“Three grand? That’s not fair! We’ll show you our pubic hair!”

“Public School; public nudity!”

“3,000 dollars? Get naked and holler!”

These were just some of the slogans approximately 10 scantily clad students chanted this afternoon at the “naked rally,” organized to bring attention to a proposed 32 percent hike in student fees. It was designed to emphasize how students are being “stripped of a right to accessible quality public education,” according to a press release.

The rally, held at noon in the quad, also served as a promotion for Thursday’s faculty and student walkout, intended to bring awareness to furloughs and rising student fees.

Students ‘dressed within legal limits‘ and holding protest signs across their bodies attracted many bystanders at the Memorial Union, some who were unaware previously of the fee increases.

Brad Bispo, a fifth year community and regional development major and tight-end on the UC Davis Football team, admitted that the fee increases don’t affect athletes as much as other students due to the scholarships they receive.

“I wasn’t really aware of this, but $3,000 dollars [in expected fee increases] is a lot,” Bispo said. “Especially right now, when we’re being encouraged to stay in school. Not too many people just have $3,000 lying around for that though.“

Student protestors attracted approximately 26 forms of media to the demonstration. Organizer Sarah Raridon, a fourth year human development major, said that the rally was intended to bring attention to the troubles students will be facing.

“It’s lighthearted and everything, but it’s also important for our voices to be heard,” said Raridon, wearing only underwear and a few strategically placed band-aids. “Fee increases and furloughs will be detrimental to our education.“

Among the crowd this afternoon was Fred Wood, vice chancellor of student affairs. Wood said that though he understands why students are upset, there are ways they can learn more about the budget situation.

“We’ve just never seen budgets like this before,” Wood said. “What most people are unaware of is that the cuts we’ve already made are less visible, and that we tried to keep students out of this for as long as we could.“

 However some students participating in the rally believed not all had been done before proposing another fee increase.

“Yudof is getting paid more than our president,” said Jonathen Duran, fifth year community and regional development major. “It’s ridiculous! At some point [the Regents] need to hire people who are passionate about education and not so concerned about what they get paid.“

In response, Wood urged students upset to learn more about what they could do or financial assistance they could receive.

“We all feel for the students at this time,” Wood said.

Protestors urged those who attended the rally to also attend the walkout, which will occur all day Thursday with a protest on the quad at noon. Those participating in the walkout are demanding that the UC administrators return student fees to 2008-09 levels, stop cutting pay for employees making less than $40,000, relinquish President Mark Yudof’s emergency powers, and return UC executive pay to 2006 levels. 

Those on campus this Tuesday and Wednesday need not be alarmed by the sound of explosions or gunshots – this is only a test.

“Operation Gallant Eagle,” coordinated by the UC Davis Police and Fire departments will begin at 8 a.m. Wednesday; a briefing will occur Tuesday at 3 p.m in the Sciences Lecture Hall.

The exercise is intended to test response to a major violent incident on campus, and may include smoke, simulated gunfire and explosions. Over 200 volunteers from outside agencies will participate in the exercise, including students, faculty and staff.

“What’s unique about this exercise is that its based off a realistic time scale,” said Lieutenant Matthew Carmichael of the UC Davis Police Department. “It will follow natural scale of flow should an event like this occur, based on history and similar events.“

Most of the activity will occur from 8 a.m. until noon, but will end at 4 p.m.

Volunteers and staff will be briefed on Tuesday night in preparation for the next day’s activities. Then, volunteers will meet the following morning from 6:30 to 7:30 for make-up and other preparations.

Though the exercise is designed to appear realistic, safety officials will be present at all times and any area used for the exercise will be closed to the public.

“We’re testing the actual response to this kind of an emergency as opposed to just introducing certain events designed to keep play going,” Catrmichael said. “The exercise will test itself.“

LAUREN STEUSSY can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

The following UC Davis faculty are supporting the UC Faculty Walkout, according to a list of names posted at ucfacultywalkout.com. Some of the following faculty members may be professors emeriti or on sabbatical. This list is ordered alphabetically by surname. Departments are listed in parentheses following each professor’s name. For more information on the walkout, see http://theaggie.org/article/4321.

Raul Aranovich (Linguistics)

Nicole Asquith (French)

John Boe (UWP)

Marc Blanchard (Comparative Literature)

Shelley Blozis (Psychology)

Nathan Brown (English)

Katharine Burnett (Art History)

Joan Cadden (History)

Joshua Clover (English)

John Conway (Physics)

Richard T. Scalettar (Physics)

Parama Roy (English)

Aldo Antonetti (Philosophy)

Gina Bloom (English)

Manuel Calderon de la Barca Sanchez (Physics)

Steven Carlip (Physics)

Seeta Chaganti (English)

Lucy Corin (English)

Christyann Darwent (Anthropology)

Joanne Diehl (English)

Greg Dobbins (English)

Frances Dolan (English)

Gerald Dworkin (Philosophy)

Linda Egan (Spanish)

Robin D. Erbacher (Physics)

Rida T. Farouki (Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering)

Daniel Ferenc (Physics)

