UC Berkeley police are in the news again, for searching a journalist’s camera after a December 11 protest on the college campus at Chancellor Robert Birgeneau’s home. The issue at hand was weather or not the search of the journalist David Morse’s camera was done properly in accordance with the law. Last week Alameda County Superior Judge Yolanda Northridge ruled that the search by UC Berkeley police was illegal, and ordered the California university to return all copies of the photographs to Morse. This ruling was well received by many journalist’s, as the judge upheld the state law which restricts the police from searching journalists’ unpublished work.

UC Berkeley has been home to various protests since the 1960’s, as college students and residents have stood up for issues which they feel passionate about. This demonstration at Chancellor Robert Birgeneau’s campus residence was focused on the cuts in funding for education which have forced fee increases, reduction in classes, and faculty furloughs. These issues have created situations where students are having to pay more, but be offered less options and fewer choices for classes. It is likely that there will be more protests around the state, as the California State University trustees voted last week to raise fees for students by 5 percent. This move was in response to state funding cuts and students are definitely upset, as the rough economic conditions in California have made it tough for them to pay their increasing expensive school bills.

Journalists and photographers for the press need to cover these events, and this ruling by Judge Northridge will keep them in the trenches reporting around California.

California State University and University of California systems have been struggling the last couple years to offer enough classes to all of the students who want to enroll. The current budget crisis in California, and lack of concentrated efforts on funding the California’s public university systems for the past couple decades, have hindered the universities’ ability to accept as many students as they would like. However the nonprofit Public Policy Institute of California released a report which recommended the state make changes to the current admission guidelines for the California State University and University of California systems. As of now the master plan for the UC system requires that they choose their students from the top 12.5% of high school graduates and the Cal State system chooses from the top 33.3% of students. These percentages are based upon test scores, high school grades, and other factors which contribute to admission into one of the California universities. Moving forward, the Institute recommends that these percentages are increased to the top 15% for the UC system and the top 40% for the the Cal State system.

The Public Policy Institute of California is not recommending that these changes go live right away, but with a target date of 2025. California has serious budget issues which it needs to overcome so that they can have the money to properly fund the public California universities. Therefore the government needs to make major changes in order to increase revenues in the state, so that they can meet the future demand of California high school students who want to earn their degree.  Change needs to happen soon, as the more California college graduates the state produces, the more likely they are to reduce the budget issues, and more qualified workers will be able to contribute to the local economy.

Becoming accepted into a California university is a bit tougher this year as schools reduce enrollments, add wait lists, and boost out of state student numbers (which helps generate more revenue). Just over 10,000 students were given spots on the wait list, and many students did get into the California university that they wanted. However, those students who were put on the wait list do not seem too apt to wait around and see what happens. They seem to be more comfortable picking one of the other California college or universities that accepted them, or possibly going to school out of state.

Overall admissions are becoming more competitive with the budget cuts, so students need to step up their game to get into their top choice for college in California. Below is data from some of the universities in California so you can get an idea of how many students applied and were accepted. Keep in mind that the number of students accepted is always much larger than the number of students who will enroll. Most California universities will see 3,000 to 5,000 students enroll as freshman for fall 2010.

University of California, Santa Barbara

19,721 high school seniors were offered a spot for the fall 2010 term at UCSB. This was from a pool of 46,700 applicants, which was one of the largest applicant pools in UCSB history.

University of California, Los Angeles

Roughly 13,000 students were offered a spot for the fall 2010 class at UCLA. This was from a pool of 57,651 students that submitted applications for UCLA. The university remains the most popular campus in the nation.

University of California, Davis

19,460 students were offered a spot for the fall 2010 class at UC Davis. This was from a pool of roughly 30,000 students who submitted applications to attend UC Davis.

University of California, Santa Cruz

16,756 students were offered a spot for the fall 2010 class at UC Santa Cruz. This was from a pool of 25,827 high school seniors who submitted applications to UC Santa Cruz.

