We UC Davis graduate students, undergraduate students, campus workers, and alumni fully support the striking graduate students at UC Santa Cruz and their demands for a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) in one of the most expensive areas to live in the world(1). Graduate students perform essential labor for the university, teaching classes, grading assignments, and helping students in office hours. The University administration knows exactly how much we get paid and how much housing costs, and yet for countless years now they have refused to do anything to alleviate the crisis at Santa Cruz, at Davis, and beyond.
At UC Davis in 2014 the administration emptied out Orchard Park, one of only two affordable housing complexes on campus, and the lot on Russell Boulevard has since sat vacant. Meanwhile, 7% of UC Davis students, 2,400 in total, faced homelessness at some point last year, with hundreds having to sleep in their cars(2). The UC administration has also tried to vacate the last remaining affordable housing complex, Solano Park, and they have only been stopped by student protests. During this time they have convened committee after committee to investigate the housing issue, but they keep getting an answer they don’t want to hear: that affordability is the number one issue concerning students and that they can’t charge more for rent than they pay graduate student workers. In response, they just scrap the findings and form a new committee the next year.
In 2010 the UC Office of the President itself released a report saying that for the first time in UC history the majority of accepted graduate students have chosen a competitor school over the UC, and the #1 reason was pay and cost of living(3). UC graduate programs are becoming less competitive, and the UC’s only response has been to fight graduate student workers at the bargaining table to keep their pay down, first in 2013-14 and again in 2018.
So after nearly a decade of the UC administration knowing the nature and extent of the problem and opposing every opportunity to do something about it, it seems that the situation has reached a tipping point at UCSC, and graduate students there have bravely and fiercely stated “No COLA, No Grades!” We, the below signed graduate students, undergraduate students, campus workers, and alumni fully support the grade strike of the UCSC graduate students, and we hope their action can lead to a prompt response from the administration to truly solve the housing crisis across the UC.
(1)Business Insider reports Santa Cruz in the 7th most expensive city to live in in the world, in 2018.
https://www.businessinsider.com/the-most-expensive-cities-to-live-in-around-the-world-in-2018-2018-1(2)Davis Vanguard reporting on UC Davis Student Housing Affordability and Insecurity Report for 2017-18.
https://www.davisvanguard.org/2019/06/study-shows-18-of-uc-davis-students-face-housing-insecurity-or-homelessness/(3)Daily Cal reporting on the UC Office of the President report and the UAW 2865 response.
https://www.dailycal.org/2013/11/05/student-workers-union-report-claims-quality-uc-education-decline/Signed,
Duane Wright, graduate student
Caroline McKusick, graduate student
Phoenix Shetty, graduate student
Hannah Kagan-Moore, alumn
Tobias Smith, graduate student
Lauren Balino, undergraduate student
Jackson Flint-Gonzales, campus worker
Sean Gallagher, graduate student
Sophia Aldecoa, undergraduate student
Alida Duncan, graduate student
Anna Einarsdottir, alumn
Blu Buchanan, graduate student
Katherine Vu, alumn
Kevin Gong, alumn
Matthew Casey, alumn
Sarah Haughn, graduate student
Spencer Katz, alumn
Isabel Chavez, undergraduate student
Manasvin Rajagopalan, graduate student
Jonathan Dettman, alumn
Marshall Garvey, alumn
Anthony Beck, alumn
Ross Hernández, graduate student
Joaquin Chavez, campus worker & UPTE-CWA 9119 VP
Annie Ashmore, alumn
Mirna Fonseca, undergraduate student
Michael Rawls, graduate student
Parker Spadaro, alumn
Michael Schuchbauer, campus worker