Margaret Ferguson (English)

Jeff Fort (French and Italian)

Kathleen Frederickson (English)

Lynn Freed (English)

Elizabeth Freeman (English)

Xico Gonzalez (Chicano Studies)

Laura Grindstaff (Sociology)

Joanna Groza (Chemical Engineering and Materials Science)

Noah Guynn (French)

Drew Halfmann (Sociology)

Bill Hing (Law)

Hsuan Hsu (English)

John Iacovelli (Theatre & Dance)

Robert Johnston (Environmental Science & Policy)

Michael Kapovich (Mathematics)

Richard Kim (Asian American Studies)

Victoria Langland (History)

Elaine Landry (Philosophy)

Neil Larsen (Comparative Literature)

Chris Loar (English)

Lyn H. Lofland (Sociology)

Jonathan K. London (Human and Community Development)

Marjorie L. Longo (Chemical Engineering and Materials Science)

Sunaina Maira (Asian American Studies)

Adrienne Martin (Spanish)

Desiree Martin (English)

John Marx (English)

Lisa Materson (History)

Robert May (Philosophy and Linguistics)

Michael McQuarrie (Sociology)

Colin Milburn (English)

Elizabeth Miller (English)

Flagg Miller (Religious Studies)

Susette Min (Asian American Studies)

Isabel Montanez (Geology)

Tim Morton (English)

Judith Newton (Women and Gender Studies)

Sam Nichols (Music)

Marijane Osborn (English)

Bruce Rannala (Evolution and Ecology)

Ruth A. Reck (Land, Air and Water Resources)

Gerhard Richter (German)

Simon Sadler (Art History)

Laurie San Martin (Music)

Seth L. Schein (Comparative Literature)

Juliana Schiesari (Comparative Literature)

Scott Shershow (English)

David Simpson (English)

Blake Stimson (Art History)

Matthew Stratton (English)

Dawn Sumner (Geology)

John Terning (Physics)

Mani Tripathi (Physics)

Clarence E. Walker (History)

Grace Wang (American Studies)

Jane-Ling Wang (Statistics)

Keith David Watenpaugh (Religious Studies)

Karen Ann Watson-Gegeo (Education)

Joe Wenderoth (English)

Julie Wyman (Technocultural Studies)

Nolan Zane (Psychology and Asian American Studies)

Michael Ziser (English)

ADDED SEPT. 21:

Carlee Arnett (German)

Fred Block (Sociology)

Gretchen Braun (University Writing Program, English)

Gordon C. Chang (Sociology)

Maxwell Chertok (Physics)

Marlene Clarke (University Writing Program)

Marisol de la Cadena (Anthropology)

Miroslava Chavez-Garcia (Chicano Studies)

Sean Davis (Computer Science)

Donald Donham (Anthropology)

Jesse Drew (Technocultural Studies)

Omnia El Shakry (History)

Karen Ericksen (Pyschology)

E.C. Feldman (Veterinary Medicine)

Jaimey Fisher (German)

Christiana Giordano (Anthropology)

Simona Ghetti (Psychology)

Bruce D. Haynes (Sociology)

Jerry L. Hedrick (Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology)

Jack Hicks (English)

Robert McKee Irwin (Spanish and Classics)

Peter Janata (Psychology)

Mark Jerng (English)

Donald Johns (University Writing Program)

Suad Joseph (Anthropology, Women and Gender Studies)

Alan Klima (Anthropology)

Kristin Koster (Humanities)

Gregory Lanzaro (Veterinary Medicine)

Edwin Lewis (Nematology and Entomology)

Kari Lokke (Comparative Literature)

Shirley Luckhart (Medicine)

Jeff Magnin (University Writing Program)

William A. Mason (Pyschology)

Tanya McNeill (Sociology)

Stuart Meyers (Veterinary Medicine)

Susan G. Miller (History)

Jack Milton (Mathematics)

Victor D. Montejo (Native American Studies)

Malaquias Montoya (Chicano Studies)

Thomas J. Munn (Theater and Dance)

Orhan Orgun (Linguistics)

Halifu Osumare (African American Studies)

Ana Peluffo (Spanish)

Salvador Plascenscia (English)

Alon Raab (Religious Studies)

Michael Reid (Plant Science)

Kevin Rice (Plant Sciences)

Victoria Rivers (Design)

Gloria M. Rodriguez (Education)

Phillip Rogaway (Computer Science)

Kristen Rogers (School of Medicine)

Kurt Rohde (Music)

Sergey Savrasov (Physics)

Suzana Sawyer (Anthropology)

Jeff Schank (Psychology)

Barbara Shacklett (Medical Microbiology & Immunology)

Scott Simmon (English)

Jay V. Solnick (Medicine)

Smriti Srinivas (Anthropology)

Daniel Stolzenberg (History)

Kathy Stuart (History)

Julie Sze (American Studies)

Renee Tsolis (Medical Microbiology & Immunology)

Stefano Varese (Native American Studies)

Patricia Wakenell (Veterinary Medicine)

Claire Waters (English)

Evan Watkins (English)

David J. Webb (Physics)

Martha West (Law)

Diane Wolf (Sociology)

Li Zhang (Anthropology)

Students may come to class to no professor on the 24th, as many faculty have decided on a plan that will send a clear message to regents and California legislators.

