Regent Blum Says Consequences of More State/UC Budget Cuts Will Lead More to Internal Cuts Than Tuition

UC regents brace for more bad news on budget (excerpt)

Dec. 27, 2010, San Francisco Chronicle, Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross

The University of California regents are bracing for more bad financial news from Sacramento, but board veteran Richard Blum doubts he and his colleagues could stomach another round of tuition hikes. "I think the emphasis is much more on making cuts," said Blum, who chaired the board until recently. "I think the last thing we want to do is touch student fees, but that depends on what they do to us."

Blum said most of the newly approved 8 percent tuition hike will be used to cover the system's massive pension bill - about $175 million for this year alone.

...As for what options UC has if Sacramento pulls the financial rug? "Try to run the place more efficiently," Blum said.

Full article at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/26/BAAG1GV6KE.DTL#ixzz19K7lqdVt

And it appears that whatever happens, internal cuts or tuition increases, the consequences will be photographed at Berkeley:

UC class melds photography, protest (excerpt)

Debra Levi Holtz, San Francisco Chronicle, Dec. 27, 2010

Think of it as a crash course in the culture of protest at UC Berkeley, or as an antidote to teenage apathy. A new freshman seminar that combines photojournalism with political awareness was inspired by recent conflicts on campus over rising tuition and funding cuts. It is designed to teach students about the role of photography in political activism...

The class evolved from a straightforward photography class Professor Brian Barsky taught for seven years in the freshman seminar program. Last year, he noticed his class discussions were increasingly focused on the conflict around UC funding issues. So Barsky decided this year to formally turn his students' cameras and attention to the social upheaval taking place around them...

Full article at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/27/BA9N1GGG8G.DTL