SAVE Call to Participate In March 4th Events and Rally

This March 4, for the first time in California history, all sectors of the state’s education system -- K-12, community colleges, CSUs, and UCs -- will rally together to fight for public education in a time of grievous budget cuts. With California confronting a $21 billion budget deficit this year, the stakes could not be higher, and so we ask for your participation in this historic event.

Please sign up to join the “Educate the State” rally, to be held on the steps of the State Capitol Building in Sacramento on March 4 from 11 am to 1 pm. We aim to have a sizable UC presence at this event, and have arranged for free transportation for UC Berkeley, UCSF and UC-Santa Cruz faculty, staff and students who wish to attend. (More information at www.saveuc.org). If you would like to help publicize the event, please print out the attached poster and pass it out to your students, or post copies around your building.

Our message is simple: we need to stabilize and restore financial support for all levels of California’s public education system.

We ask you to join the Sacramento rally to demonstrate solidarity with our fellow public educators as the budget debates get underway in Sacramento. This rally will bring together students, families, faculty, and staff as well as members of the legislature and broader community. There will be speakers from these constituencies, a UC faculty press conference, and meetings with key legislators, many of whom are themselves alumni of the UC, CSU, and community college systems.

A strong UC faculty showing at this event is critical to convincing state legislators from both parties to prioritize public education. Access to affordable, quality public education is the social and economic backbone of our state -- and indeed the key to California’s future. UC faculty can, and should, play a productive role in this broader struggle.

Please go to www.SAVEUC.org and sign up to attend the March 4 rally in Sacramento. We ask too that you publicize the "Educate the State" march in your departments and classes, and urge your colleagues and students to participate. We have attached a flier for you to distribute.

Over the coming weeks, SAVE’s Coordinating Council will give you additional information about the March 4 event and post updates on our website.

We look forward to seeing you on the buses to Sacramento on March 4.

SAVE Coordinating Council
Co-Chairs
Peter Glazer
Greg Levine