Please Vote on Tuesday

To: UCSC Students, Faculty, and Staff

From: Academic Senate, Graduate Student Assembly, Staff Advisory Board, and Student Union Assembly

On behalf of the Academic Senate, Student Union Assembly (SUA), Graduate Student Association (GSA), and Staff Advisory Board (SAB), we want to encourage you to vote in the upcoming November election.

If you are unsure of your polling location on or off campus, please visit: http://vote.ucsc.edu.

As you may be aware, there are a number of initiatives on this year’s ballot that will have a direct impact not only on UC Santa Cruz and the University of California, but on public education at all levels throughout the state from K-12 to higher education. These include Proposition 30, the Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act, endorsed by the University of California Regents, the UCSC Foundation, and the UCSC Alumni Association Council, along with the UC Student Association and both UCSC’s Student Union Assembly and Graduate Student Association.

While Proposition 30 has many supporters, there is also organized opposition to the measure — and arguments for and against the ballot measure can be viewed on the campus's About Proposition 30 web site. All we can ask is that you inform yourself and others about the proposition and consider the impacts that reduced state support have had on UC and UCSC. And then vote.

Here is some of that background information:

UC Budget Reductions
State funding for UC has dropped by nearly $900 million — or about 27 percent — over the last four years, resulting in sharp tuition increases, staff layoffs, unfilled faculty positions, academic program cuts, and other reductions.

Under the terms of the 2012-13 state budget, failure of Proposition 30 would cost the University of California an additional $375 million: an immediate cut of $250 million, plus the loss of another $125 million next year.

UCSC Budget Reductions
Over the past four years, UCSC has experienced a reduction in state funding of nearly $59 million, resulting in cuts of 30 percent in institutional support areas, and more than 15 percent in academic areas.  In addition, we’ve seen student fees and class sizes increase, the elimination of funding for 124 faculty positions, and the number of staff employees paid on state and tuition funds decrease by 20 percent.

Again, if you would like to learn more about the upcoming election, please visit: http://vote.ucsc.edu.

Regardless of how you vote, we strongly encourage you to exercise that right.

Sincerely,

Joe Konopelski
Chair, UCSC Academic Senate

Nwadiuto (DT) Amajoyi
Chair, Student Union Assembly (SUA)

Sarah Grace and Meg Gudgeirsson
Co-Presidents, Graduate Student Union (GSA)

Ebony Lewis
Chair, Staff Advisory Board (SAB)