Can You Hear Us Now? Students for California’s Future: A Free Concert for Higher Education!Can You Hear Us Now? Students for California’s Future: A Free Concert for Higher Education! What: Thousands of students and community members are projected to attend this not-for-profit concert, intending to show our representatives through sheer strength of numbers that voter sentiment disapproves of their handling of public higher education. When: Thursday, April 14, 2011 from 12:20pm-3:30pm Where: 300 Block of S. Spring Street (Downtown Los Angeles) Who: Students from the University of California, California State University, California Community College systems and community members. Why: Having entered office promising to reverse higher education’s decline, Governor Jerry Brown has instead initiated a draconian $500 million cut to University of California system, $500 million to the Cal State system and $400 million to community colleges. The UC system, once the model for higher education, is atrophying as its portion of the state budget continues to diminish. Coupled with the UC Regents’ initiating four consecutive fee increases in the past two years and President Obama’s proposing to cut summer Pell Grants, it seems that our elected representatives have forgotten the importance of higher education to California’s prosperity. This is not to say there are no solutions available. Passing the California DREAM Act–which will allow undocumented AB 540 beneficiaries to qualify for state scholarships and loans at California public colleges–is one of them. Another is putting tax extensions onto the ballot, allowing California citizens to decide upon a much-needed source of funding for the California budget. Yet while the California DREAM Act has made slow, incremental progress towards becoming law, Governor Brown has recently declared budget talks dead and the prospect of putting tax extensions onto the June ballot impossible due to Republican opposition and with that, we lose again. Do our legislators hear us? Do the stewards of the UC system understand the needs of the students they serve? If our state and national legislature have not heard our voice yet they will hear us now! The ‘Can You Hear Us Now?’ concert is our reminder to our representatives that Californians of all backgrounds care about public higher education. Students and the community at large will be there to show Governor Brown and our legislators: that we are not going to stand for public higher education’s decline any longer. We will show that student empowerment is potent and vibrant, and that our voices can and will resonate through the streets of Los Angeles all the way into the halls of the California Capitol and Washington D.C. The baseball giants Dodgers are on a rampage and this season they mean business. The sales of Los Angeles Dodgers Ticketsare on the highest at the moment and fans of this great MLB team are buying them like hot cakes. The winners of 6 World Series and a mammoth 21 NL Pennants will surely be giving a tough time to their opponents this season. It is the best time to get your hands on the Los Angeles Dodgers Los Angeles Tickets as these are available with special discounts right now. Get your very own Tickets right away! Opera music has never felt better than this before! The Pop teen Italian Operatic collaboration Il Volo is out on a tour all over the United States. It is the best opportunity to get your hands on the Il Volo Concert Tickets and be part of an operatic event that is contemporary as well as hard hitting to the limits. Operatic music enthusiasts are already lining up to get their hand on the latest and the finest of Il Volo Cleveland Tickets. There are also scores of discount codes available on these tickets. ============================================================================= Budget cut protest ‘Can You Hear Us Now?’ to feature music, celebrities at downtown Los AngelesCorrection: The original version of this article contained an error. Kelli Fallon said the campus climate has changed since last November’s protest in response to fee hikes, and it is not necessarily the right time for another large rally. An upcoming rally organized by UCLA student leadership will mingle advocacy with music as a more innovative means of drawing attention to the budget crisis. “Can You Hear Us Now?,” scheduled for Thursday afternoon in downtown Los Angeles, comes on the heels of a breakdown in bipartisan budget talks in Sacramento. The failure of a tax extensions measure for the June ballot means the recently approved $500 million cut to the University of California could double. UC officials are looking toward a November ballot initiative. Last week, Gov. Jerry Brown warned that UC tuition could spike to more than $20,000 a year if no new revenue is raised. Some Democratic lawmakers have proposed closing down UC campuses and slimming down research enterprises. Such pronouncements have further empowered student organizers, who have already been sounding alarm bells about the impacts of the present cut. “We really want students to realize that this is real,” said Cristopher Santos, external vice president of the Undergraduate Students Association Council. Vans bound for the block in front of Brown’s local office in downtown Los Angeles will depart from the UCLA campus starting at 11 a.m. Between 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. organizers have promised musical acts and celebrity appearances for a more holistically student-friendly event. Rapper Thurz of U-N-I and artists Trek Life and Rob Roy will appear free of charge, and Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kinnery