AFSCME 3299 Union Reaches Tentative Agreement With UC. Is it Over?
The anticipation that comes the night before a strike is more than familiar to Christopher Contreras, a senior custodian at UC Santa Cruz and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) local 3299 Member. Contreras and his colleagues are no strangers to picketing...
Fighting to Maintain Connection: Students Gather in Remembrance of Lyle Prijoles and the Negros 19
As heels clicked against the hardwood floors of the Redwood Lounge and students and friends sang in remembrance of Lyle Prijoles, his wife Marienne “Yenyen” Cuison was pushing through after an emergency trip to the Philippines. During a 12-hour gunfight from April 18 to 19,...
What Dr. Cornel West Has to Say to UCSC Students
“When you come to a place like UC Santa Cruz, you come here to learn how to die.” These were the words of keynote speaker Dr. Cornel West at engaging education’s (e²) event, “Changemakers: Resisting Hopelessness, Shaping Our Future Through Love.” West is a celebrated...
The Reality for Unhoused UC Santa Cruz Students
Editor’s Note: One source has asked to be named under a pseudonym, indicated in italics. Additionally, certain details about sources are left purposefully vague for safety and privacy reasons. City on a Hill Press is committed to protecting the identity of these individuals. Justine Zolnoorian...
Committee on Faculty Welfare Calls on TAPS to Suspend Parking Price Increase
When Measure 82, a transportation reform, passed in spring 2025, Ph.D. student and Voices for Empowerment and Safety in Transportation (VEST) commissioner Jerry Hernandez was one of many students filled with a newfound sense of hope. “It felt like a historical moment. It showed students...
44 Years of Resistance: Multicultural Festival Brings a New Meaning to Community
As the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives permeate public universities across the country, students are at the forefront of the resistance. Over 400 students and 19 vendors gathered at Oakes Lower Lawn to celebrate the 44th annual Multicultural...
Elevator Down, Not Up: Kresge Dorm Residents Go Five Months With No Elevator
Six floors, five months, two crutches, one broken ankle and no elevator. This was Kresge building B resident Lucy Rich’s introduction to her first year at UC Santa Cruz. “I picked Kresge because I read that it’s the newest, nicest building,” Rich said. “When I...
More Unions, More Power: Campus Unions Rally for Workers on May Day
Members of University Labor United (ULU), a rank and file association of union members across the UC Santa Cruz campus, held a rally on May 1. They rallied in protest of past and proposed efforts of budget restructuring at UCSC, especially the recent Transportation and...
UC Santa Cruz International Students Face Constricting Job Market
At the end of every academic year, over 4,500 UC Santa Cruz undergraduates step onto a stage to greet professors, shake their hands and accept the diploma they have worked multiple years for. Some graduates step off the stage with a newfound sense of freedom,...
Who is Jennifer Johnson-Hanks? Meet the new CP/EVC
Editors’ Note: Answers have been edited for brevity and clarity. In a recent campus news email sent by Chancellor Cynthia Larive’s office, Jennifer Johnson-Hanks was announced as UC Santa Cruz’s new campus provost and executive vice chancellor (CP/EVC). Johnson-Hanks, an anthropologist who specializes in cultural...