UC ramps up advocacy efforts
April 26, 2011 •
While preparing for a $500 million cut in state support and the looming possibility of even deeper cuts, UC has ramped up its advocacy efforts, including a Facebook page where dozens of supporters have posted videos and comments about UC’s importance to the state of California.
Faculty, staff, students, alumni and business leaders have joined the Stand Up for UC advocacy campaign to let legislators know why our university matters to California and deserves its financial support.
“I think everybody should stand up for . . . education in general,” says Mary Keipp, a staffer at UCLA, in one of the Facebook videos. “But particularly for the UC system, because it is really an economic engine for our state.” Go to the UC Newsroom to see a video compilation of the remarks of several UC advocates.
UC faces extraordinary challenges as the state prepares to cut $500 million from its 2011–12 budget. An all-cuts California budget could result in even deeper reductions to higher education funding and would have serious negative impacts on UC.
UC advocates are using social media to tell lawmakers what’s at stake and why UC is important to them, their families, their students, their communities and the state of California. If you’d like to join them, here are a few simple things you can do:
- Join the Stand up for UC campaign by “liking” the UC for California Facebook page. More than 1,400 supporters have done it. Watch their videos and see what they’re saying about why the university is important to California’s future.
- Add your voice to the conversation by posting a comment or uploading your own video on the UC for California Facebook page.
- Sign up to become a UC advocate (http://www.ucforcalifornia.org/uc4ca/mlm/signup), or connect to your campus advocacy network (http://www.ucforcalifornia.org/uc4ca/home/campuses).
- Send a letter to your legislators encouraging them to find a budget solution that doesn’t just cut but rather preserves California’s higher education investment. More information is available at http://www.ucforcalifornia.org/uc4ca/issues/alert/?alertid=40294501&type=ML.
- Follow UC for California on Twitter (http://twitter.com/ucforca) for advocacy and UC news updates.
