Budget Cuts and Activism

The California Faculty Association held a workshop in Kings Hall yesterday. They are organizing a protest aimed at saving public education funding. The protest will take place in Sacramento on March 4th.

The 18 students and faculty in attendance collaborated in groups to work on the planning committees for the protest training, which will be held later this month. Leone Hankey, English professor and CFA leader, planned the training as a way to teach fast collective decision-making.    CSULA psychology professor, Kimberly King, said that even though the training will be on non-violent direct action and civil disobedience, explained that at this moment, “… the CFA does not have plans to practice civil disobedience.”

Professor Kimberly King stated that students with unclear immigration issues or outstanding warrants should reconsider participating in the protest if it could lead to their deportation or arrest.

Organizers of the Sacramento non-violent direct action rally explained to potential protesters that although indirect participation, like writing or faxing letters to the Governor’s office makes a difference, there is nothing more empowering and impactful, they said, then directly marching outside your adversary’s stomping grounds, putting your fist in the air, hollering, ‘No more budget cuts’!

Marching with the California Faculty Association are the United Teachers of Los Angeles, Students for Quality Education, and the California Federation of Teachers, which represents instructors all the way from kindergarten through the University of California system, will be continuing the spring campaign against the state’s budget cuts, with protests from Bakersfield to Sacramento.  

Hankey announced that another workshop – this one on non-violent and civil disobedience training – will be held on January 30th, and hosted by the CFA. They will be joined in that workshop with Students for Quality Education. The location for this seminar has not been announced.  

Tanya Selig, a member of a group identified as “Food Not Bombs”, will conduct that seminar on students’ right to protest, as well as the risks of civil disobedience. Selig’s role in the seminar is strictly to be the trainer and not to be a conductor of the protest on March 4th.