Wahmbulance

From CNN

Today, in California and other states across the nation, students, teachers, faculty and workers have been protesting, striking, walking out of classes and staging sit-ins and teach-ins. They are protesting budget cuts, tuition hikes, compensation reductions, layoffs and privatizations affecting public K-12 schools and universities.

This afternoon, I'll be heading to Gov. David Paterson's office in Manhattan, where our local protest will be held. We're expecting at least 500 people and are hoping for more.

Why? We believe that actions like these -- across the country -- are necessary to communicate to the politicians overseeing these cuts that we will not stand by while our public education system is being gutted.

Gutted implies that the vital organs are being ripped out. It's hard to gut the Manuel Uribe of American institutions. (Link NSFW)

The students and faculty protesting are not some group of ivory-tower intellectuals out of touch with the "real world." On the contrary, as the real world presses in on their ability to afford an education in an increasingly competitive global environment, they are extremely aware of the relationship between leaders' decisions and their fates. And they are angry.

The author is getting a PHD in art history. The only people he has to compete with is other art history majors for the save or created job of "next window please".

The largest attacks on public higher education are taking place in California. Last year, the budgets of the University of California and California State University were cut by $813 million and $564 million respectively, resulting in the elimination of thousands of jobs, furloughs, pay cuts and larger class sizes. Both UC and CSU raised tuition, including a massive 32 percent hike at the University of California.

To protest, students, teachers and workers organized a statewide day of action for today. This, in turn, inspired groups in California and across the country to make March 4 a national "day of action" to defend public education.

While California is facing the largest cuts to education, similar cuts are happening all over the country, making it harder for students to afford college and lowering the quality of the education they receive.

"While I profile the cuts to California's unhealthy, inefficient, activist money cow, pedophile invested school system, I'll just mention that other places are just as bad... without evidence, because you don't need to actually know anything. Remember, I'm an art major!"

It goes on and on and on from there, but you get the idea. An art major who excitedly claims about his membership in the ISO wants you to know that instead of finishing up his education... instead of doing what he and you are paying him to learn... he's going to organize a protest to protect his job future. 'Cause take a wild guess what art majors usually end up doing?