Dive Brief:
- About 150 protesters split between two main entrances to the University of California-Santa Cruz stopped campus traffic Thursday, forcing the cancelation of classes, tutoring sessions, and even the university libraries, according to Santa Cruz Sentinel reports.
- The student protests were over proposed tuition hikes, along with racism and police violence.
- This week’s four days of planned protests have also included shutting down Highway 1 with concrete-filled trash cans. At both major protests, students were arrested, and six of those involved in the highway stoppage reportedly received two-week school suspensions, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reports.
Dive Insight:
In November, the University of California’s governing board approved annual 5% tuition hikes that would cover the next five years to address increasing financial needs and expanding enrollment. UC President Janet Napolitano has said the hikes are necessary to create stability in the system and predictability from one year to the next. Gov. Jerry Brown, however, is fighting the hikes by threatening to hold state funding hostage. His plan for a $120 million boost to the UC System is contingent on tuition costs staying flat.