Madison DeLuca, alumn
Haylee Benesi, undergraduate student
Benjamin Bean, graduate student
Victoria White PhD, alumn
Russell Thomas, alumn
Melody Yee, alumn
Elliot Stevenson, alumn
Jazmin Rivas, undergraduate student
Rusty Bartels, PhD, alumn
Shreya Deshpande, graduate student
Justine Tsai, undergraduate student
Megan Lynch, graduate student
Sheila Kulkarni, alumn
Benjamin Arriaga, alumn
Joshua Basch, alumn
Robert Henderson, undergraduate student
Todd Parry, alumn
Alex Wells, alumn
Iris Holzer, graduate student
Connor Gorman, graduate student
Adam Kersch, graduate student
Averyl Dietering, graduate student
Nes Lewis, alumn
Isabel Kalogiannis, alumn
Jennifer De Jesus, undergraduate student
Victoria Choi, undergraduate student
Katie Rodger, UCD lecturer, UC-AFT Local 2023 president
Lilly House, undergraduate student
Julie Setele, alumn
Amanda Denham, graduate student
Austin Hays, Davis resident and member of YDSA at UCD
Jordan S. Carroll, alumn
Justin Kay, graduate student
Karen Mateo, alumn
Alex LeBeau , alumn
Courtney Pollard, graduate student
Emily Frankel, graduate student
Morgan Frances Smith, graduate student
Kirin Rajagopalan, graduate student
Tim Gutierrez, alumn
Kayla Wilkerson, undergraduate student
Gabi Kirk, graduate student
Hassam Jawaid, undergraduate student
Morganne Blais-McPherson, graduate student
Kyle Proehl, graduate student
Amara Miller, alumn
Kenji Tomari, graduate student
Liz Blum, graduate student
Gilbert Gammad, alumn
Mary Moreno-Christian, undergraduate student
Cristian Maldonado-Espinoza, undergraduate student
Tory Brykalski, graduate student
Nathan Ellstrand, former staff member
Daniel Nagey, alumn
Harrison Ashby, graduate student
Sean Arseo, graduate student
John Rundin, campus worker
Zephaniah Fleetwood, graduate student
Kali Rubaii, Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow
Ian Campbell, undergraduate student
Katrina Manrique, undergraduate student
Ben Claire, undergraduate student
Mona Karimi, undergraduate student
Bernadette Fox, alumn
Emi Brawley, graduate student
David Moore, undergraduate student
François Castonguay, graduate student
Sophie Pham, undergraduate student
Ivan Montenegro Perini, graduate student
Emily Rich, graduate student
Rebecca Hernandez, alumn
Michael Moreno, alumn
Marc Pollack, graduate student
Beshara Kehdi, graduate student
Jessica Ison, undergraduate student
Jenna Samuel, graduate student
Alondra Maldonado-Velarde, undergraduate student
John Reid, graduate student
Kelsey Wood, graduate student
Adan Garcia, graduate student
Lester Neblett, alumn
David Vargas, undergraduate student
Megan Bontrager, campus worker
Chris Jadalah, graduate student
Joanna Solins, postdoctoral scholar
Tiffany Monica Louie, alumn
Ranjodh Singh Dhaliwal, graduate student
Abbey Berghaus, graduate student
Jared Lopez, undergraduate student
Jumoke Maraiyesa, alumn
Zach Psick, graduate student
Juan Diego Hernandez, undergraduate student
Patrick Cabell, graduate student
Tim Schütz, UC system graduate student
Brian Riley, PhD candidate
Taylor Bell, graduate student
Alexandra Gulachenski, graduate student
Amy Riddle, graduate student
Angela Chapman, graduate student
Ava Bindas, graduate student
Megan McMullan, alumn
Jane Saffitz, alumn
Victoria Farrar, graduate student
Stamatina Kotsakou, graduate student
Aaron Benedetti, graduate student
Colleen Sargent, graduate student
Alexus Roberts, graduate student
Sara Rae Dominguez, undergraduate student
Anel Tovar, alumn
aa Valdivia, graduate student
Katherine Dynarski, postdoctoral scholar
Zara Pickett, alumn
Raymond Ruano, undergraduate student
Arooj Ahmad, alumn
Claire Adkison, graduate student
Vanessa Lo, graduate student
Viridiana Acevedo Ramirez, alumn
Tyler Manning, alumn
Mackenzie Batali , graduate student
Andrea Miller, graduate student
Juan Ruiz, undergraduate student
Robin Marie Averbeck, alumn
Ashley Grupenhoff, graduate student
Amanda Kong, graduate student
Camille Randolph, undergraduate student
Josue Corado, undergraduate student
