCSC - March & Rally Radio Coverage || FSRN: UC Students Against War

Photos: UCSC shuts down recruiters || Recruiters Shut Down at UCSC, Rally Photos || Military Recruiting Protested During UCSC's Career Fair || Photos of the Queer Kiss-In Against Military Recruitment at UCSC || Discrimination Is Unacceptable to Students Against War || Oct. 18 Counter-Recruitment Events - Photos by Bob Fitch || Photos from Oct. 18 SAW Rally

blog coverage: Evan Branigan’s Blog

protest announcement: Military Off UCSC - March & Rally Tuesday!

Hundreds gathered in Watsonville, CA on Sunday, Oct. 16 to march for peace and commemorate the victims of violence.

The annual Peace & Unity March began after the brutal murder of Jorge (16) and his little sister Jessica (9) Cortez. Jorge and Jessica were gunned down execution style outside a panaderia in Pajaro one February evening. A few months later, Tony Valdivia (19) was shot to death in a local beach party. Local youth were outraged and decided to do something about it. This march conmemorates all carnales and carnalas who have died of gang, domestic, and international violence in our community.

For 11 consecutive years the Brown Berets have brought the different barrios together in a march which encompasses Watsonville as a whole. We are not only advocating for peace, but also for unity within our barrios.

Audio: FSRN: Watsonville Peace and Unity March || Dangerous Minds and Paying Tribute

Photos: Marching in the Streets || Marching, Pausing, Reaching Out and Performance

Audio and Photos: March Literally Takes Streets Back

Bring 5 friends and show up at 10am, Baytree Plaza

On Tuesday, multiple branches of the u.s. military will be recruiting at UCSC for the first time this year. In April - the last time the military was here - recruiters were kicked off campus by hundreds of students. On Tuesday, students will be holding a large march and rally to re-affirm that UCSC is a campus opposed to discrimination, opposed to war, and opposed to recruiters' lies.

While our Career Center requires that all groups coming to our job fairs affirm that they are Equal Opportunity Employers, the military is the ONLY institution that is granted an exception. Through the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, queers are officially banned from any position. This is in addition to the military's official ban on women serving combat positions.

see also: Military Recruiters Shut Down in San Diego: Protests Planned in Santa Cruz || UC Santa Cruz Students to March Against Discriminatory Military Recruitment

April 5, 2005: UCSC Students Kick Military Recruiters Off Campus

On Thursday, UCSC's College Republicans held a rally against the striking Metro bus drivers. While publicized all over campus, only a handful of students showed up to join them.

However, having heard of the anti-worker rally, students from the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA) and the Student and Worker Coalition for Justice (SWCJ), who have been very active supporting the bus drivers, were quick to react. They carpooled down to the rally and had far outnumbered the Republicans even before they arrived. While the mainstream media jumped at the opportunity to discredit the bus drivers' union (UTU Local 23), the pro-worker students showed that UCSC is overwhelmingly in solidarity with the bus drivers.

On Monday at UCSC, over 50 students and workers walked into Mike Rotkin's office, resulting in his acknowledgement that the Transit Board made a bad decision. On Friday, students and workers from UCSC will march at 4pm from the base of campus to the downtown Metro Center to show their solidarity.

Photos: Striking Bus Drivers, College Rupublikkkans and Student Solidarity || Evening Rally: Union and Student Solidarity at the Santa Cruz Metro Center

Audio: SC Metro Strikers Meet Anti-Strikers || Rockin' the Boat: Metro Strike Heats Up

see also: Bus Drivers to Follow in Cesar Chavez’ Footsteps: Watsonville-Santa Cruz March for Public Transit Set for Sunday || March Friday to Support Bus Drivers & Get Buses Rolling! || Students and Workers Visit Rotkin to Demand an End to the Bus Strike || Support The Bus Drivers, Upcoming Actions, Bike Campaign

previous coverage: Santa Cruz Bus Drivers on Strike

As part of a national anti-sweatshop campaign taking place at over 40 colleges and universities in the U.S., students and workers from UC Santa Cruz held a rally and march to demand that UCSC apparel no longer be produced in sweatshops.

The marchers, a few of whom had family members currently working in sweatshops overseas or have had personal experiences themselves, initially educated the many passerbys in busy Baytree Plaza before marching to the Chancellor's office where a list of demands was presented to an administrative representative. Their follow-through will be closely watched.

Audio: Rockin' the Boat: Students Rally for Sweat-Free Campus

Photos: UCSC is in Violation of their Code of Conduct || 25 Cents Makes a Difference: Wash Out the Sweat

[ United Students Against Sweatshops ]

On Wed. 11/30, University students in California, Colorado and New Mexico, took part in a day of action to call for nuclear abolition, demilitarization, and an end to their schools' involvement in nuclear weapons research and development. A noon rally at UCSC drew about 50 people, and dozens of curious onlookers. The students held a mock wedding ceremony, symbolizing the 'marriage' of the UC with the Bechtel.

"On Wednesday, November 30 – the UC wide Nuclear Day of Action, approximately one hundred UCSC students took part in a spirited rally at the quarry plaza on the UC campus. The day’s events, called “DeNuke UC�, sent a loud and clear message to UCSC administration, the UC Regents as well as President Robert Dynes that Santa Cruz students do not stand for nuclear proliferation in the name of education."

From UCSC Students Against War's press release:
santacruz.indymedia.org/newswire/display/19082/index.php

This a press release/summary of what happened today at UCSC. Pictures are coming...

(Please forward this e-mail widely)

THIS WEDNESDAY, November 30th -
DE-Nuke UC Day of Action

Join students from 12 - 2 PM in the Quarry Plaza to speak-out against UC's continued
involvement in the nuclear weapons business! STUDENTS ARE GATHERING ACROSS THE
COUNTRY AND ON EVERY UC CAMPUS!

How the environment and eating (Local Organic Food) is linked to Gandhi's ideology for transforming the world. Many links.