A list of 16 University of California professors appeared at the bottom of a letter sent to faculty, asking those faculty members to join them in protesting the general condition of public education funding and the UC regents’ alleged abuse of shared governance.

“If we find the president’s disdain for collective decision making unacceptable, we must make it clear, collectively, that we will not accept it,” the letter read. “If we hope to intervene in the process of decision making that will determine the future of the UC system, we must interrupt our exclusion from that process – now.”

The letter was mainly provoked by regents’ decision to implement furloughs on non-teaching days, despite the faculty’s preference for them to occur on teaching days. Faculty who signed the letter felt that this decision violated the UC’s policy of shared governance, and that the decision was not made in the interest of the students or the university.

“[The reasons the faculty preferred instructional furloughs] pertain to the collective interests of all workers and students,” the letter read. “Instructional furloughs pressure the state to cease defunding the UC system, and they pressure the Office of the President to confront the fact that its overall approach to budget reform is unsustainable and unjust.”

Hundreds of faculty responded in support to the letter, which was sent on Aug. 31, and is endorsed by the American Association of University Professors. Organizers expect that more faculty will respond once it is recirculated today.

English professor Joshua Clover helped to craft the letter after seeing the amount of students in his introduction to poetry class increase from 80 to 140 in the last two years. He plans to send an e-mail to students before class informing them of his reasons for not attending class and providing them with a syllabus.

Clover will also include President Yudof’s e-mail address so that students might share their thoughts after the walk out, he said.

“This is the first step in the struggle for public education,” Clover said. “Students are getting less time and attention from their professors and they are being asked to pay more for this. It’s a situation that is affecting students and faculty equally so we need to push back.”

Each campus will organize their respective walkout in different ways. UC Santa Barbara, for instance, will hold classes to educate students on the current budget issues the UC system is facing. Berkeley, on the other hand, will hold no classes at all. UC Davis has not yet developed a cohesive plan.

Those participating in the walkout have made three demands: the first that no furloughs or paycuts be implemented on salaries below $40,000. The second states that the Academic Senate Council’s recommendation regarding the implementation of furloughs be instituted; the third that the UC Office of the President fully disclose the budget.

Faculty hope that the walkout will not only increase student awareness of the issue, but that it will be an exercise in solidarity with students, expressing their shared struggle for the future of public education, Clover said.

Many students agree that the condition of public education funding is poor, as seen by the recent increases in student fees, and that the walkout is a step in the right direction, said Jack Zwald, president of Students for Responsible Fees and ASUCD senator.

“Most students know that fees are increasing so I am pessimistic as to whether [the walk-out] will make a real change,” Zwald said. “However I’m glad that students and faculty are standing up and saying enough is enough. The only way we’re going to stop the terrible misuse of funding is if we start mobilizing.”

In response to the faculty’s disproval of the furlough plan, UCOP director of media relations Peter King stated that the plan was intended to benefit students.

“We simply just don’t agree that making students take one more dose of pain is consistent with the values of our plan in this crisis, which is to have a fair and shared pain throughout the system, as much as possible,” he said in an article in The Daily Californian.

For information and updates regarding the walkout, visit the faculty’s blog at ucfacultywalkout.wordpress.com.

LAUREN STEUSSY can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Ninety-six percent of UC workers officially have no confidence in their president, Mark Yudof.

Approximately 10,000 employees cast a vote of no confidence last Wednesday, declaring their frustration with Yudof’s leadership and mobilizing efforts for better appropriation of funds in the UC system.

In the call for the vote, union leaders point to budget cuts and the recent furlough plan as reasons for criticizing the president, who began his term last March.

The office of the president’s furlough plan includes 10 days of unpaid work on non-teaching days, despite the preference of polled UC employees to have furloughs on days of instruction. Many employees feel the decision shut them out of the shared governance process and is adequate grounds for Yudof’s layoff.

“The furloughs, layoffs and student fee increases proposed by Yudof are unnecessary and extremely harmful to the University and its public service mission,” the call read. “[His] planned solution to decreased State General Fund Appropriations bars high-wage University employees from contributing a balanced share to the budget solution, while deliberately placing thousands of low-wage Californians at risk.“

In response to the vote, Dwaine B. Duckett, a UC vice president said that the demonstrations are merely publicity stunts.

“Basically these are antics,” he said in a San Francisco Chronicle article. “You can throw a tantrum, or you can help solve the problem.“

However those involved in the vote are concerned by the response of UC, viewing it as another reason to have less confidence in the leadership.

“In this kind of situation [the office of the president] has more responsibility to make sure their message is received,” said Axel Borg, UC Davis librarian and president of the UC American Federation of Teachers Local 2023. “The only message employees are receiving is that they might be laid off.“

Though the vote does not mandate Yudof’s layoff, it is intended to bring awareness to employees‘ dissatisfaction and function as call for action in the budget situation.

LAUREN STEUSSY can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.