Anti-war rhetoric left some scratching their heads Wednesday,
when walkout organizers billed the event as a protest against the
war ““ and against student fee increases.
“I don’t understand the connection between the
two,” said Kevin Carey, a first-year English student.
Technically, the University of California only receives federal
money for grants and research; the rest of its funding comes from
the state and from private donors.
But supporters say the connection between federal and state
funding is clear. Increased defense spending, they argue, shows
Washington’s priorities are out of sync with its promises to
support education.
“It’s a link that a lot of students miss,”
said Chris Neal, UCLA’s undergraduate member of the UC
Students Association, which lobbies the state for low student
fees.
“The war has taken so many financial resources away from
the country that a lot of money being dedicated to the war could be
going to education,” he said.
Furthermore, Neal added, California isn’t completely
independent of federal government operations.
“California is using a lot of its own resources to fund
these efforts,” he said.
Communication studies professor Paul Von Blum, a staunch
anti-war activist, suggested that the amount of money spent on
defense reflects the administration’s misplaced
priorities.
“(Bush) is going to spend over $100 billion on war, where
there are schools and other domestic problems within the country
that he can help,” he said.
But blaming the war for education underfunding is nonsensical,
opponents counter.
“The deficit we have in California comes from the power
crisis and a whole list of problems, and the war is not one of
them,” said Matt Knee, a second-year political science
student and former Daily Bruin Viewpoint columnist.
“Blaming the war is disingenuous,” he said.
A leading economist said the correlation isn’t completely
unfounded.
“It’s a classic case of limited resources and higher
defense spending,” said Tom Lieser, who co-authors the
quarterly Anderson Forecast, nationally regarded as one of the
nation’s most accurate economic reports.
“The link between the federal and the state is maybe less
clear,” he said.
“But I think because of the demands on defense spending,
the federal government is less willing to help out (states) than it
normally would be ““ so in that sense the states are maybe on
their own to forge solutions to this,” Lieser added.
But as it is, he said, “we are standing here with our
hands up saying “˜Hey, look at California, we need
help.’ It’s certainly highly visible at the university
and we haven’t heard the last of this by any
means.”
With reports from Brad Greenberg and Charles Proctor, Daily
Bruin Contributors and Sarah Wagner, Daily Bruin Senior Staff.