US military planners are having a tough time finding and retaining new recruits. The US Army fell almost one-third short of its recruiting goal for the month of March. To lure in potential enlistees, they're beefing up scouts, and offering large bonuses. Last month, high profile counter-recruitment protests were staged at City College in New York Seattle Community College, and San Francisco State. Yesterday, some 300 students and community members held a raucous demonstration at the University of California, Santa Cruz campus, where US military recruiters had a booth at the campus' Job and Internship fair. FSRN reporter Vinny Lombardo files this report.

From April 18-22, they will camp by the hundreds. UC Santa Cruz students, staff, and faculty -- not to mention dozens and dozens of community members -- will converge on the fields at the base of the campus for Tent University Santa Cruz (TUSC), which promises to be among the largest political gatherings in the recent history of UCSC.

Wednesday, April 20th
12:00pm
UCSC (BASE OF CAMPUS)

MARCH TO SANTA CRUZ COUNTY BUILDINGS

2:00pm Rally at the County Buildings

• No more budget cuts to public education.
• Fully fund Prop 98.
• Tax the top 1%.

4/5/05 -- photos by MATT FITT -- Part 2: Students at UC Santa Cruz successfully rallied to force military recruiters off of the campus. March 5, 2005

4/5/05 -- photos by MATT FITT -- Part 2: Students at UC Santa Cruz successfully rallied to force military recruiters off of the campus. April 5, 2005