Taking back our library at CCSF

SAN FRANCISCO--On the evening of February 11, over 100 students, faculty and staff occupied the main library of City College of San Francisco (CCSF), keeping it open beyond scheduled closing hours in order to demand that the library's original hours be restored, after being shortened due to budget cuts.

The civil disobedience was proposed by Student Unity & Power to CCSF's main anti-budget cuts group, the General Assembly, which voted to organize the action as a means to demand a restoration to the cuts at CCSF, as well as to build for the statewide day of strikes and action on March 4. This event marks the first such civil disobedience to be organized at a community college in California since the occupations at University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) campuses last fall.

For many students the library is a basic necessity. It is a quiet place to study and, for many, it is the only place. Student Darlene Crumedy stated, "Once I get home, I'm not in the mode to study, and I really regret that they took those hours away."

The reduction of library hours alongside the increase in student fees has left many students feeling cheated. For students who have families or for those who work during the day, evening hours are the most convenient and sometimes are the only real option.

"The library has been closing at 8:45 p.m. for decades, and now they just started closing it at 6:45 p.m.," explained Betania Bezerra, a CCSF student, member of the General Assembly, and organizer of the action. "It's not fair because we're paying $26 per unit instead of $20, and getting even less in return."

The action itself began at 6 p.m. as activists gathered in front of Rosenberg Library, encouraging other students to stay and study beyond the usual closing time. As closing time approached, students moved inside and started an informal speak-out that lasted the duration of the occupation.

For two hours, students, faculty, and staff members spoke of the need to unite with other students and workers across the state.

The sense of solidarity was palpable. Several library staff voluntarily stayed without pay in support of the students' demands. Also present were other faculty and staff members, and members of the American Federation of Teachers Local 2121 and Service Employees International Union Local 1021. Many participants spoke in support of the students' cause and linked it to their own job security and workplace conditions.

Some students, such as Diana Wei, told their personal stories. "I'm concerned about my future. Math and science classes are important and popular, and I've been to classrooms...[with] 40 students. As a future teacher, that makes it much harder to reach all the students," she explained.

Many of the speakers connected the cuts in education to the continued funding of the war and of prisons. At one point, the crowd chanted, "Books not bombs. Education not incarceration!"

Student Jameel Patterson even expressed his frustration over the Obama administration's failure to produce meaningful health care reform. He placed it in context, stating, "In Cuba and Canada, health care is free--and they don't even make as much money as America does!"

Speakers used the opportunity to build the statewide day of action on March 4. This day is expected to bring together all levels of education in California in protests, rallies and direct actions to fight back against the slashing of funds for public education, which has plunged California's K-12 system to the lowest per-capita spending of all 50 states.

This event is a step forward for the budget cuts movement at CCSF, and bodes well for the upcoming action on March 4, which will take place on campus. Organizers are planning a mid-day rally and direct action, followed by joining in a 5 p.m. rally at the San Francisco Civic Center.