Shah said more local acts are lined up to perform. One ongoing goal has been to shy away from reactionary protests, said Kelli Fallon, chief of staff in the UCLA external vice president’s office. A large-scale demonstration took place during the UC Board of Regents meeting in November 2009 in response to a 32 percent fee hike. While that protest was well-attended and declared a success by advocates, Fallon said the climate has changed, and the time is now not necessarily right for a large protest rally. The Thursday rally is also intended to attract students who normally do not engage in actions involving the budget. A crowd of at least 600 people is anticipated, Fallon said. “We haven’t seen something like this in a long time,” she said. In an interview last week, Steve Olsen, vice chancellor of budget and capitol projects at UCLA, characterized the atmosphere in Sacramento as “subdued.” He said he had a difficult time assessing whether actual negotiations were taking place while in the Capitol last week. Solutions varied depending on political leaning. Seriousness was pervasive, however. “There certainly didn’t seem to be much of a stomach for further reductions beyond those already approved,” Olsen said. But a question mark next to higher education remains, he said. ============================================================================= Get on the bus to Downtown!Buses leave at 11am from behind Lot 4 on Charles E. Young Drive North. (Also closest to the back of the IM Field) ============================================================================ We’re a week away! =============================================================================
============================================================================= Get Involved with the Movement!To all of our family, friends, and community supporters: In order for this to be a truly successful event we need your help! Here’s how you can get involved: DONATE TO THE CAUSE In order to put on a successful event, adequate financial support is necessary. This is a not-for-profit event so all donations will go directly towards taking care of the production, transportation, and marketing expenses necessary to make this a professional, well-executed, effective event. Your contributions are crucial to raising awareness on this important issue that affects the future competitiveness of the state of California. We’ve made it so that it’s easy to donate, as well as spread the word! You can donate online through FundRazr right now! 
If you prefer you can mail checks payable to “Can You Hear Us Now” to 691 Levering Ave #12, Los Angeles, CA 90024. There are also sponsorship opportunities available to those interested.The American country music sensation is gearing up for an amazing concert tour this season and the fans are lining up for the very best by this star. Ever since the release of his hit debut album titled Sinners Like Me, Church has been on a high and this year he is out to go live and raw – just for his dedicated fan base. The very best of Eric Church Tickets are now up for grabs. It is also important to note here that there are exclusive discount codes available on the Eric Church Saint Leonard Tickets =============================================================================== March 8th LA Municipal ElectionsOn March 8th the city of LA will hold municipal elections, including elections to the community college board of trustees and 10 measures and propositions which will directly affect life in Los Angeles! Unlike federal elections in which it is hard to see your vote making a difference, municipal elections are decided by much lower margins. If the UCLA community all gets out to vote, we can put our great city on a better course. The last time Paul Koretz (our city councilman) was up for election, he won by less than 1,000 votes! There are several extremely important ballot measures up for a vote this year, including a tax on oil extraction, reforms to the city’s bankrupt pension system, and protections for our public libraries. To read about all the measures on the ballot this year, go. A fellow Bruin is even on the ballot this year, as UCLA’s own Octavio Pescador is running for the 5th seat on the Community College Board of Trustees. Octavio is the coordinator for the UCLA Center for Mexican Studies, and his own students inspired him to run for office. =============================================================================== Pass the California Dream ActYear after year the California Dream Act has been introduced and passed, but vetoed by then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. California’s new governor, Brown, has voiced his support for the measure. Sign this petition urging him and members of the California state legislature to immediately pass the CA Dream Act. Targeting: Governor Brown and State Legislature Sign and send the petition now. All you have to do is fill in your details at the top and click send at the bottom. **The California version of the Dream Act is not to be confused with the national version. The California version only serves to provide students with state level aid, it does not fix someone’s legal status. =============================================================================== Op-Ed: UC Students Ready for DREAM ActOp-Ed: UC Students Ready for DREAM Act by Claudia Magana, UCSA President My friend Ernesto is an undocumented AB 540 student at UCLA. He grew up in Los Angeles, graduated from a California high school, served as the student body president for Rio Hondo Community College, and has never been in any trouble. The only