With the graduation ceremonies for 2010 coming up, California colleges and universities are starting to announce their commencement speakers. UCLA and USC both announced their choices this week, and the California universities have very different picks. USC decided to go with their president who is retiring this summer after 19 years, whereas UCLA picked 2003 graduate and author Gustabo Arellano. On June 11, Arellano who is the author of the “¡Ask a Mexican!” book and column in OC Weekly, will give the speech to the 2010 graduating class at UCLA. Arellano was very surprised about being picked to give the speech at UCLA for the graduating class this year, but he is honored and looking forward to the speech. This should be a welcome change for UCLA, as they their speaker James Franco had dropped out 10 days prior because he could not get away from filming taking place outside the United States.

Other California colleges and universities have also announced their commencement speakers, but no major noteworthy names have been mentioned yet for the 2010 graduation. Last year USC had the Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, as their speaker. However it makes sense this year for USC to allow their president of 19 years to go out on a high note by delivering the speech to the graduating class of 2010. It is expected that the other California colleges should announce their graduation speakers for 2010 soon. Hopefully things go well for California universities and colleges, and none of the speakers cancel.

California colleges and universities decided to implement waiting lists this year so that they could better control the flood of students applying this year. A couple of the CSU schools like San Diego State and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo have used waiting lists for years, but now almost all of the California universities and colleges will put them to use. The budget crisis in California has really hurt UC and CSU schools, as they struggle to keep up with student demand, while dealing with limited budgets. Therefore the waiting list process will allow the California colleges and universities to more accurately control their enrollment targets. This will make them more efficient overall, but as a student the process is very awkward and difficult to deal with when trying to make your way into college after high school.

This year had a record number of applicants for the UC and CSU systems, and now many of these students face difficult decisions as they may have been accepted to some schools, but got the wait list for others. Students who excelled in high school are not always getting into their number one choice, so now have to decide if they want to deal with the wait list process. Many students feel frustrated and discouraged by the wait list process, as the fall term is only five months away and students want to solidify their plans for the future. While many California students have voiced their concern, but the hard data is not out until April 14 on how many students have been admitted and wait-listed. If the wait list process continues at CSU and UC schools, then there needs to be a bigger and better education process about it so students understand all of their options.

Coed Dorms or gender-neutral housing has been becoming increasingly popular among California colleges, and schools through the United States. Some of the California colleges that are already accepting this housing option include Stanford, UC Berkley, UC Riverside, and the Harvey Mudd colleges.  There are roughly 50 colleges and universities across the U.S. which are using coed dorms, but this number is expected to increase in the next few years. It seems only logical that more California colleges and universities would consider this as a way to gain them more flexibility when it comes to housing. If couples, or friends want to live together then California colleges should make this an option as it will make them more attractive to wider groups of people. Some of the push for these coed dorms have been helped by The National Student Genderblind Campaign, which strives for gender equality, gay rights, and trans-gender inclusion for students across the country.

In the 21st century the idea of coed dorms at California colleges and universities is not that taboo, as more people want gender-neutral housing while in school. Being yourself and comfortable with who you are as a person is part of the college life for many, and the addition of coed dorms opens up an option for many people who will benefit from that environment. Having a truly compatible roommate allows students to better enjoy the college experience, which should translate to an improved atmosphere for learning. Over the next few years we should expect to see more colleges and universities shift toward offering gender-neutral housing as an option.

The California college budget crisis has forced the lay offs of many teachers, which has resulted in a reduction of classes across CSU and UC campuses throughout the state. California State University schools have been hit extremely hard, with all campuses facing some sort of faculty cutbacks and budget cuts. This results in more students in fewer classes, which is why many California college students at CSU campuses have been unable to get into certain classes they need. At the same time there were tuition and fee increases taking place, which compounded with class reduction has made thousands of students very angry. There have been major protests recently with students, faculty, and citizens, showing their frustration with the budget issues and reduction of college classes.

