Day of Action/Reaction: College Athletics Take Note

It was a long day at UC Berkeley on October 7. I did not know what the idea behind the teach out was, but I did know it was about the budgetary problem. Being an rugby athlete, we have gotten a small taste of the budgetary cuts. Because of the budgetary cuts, we will have to pay for all our own medical bills, pay someone to tape our own ankles. I know it does not sound like it would be cheap enough, but medical bills can get very expensive.

The rugby program is trying to save the "tagging" ability for admissions. As a varsity sport we get academic "tags" which are like our scholarships. They allow our recruits to get into the school. This budgetary cut may give us less likely to bring smart student athletes into Cal and be able to compete for a National Championship. It is also a slap in the face to the rugby program. We win 25 national championships, bring a revenue to the school and they still want to cut us as a varsity sport.

The teach out really brings the student uproar and it helps me to sleep at night that the students look out for us. We made an impact on the school and it shows through the action from the students.

~J.B.

Day of Action/Reaction: Resistance to Convey a Point

Many people have been greatly affected by the budget cuts and the cuts to the athletic department at UC Berkeley. Students, faculty and other participants hoped to portray a strong message through the October 7th walkout, but unfortunately, the demonstration proved to be disorganized and confusing. Although I personally did not participate in the events of the strike, I heard that it was not nearly as effective as the March 4th protest earlier this year. On October 7th, I had a class in Wheeler Auditorium at 11am and a large group of students that was normally not in the class sat down. They all walked out of the auditorium at 11:30am to show their support for the protest, which, although it made a point, many of them were not clear about the issues that they were protesting. Although the idea of resistance was a prominent way to convey the anger and frustration of the budget cuts, the message would have been expressed in a much stronger manner if the strike had been better organized.

I feel that the outcome of this walkout parallels the occurrence in Like a Hurricane that was planned by Adam Nordwall and Richard Oakes. In Like a Hurricane, the issues that they wanted to address and draw attention to were solid but the planning was not. The actual event consisted of a series of spontaneous actions rather than being conducted in an organized manner.

If the walkout had been more organized and planned in a more effective manner, it probably would have proven to be more successful.

~A.B.

Day of Action/Reaction: STRIKE! and College Athletics

The walkout that took place this past Thursday, October 7, 2010, was confusing for me. All of my classes were canceled and there were lots of angry people when I walked on campus. The sad party about this was that I really did not understand the entire cause. I understand the negative effects of the budget cute because of how awful they are. I personally know people who will not be able to return to UC Berkeley due to the major increase in costs. I do not personally know any faculty and staff that were cut, but I feel for their families and the struggle they must be going through.

I completely support the strike in their opinions, but I like going to school here, and I feel like days like Thursday really don’t show our love for the administration. My understanding is that the University of California at Berkeley and the administration here do not make the budget cuts, but that it is statewide and affects the other UC schools as well. I agree the budget cuts are devastating, but I also believe that the protesters and those that take on the role of representation should explain all their reasoning for what they want, and have signs that say more than “no budget cuts” or “walk out” because there is a lot more to it.

From an athletic perspective I think that the budget sports are taking away opportunities for a lot of student athletes. Yes athletics helped the majority of us get into Cal, but we had 5 teams cut! Those are 5 groups of students who have lost their opportunity to compete collegiality because of these cuts. Walkouts definitely make a difference in the community as some of us witnessed last year, but at the same time they temporarily take away from the learning environment we have come to love at UC Berkeley.

~C.M.