Andrea Medina, undergraduate student
Tp Coughlin, graduate student
Sam Roodbar, graduate student
Alison Hsiao, graduate student
Emilia Hernandez, graduate student
Aimee Fountain, graduate student
Natalie Robertson, graduate student
Faith Bennett, graduate student
Marie McDonald, graduate student
Priya Shukla, graduate student
Celeste Espindola Rodriguez, graduate student
Diego Alins Breda, graduate student
Anthony Vega, undergraduate student
Chris Delzell, alumn
Alison Maas, graduate student
Nejma Wais, undergraduate student
Raquel Navarro, undergraduate student
Jillian Dyer, undergraduate student
Natalie Flores, alumn
Austin Lim, alumn
Victor Medina, undergraduate student
Charlotte Glennie, graduate student
Adam Siegel, campus worker
Bethany Williams, graduate student
Margaret A. Miller, graduate student
Mina Arasteh, graduate student
Eva Mroczek, Associate Professor
Josh Shahrya, graduate student
Isabel Alvarez. undergraduate student
Jasdeep Singh Brar, alumn
Lauren Eom, undergraduate student
Luis Fernando Anguiano, undergraduate student
Gil Vitro, student worker
Ellie White, graduate student
Anna Weier, undergraduate student
Daniel Hernandez, undergraduate student
Jonathan Peralta, graduate student
Kristen Hanley Cardozo, graduate student
Aeric Chancellor, undergraduate student
Jake Hutchison, alumn
Wesley Kim, undergraduate student
Odile Carroll, graduate student
Sravya Singampalli, graduate student
Yuting Yin, graduate student
Elizabeth Witcher, graduate student
Amelia Evard, graduate student
Dana Aika Miranda, undergraduate student
Barbara Gunn, graduate student
Prudentia G. Zikalala, Postdoctoral Scholar - Department of Land, Air & Water Resources
Esha Datta, graduate student
Lauren Low, undergraduate student
Eveleen Sidana, graduate student
Stacie Townsend, graduate student
Sara Adan, graduate student
Katie Arosteguy, campus worker
Sabrina Enriquez, graduate student
Shira Soleimani, undergraduate student
Emily Moran-Vogt, alumn
Nina Cole, alumn
Robert Plasencia, undergraduate student
Melissa Johnson-Camacho, alumn
James Kreidler, alumn
Appilineni Kushal, graduate student
Megan Duong, undergraduate student
Kelvin Lu, alumn
Jazmin Bucio, undergraduate student
Kristy Tan, undergraduate student
Steve Fram, graduate student
Brittney Nareau, graduate student
Gabriel Gartland, undergraduate student
Jessica Gray, graduate student
Raymond Chou, graduate student
Aylin Bademsoy, graduate student
Binwant Kaur Kahlon, undergraduate student
Evelyn Nuno, alumn
Natalia Deeb-Sossa, faculty
Katherine Lauck, graduate student
Kyle Ray, graduate student
Kristin Dobbin, graduate student
Sam Fleischer, graduate student
Gabriela Gonzalez, undergraduate student
Shanon Rubin, graduate student
Sarah Soroken, alumn
Debbie Arce, graduate student
Amanda Lindell, graduate student
Natalia Pinzon, graduate student
Jessie Hammerling, graduate student
Konrad Brine, undergraduate student
Kirk Tran, undergraduate student
Marina Reyes Lopez Mautner, graduate student
Marialuisa Kemmerle, undergraduate student
Maya Weeks, graduate student
Mahya Saffarpour, graduate student
Alex Lombardo, graduate student
Haley de Genova, graduate student
Roxanne Banker, alumn
Emily Stack, alumn
Kevin Slovinsky, undergraduate student
Deb Young, graduate student
Savannah Hunter, graduate student
Elyssa Fogleman, graduate student
Supratim Dey, graduate student
Ethan Woehrmann, undergraduate student
Sam Grusky-Milin, undergraduate student
Mary Nederhoox, undergraduate student
Marjolein Schelvis, undergraduate student
Andrea Bourquin, alumn
Dalia Barghouty, graduate student
Vincent Chang, undergraduate student
Ana Sandoval Contreras, undergraduate student
Giselle Garcia, undergraduate student
Marah Carney, undergraduate student
Rene Gonzalez, alumn
Alison Perez, undergraduate student
Komisi Suani, undergraduate student
Regina Hernandez, undergraduate student
Mia Karisa Dawson, graduate student
Stewart Harrison, graduate student
Shivansh Gupta, undergraduate student
Daniela Cortes, undergraduate student
