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Mirador 4 News 3/12/10 by Sophia Bollag With the state’s current deficit exceeding $17 billion, many Californians feel that reforms need to be made at the state level, as opposed to the local level, in order to effectively fix the problems facing California schools. Possible state level budget reform was the focus of Advocacy Day, when teachers, students, and administrators from local school districts travelled to Sacramento to learn about the financial situation affecting education and voice their concerns. Advocacy Day, held Feb. 17, is an annual event funded by the statewide Parent Teacher Association. The purpose of Advocacy Day is to “try and empower individual people to make a difference,” said librarian Marion Shostrom, who attended Advocacy Day. However, she admitted that the situation looks bleak. “It was not very encouraging,” said Shostrom. Junior Molly Schoenfeld, who also went to Advocacy Day, said that one of the major points raised was that cuts to education have been particularly harsh. “They’ve been taking money from all over the place,” she said. “But the cuts from education have been really striking.” One solution is to increase taxes. The governor’s budget web page proudly proclaims that the current budget “fully funds education… [and] does not raise taxes.” However, even with AUHSD being “fully” funded, the district still faces a $4.8 million deficit to make up by next year and potentially another $2.6 million deficit the year after. Of the senators who attended Advocacy Day, only one, Bob Huff, was a Republican. “His position is that California already has too many taxes [and that] there is no way he or any other Republicans are going to vote for more taxes,” said Shostrom. “Currently in order to pass a budget, you need a two-thirds majority vote,” said Schoenfeld. Out of a 40 person State Senate, the 14 Republicans can easily veto a bill. “One solution [would be to] change [the necessary number of votes] to a simple majority.” University Budget Cuts Spark Protests Harper Lee Hits Orinda’s Stage State Faces Grim Budget by Jamie Riley On Saturday, Feb.13, fans of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird gathered to see the film at the Orinda Theater and meet actress Mary Badham. This movie screening was part of the Orinda Film Festival, which puts on monthly classics and Q and A’s with the movies’ stars. Badham, who played the protagonist Scout Finch, went into her audition for To Kill a Mockingbird with no acting experience, but director Robert Mulligan immediately knew she would be perfect for the part. “He looked right at me and knew I would be Scout,” said Badham. The movie’s success lies with the accurate depiction of the South, seen through the homes. Henry Bumstead, the art director of the film, was responsible for this, and received an Academy Award in 1962. “He spent months in the South and took hundreds of photographs for the set,” said Badham. “Even though it was really filmed at Universal Studios in California, he made you feel like it had been made in Alabama.” Badham grew up in Alabama, where she lived a very similar life to the part she played. “They were looking for children of the South to play the characters,” said Badham. “Most things hadn’t changed in the 60s since the 30s, which is when Lee’s classic took place.” While the West had shed some of its racism and prejudice by the 1960s, the South maintained the same level of racism seen 30 years earlier. “We still weren’t allowed to be friends with people of color, and the school and public utilities were still kept separate for the most part,” said Badham. While working on the film, she became close with actor Gregory Peck, who played her father Atticus Finch. “I always called him Atticus,” said Badham. “What viewers see on the screen was really what our relationship was. He was a father figure and my Atticus.” Badham feels blessed to have been part of the film, and of the depiction of Lee’s novel. She believes her similarities to Scout led to her success in the part, and her nomination as Best Supporting Actress. “I was not the soft, frilly little girl that my dad wanted me to be,” said Badham. “And that’s what Scout was like.” On Saturday, March 13, the Orinda Film Festival will show West Side Story, welcoming special guest Rita Moreno, who played Anita in this classic. Tickets are available online at www.events.sfgate. com. Photo: H.Tennant Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird answers the audience’s questions. by Katrina Kovalik In the face of massive state budget cuts, the University of California school system will attempt to make up for a possible loss of $813 million by accepting more out-of- state students in addition to further hiking the tuition for California students. UC already raised undergraduate tuition for in-staters to $8,373 in January 2010. This will be followed by a more devastating hike of about $2,000 next fall, amounting in a yearly tuition of over $10,300. None of these figures include the annual costs of campus living, which can be an additional $17,000 to $19,000, according to the 2009- 2010 finance guides for the different campuses. “I hate that they raised the tuition,” said senior Alie Laher who applied to UC schools. “It’s going to be really hard, especially because my parents will be paying [tuitions] for three kids starting next year for the next eight years.” The University of California hopes to replace the losses mandated by the Governor’s new budget by increasing enrollment of out-of-state students who have to pay the premium tuition of around $30,000. UC Berkeley plans to reduce the number of California students in next year’s freshman class by 15% and nearly double its acceptance of out-of-state students. This concession will limit the number of spots for native Californians, but could generate millions of dollars from non-resident tuitions, which would be close to those for private schools. About half of each out-of-state tuition will cover UC costs and the other half is profit for the system. Still, according to Richard C. Blum, Regent and Chairman Emeritus of the University, “The University of California’s fundamental commitment is to educating college students from California.” There are 10 campuses that make up the highly regarded University of California system: Berkeley, Los Angeles, Davis, San Diego, Irvine, Merced, San Francisco, Riverside, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz. Year after year, the University system has received top marks. However, vast cuts from the state’s economic crisis are disrupting everything from dormitory repairs to retention of top instructors. “The Governor wants to restore this year $345 million of the $900 million that was cut from the [UC] budget,” said Blum. “I don’t know if that’s feasible but whatever the results are, my guess is that this year there will be a net plus not a minus. Having said that, the cost of operating the University, despite efficiency measures, does go up every year.” Despite the current budget turmoil, all 10 campuses still received a record number of applicants this year. The rise in applicants is partly due to the fact that many families are choosing affordability, and student expenses for the UC system are still significantly less expensive than the $40,000-$50,000 a year required for private schools around the nation. On March 4, 2010 thousands of college students and others who felt the need to protest budget cuts, tuition hikes, compensation reductions, layoffs and school privatizations participated in a nationwide Day of Action to Defend Public Education. Students and teachers at more than 32 college campuses across the country participated in this strike, including large support in the Bay Area. Labor unions and student government groups organized most of the protests. Although generally peaceful in their strikes, over 150 protesters were arrested after climbing onto Interstate 880 in Oakland and stopping traffic for almost an hour. Demonstrators also blocked Telegraph and Bancroft in Berkeley with protest marches comprised of mostly UC Berkeley students. UC Santa Cruz also held demonstrations with nearly 200 participants, causing campus entrances to be shut down. With questions of acceptance statistics and affordability flying around, another question is looming: Will these cuts push the UC system off the pedestal of excellence it has enjoyed since the system’s founding in 1868? According to President Emeritus Richard C. Atkinson in a press release by the Center for Studies in Higher Education in November 2009, “There are paths the University can take that will sustain its excellence, in spite of economic circumstances.” UC Berkeley students show off their signs in a recent protest held in the campus’ plaza. Photo: Doug Oakley/Contra Costa Times/MCT Orinda Film Festival welcomes actress Mary Badham