trouble Ernesto gets into is debating with his friends how he prefers Lil Kim over Nicky Minaj. Now a fourth-year English major with dreams of going to grad school in public policy and a career as a public servant, Ernesto’s road to attaining a higher education has not been easy. Ernesto, along with tens of thousands of other students in California, faces an unjust two-tiered financial aid system that creates insurmountable barriers to pursuing higher education. Despite the fact that Ernesto graduated from a California high school, has lived here most of his life, and has beat the odds to become a UCLA student, he is denied any access to state grants, scholarships, subsidized loans and institutional aid. As students know all too well, our fees at UC, CSU and community colleges have skyrocketed over the past few years. Fees at the UCs are now well over $10,000, and total cost can easily surpass $30,000. Like all other students in higher education, undocumented students struggle to afford these fees and costs, yet also have no access to any systematic financial support. For Ernesto, these costs have made pursuing an education nearly impossible. It took him four years at a community college to get to UCLA, working long hours to save up enough for tuition, and has had to take a number of quarters off since coming to UCLA to be able to deal with the costs. While Ernesto has found a way to stay in school, countless others have been forced to drop out. Further, because of this inequitable system, the tens of thousands of undocumented students who graduate from California high schools each year may feel that the dream of higher education will always be beyond their reach. With California and the nation facing a recession, we cannot afford to curtail the dreams of so many of our talented young people. It is because of fellow students like Ernesto, a student and Californian who is our friend and colleague, that the UC Student Association has chosen financial aid for undocumented students as one of our top campaign priorities this year. The California DREAM Act, also known as AB 130 and AB 131, would go a long way towards fundamentally fixing this unfair system. Under the current policies, undocumented students pay into the financial aid pot, just like all other students, but are not able to access it. If the California DREAM Act were to pass, undocumented students who graduate from California high schools will be able to access financial aid at UC, CSUs, and community colleges. No special treatment, just the same access to compete for aid that is available to all other California students. Right now, students at every UC statewide are collecting thousands of postcards addressed to Gov. Brown asking him to sign the California DREAM Act this year. We will be delivering these thousands of postcards to him and to the Legislature, and will be lobbied intensely for the DREAM Act at our annual Student Lobby Conference. The proposed cuts to higher education in Brown’s budget will have a devastating impact on quality, access and affordability for all students in higher education. UCSA opposes these cuts and will continue voicing our opposition to the governor and Legislature. These cuts will also have a particularly sharp impact on undocumented students. Even during tough economic times, we cannot shirk the responsibility to do what is right. As students, we always seem to be the fallback option for who should bear the burden of the state’s fiscal ills. The more we are attacked, the stronger our solidarity and the louder our voices we will become. We demand an educational system that is affordable and fair for all of our students. The future of our state depends on it. Claudia Magana is the UC Student Association president. Catch the star ventriloquist do his thing this year as he hits the road! That’s right folks – we are talking about Jeff Dunham and his amazing performances that are all lined up for this year. You too can get your hands on the latest Jeff Dunham Tickets which are available at quite amazingly low prices this season. Enjoy a great time full of giggles, as he cleverly and quite creatively performs live and right in front of your very own eyes. The latest Jeff Dunham Friant Tickets are also available with special discount codes this year.
================================================================================ 9th Annual Student Lobby ConferenceThis past weekend the University of California Student Association (UCSA) held its 9th Annual Student Lobby Conference in Sacramento. UC students across the state have been fighting and organizing against the most recent 8% fee increase passed by the Board of Regents. With Governor Brown’s recommended reduction in funding to the UC system by $500 million for the coming fiscal year, over 400 students marched over to the Capitol to oppose these cuts.
UCLA took a delegation of 55 students that took the voice of our campus and amplified it at the State Capitol. We lobbied over 24 legislative offices that represent our campus and surrounding areas in LA County. During these lobby visits Bruins shared with several elected officials present in their office our daily struggles and how our lives would be impacted with a $500 million dollar cut and demanded real solutions. One of those solutions would be the passage of the California Dream Act. We can no longer sit down by the sidelines and watch how our education is being stripped from out hands. We must all get up and fight for our education because no one else is going to do it for us. We are fired up and can’t take it no more!
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