Start of school

Well, it's that time of year ... tomorrow is the first day of classes this fall at UCSB, so it's the season of roving bands of freshmen wandering campus. There are never as many people on campus and crowding the bike paths as there are the first week of fall. When school is new freshmen are all over the place, doing things and meeting new people, then over the quarter undergrads of all years start showing up for class less and less. Each new quarter refreshes their interest in classes a little, but nothing like the first couple weeks after summer.

It's going to be a tough ride for those showing up this fall. California is in the midst of a serious budget crisis, which doesn't seem to have any near-term solution. The tax system in this state is set up to draw heavily from the wealthiest earners, but as a consequence the state's tax income is tied heavily to the fortunes of the stock market ... so there wasn't much money in the budget last year.

The effects of the state budget crisis on the UC system have been intense and are starting to compound. Tuition jumped 9% this fall, faculty have been asked to take cuts and furloughs, 10% of classes may be canceled, and the maintenance staff has been dramatically down-sized. There are new and higher fees on campus for all kinds of things, but the most intense effect is still looming on the horizon. The board of regents is proposing at 32% tuition increase to take effect possibly this winter. Yeah, 32%. As a researcher I'm not directly affect as my tuition is covered, but I don't know where they expect some students and their families to come up with thousands of extra dollars every quarter.

Strikes by the hardest hit staff positions started today and the grad student union is planning walk-outs and teach-ins for the fall. Hard to see any good solution coming together until the state legislature gets its act together.