I’m in the middle of an incredibly busy stretch, but I don’t want to let the one-week anniversary of UCSC’s current situation go by without marking the occasion.

Last Thursday, on the first day of classes for most of the University of California, UCSC’s students joined those at the system’s other nine campuses in staging a walkout and rally in protest of moves to defund the University and raise new barriers to financial accessibility. Unlike the activists at the other nine campuses, the UCSC crowd took over a building and held it … and that occupation is still going on today.

There’s a lot to be said about the UCSC action, which is in some ways modeled on a pattern set at colleges in New York City and Britain last year, but my own thoughts will have to wait. In the meantime, here are some links:

  • The occupation’s website, and that site’s news page.
  • A statement from the occupiers about why they chose the building they’re occupying.
  • The Santa Cruz Indymedia site.
  • Two flyers from the occupation.
  • An interview with one of the occupiers.

October 16 update | The occupation discussed in this post ended two weeks ago, but another takeover began last night at UCSC.