What is the future of public higher education under a Trump administration? With the transition of presidential power a week away, students, staff, faculty, and administrators on campuses across California are bracing for a rocky relationship.
Here at UCLA there are a number of teach-ins, demonstrations, and programs planned for inauguration week. The big one is a campus-wide Teach-In on January 18th, from 5-7 PM in the Ackerman Union ballrooms. You can see a list of various activities here.
Meanwhile, California policymakers are displaying an unusual show of unity in their opposition to the incoming administration and its likely policies on immigration, climate change, and health insurance. The leaders of all three sectors of higher education in the state, including our own UC President Janet Napolitano, wrote to the president-elect shortly after the election asking him to retain Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA, the program that allows immigrant youth a temporary residence status). UCOP also issued a Statement of Principles in Support of Undocumented UC Community Members that echoed some of the recommendations of a letter from the Council of UC Faculty Associations on protecting vulnerable members of the UC community. In addition, the state legislature has vowed to contest several expected policies of the incoming administration.
This is a good time to join the UCLA Faculty Association, and if you’re a member already, to get involved to amplify the concerns of faculty in the on-going political debate.