Many students feel that the California colleges and universities are more concerned about keeping certain administrators happy and employed, as opposed to ensuring that their are enough classes for students who need them to graduate. Students are feeling the economic recession as well, which is making it tough for them to come up with the extra funds to pay for school. This is especially true when they have to attend college longer than expected because they cannot get into a particular class. It is expected that there will be more protests by students and faculty against these changes, until the legislators of California work with colleges and universities to fix the current issues. If California colleges and universities do not educate our youth, then we will have a major gap in our workforce in future years as students move out of state.

As the California college crisis continues, more students are being forced to apply out of state to ensure that they get accepted into a campus which they want to attend. Right now many University of California and California State University schools are using waiting lists, and having to reduce classes to cope with the budget cuts over the last few years. Private and public colleges and universities outside of California are reporting a solid increase in applicants from our state, and this trend looks to continue until changes are made. Over the next 10 years there is expected to be a big increase in the number of additional students which the CSU and UC systems need to accommodate, and if they do not then we will lose talented students to out of state schools. Most California seniors want to transfer to a UC or CSU school and stay close to home so that they can have an easier time transitioning to college. California also has some of the best schools in the country, so students want to take advantage of that by paying in-state tuition for these top colleges and universities.

If California loses some of their top talent to other states, then it is less likely that those students will return to the state to look for work after graduation which will help the local economy. Legislators need to do everything in their power to keep talented students in the state at California colleges and universities, so we can continue to be a strong force in the global economy. Luckily some of the private career colleges are helping out during this budget crunch, as schools like Kaplan and Ashford partner with California colleges to keep students in state. Students and residents of California will continue to watch this trend closely, and fight for education being a top priority in the state.

During the 1960’s there were thousands of California college students who were opposed to the Vietnam War, and there were lots of student protests against the R.O.T.C. at Stanford. In 1968 the war in Vietnam was at the a peak, and a few months after the Tet Offensive there was an incident at Stanford where the Navy R.O.T.C. building was set on fire by some arsonists. After this fire occurred, things started to go downhill for the R.O.T.C. at Stanford as the Faculty Senate determined that they would stop giving credit for the courses. Then the Air Force, Army, and Navy all abandoned Stanford for R.O.T.C. by 1973 and they have not had a program on campus since that date. However there are still students that attend Stanford who are in an R.O.T.C. program, they just have to commute to one of the nearby California colleges or universities that still offer the program.

This is why a couple Stanford professors are making the case to bring back the R.O.T.C. program to the California university. Stanford has discussed bringing back the program for the last few years, but this recent push is the first official movement that has been seen. It has been over 35 years since the programs left Stanford, and things have changed drastically in terms of war and the draft in the United States. After Stanford professors presented their case to bring back the R.O.T.C. program, it was decided by the Faculty Senate to form a committee to further investigate the possibility of R.O.T.C. returning to campus. Results from their research will be out next year, so until then students will have to continue to commute to the neighboring California universities and colleges for their R.O.T.C. needs.

Many students in California are thankful that they have career colleges as an option, since so many colleges and universities in the state are having budget issues. The lack of funding to California colleges and universities has created a reduction in the number of students these schools can accommodate. There are also wait lists at many universities and colleges in California, which are complicating matters as students just want to become accepted so they can further their education. This is why career colleges in California like Kaplan University and Ashford University are working with community college students, who are having trouble completing their degrees or transferring to a bachelors degree program. California community colleges are the largest public two-year system in the U.S., and it is critical that these schools succeed as many of their graduates jump right into a career which helps stimulate the economy. Luckily career colleges are filling the void while the UC, CSU, and community college systems work to dig out of budget deficits that are complicating things for students in California.

Ashford University and Kaplan University are the two big career colleges helping out at this point, but if things do not improve, then more schools like this might have to jump in to help. Career colleges always make sure they have classes open for students who want to take them, which is a huge benefit at this time while classes are being cut within all of the California college systems. It is also a great branding opportunity for Kaplan and Ashford as more people will learn about their career colleges, and how they can help students earn their degree. Hopefully legislators in California will aggressively fight to turn around the budget issues, so that colleges and universities in the state can bet back to business as usual.