Guide to the Walkout!

—-Reproduced from berkeleycuts.org. Original.—-

Hi! Welcome to our Guide to the Walkout.

If you want to know more about the walkout, are confused by it, or want to know how you can help make some change, this guide will answer all of your questions!

Why should I walkout? What is the point?

Classes and student services have been drastically cut this year to deal with the budget shortfall. Over the past few years, cuts to academic and student services have severely compromised the UC’s quality. For instance, this year Cal’s libraries will not be open on weekend, nor will they be open 24 hours during finals as they usually are.

Furthermore, even though the quality of your education is taking a nose-dive, the cost of your education is soaring. The UC office of the President has proposed a 32% fee increase for next year. If this fee is implemented, the average undergrad will pay $2,500 dollars more to receive much less.

Students, faculty, and staff are organizing together because this crisis is not just a financial crisis, but also a crisis of leadership. For instance, in 2008, it cost Cal $100,000 in unnecessary executive compensation to re-hire an administrator. It would only cost $30,000 dollars to keep the library open 24 hours during finals. This crisis has been exacerbated by the poor management and misguided priorities of campus and UC administrators.

These cuts, and they way they have been implemented, strike at the very core of what the UC is supposed to be. These cuts compromise the diversity, democratic process, and ideals of our public university.

That’s all horrible, but what is the point of walking out? The point of the walkout is not to say that there isn’t an economic crisis, nor is it intended to be a miracle, saving students from all fees and all reductions. The point of the walkout is to 1) engage students for a longer-term battle to keep the UC public, 2) to put a stop to business as usual and sends a message to both UC Office of the President and the CA legislature that as students, faculty, and staff, we can no longer bear any more cuts, we will not allow our university to be privatized, and that we expect better leadership. There are many specific demands that students, faculty, and staff are pushing for, but the two ideas above are the overarching goals.

What Does It Mean to Walkout?
The point of walking out is NOT simply to ditch class. The point of walking out is to stop doing what you normally do in order to do something else that sends a strong message for a cause you believe in. For the 9/24 walkout that means:

• Join the workers at the picket lines starting at 7am.
• Go to your classes before 12pm, make an announcement informing your professors, GSIs, and peers about the budget cuts & the rally at Sproul from 12pm-2pm, and walk out of class to join the picket lines. If you do not feel comfortable doing that, just skip class and join the events going on that day.
• March and take it to the streets starting at 3pm.

If your professor has scheduled to hold class on 9/24, you can still make an announcement, and leave on your own. If you are not sure what your professor is doing, you should email him or her to find out. Also, if you would like to convince your professor to cancel class or take other action to support the walkout, you can use the email form available at ucstudentwalkout.com!

This is the most important part of the guide! Are you ready?!

Ok, there are a plethora of ways for you to become an agent of change in this movement to keep the UC public, accessible, affordable, high quality, diverse, and awesome. Here they are:

Class announcements:

• Before each of your classes ask your professor or GSI if you can make an announcement. Make a quick 30 second ammouncement about the walkout. Here is a good “class rap:

• Hi! My name is ____ and I want to make a quick announcement about the budget cut crisis our university is facing. Students will have to face a 32% fee increase next year, while student services and academic programs are being slashed. On Thursday the 24th, there is going to be a walkout in protest of the lack of leadership both from Sacramento and the UC administration. Hundreds of faculty and staff, and thousands of students are planning to participate. For more info go to berkeleycuts.org. Thank you!

Email your professors and GSIs to join the movement:

• Use this link to easily email your professors: http://www.ucstudentwalkout.com/email/
• Use this link to easily email your GSIs: http://www.ucstudentwalkout.com/email-grad/

Email everyone you know:

• Email your friends, classmates, and listservs. Here is a template ready for you to send out!

Flyering

• People will be flyering everyday until the walkout. Join them starting at noon in front of the large tree between Wheeler and Sather Gate!

Facebook tactics:

• Change your facebook profile picture to the walkout image and TAG ALL YOUR FRIENDS:

• Join and invite your friends to the Berkeley Walkout Facebook Page!
• Change your facebook profile status to:

• I am walking out on Thursday to help save Cal and to stand in solidarity with all students, faculty, and staff! For more info go to: http://berkeleycuts.org/?page_id=138

• Click on “Settings” on the upper right-hand corner and change your middle name to “Walkout Thursday.” Ex: Ricardo Walkout Thursday Gomez.
• Post the following videos on videos on your wall: VIDEO 1, VIDEO 2

Text-bomb

• On the day of the walkout, send a text to all your friends in the morning reminding them to walkout. Send them another text at noon to get them to the rally on Sproul.

What happens after the walkout?
Again, 9/24 is a starting point. A General Assembly is planned on the day of 9/24 at 6pm in order to evaluate the day and start looking at next steps. Come to be part of that discussion! All students, faculty, and staff are welcome. We will meet on Upper Sproul.