May Day Picket at UCSC

A coalition of students and workers at UC Santa Cruz began demonstrating at 6 AM on May Day to demand amnesty and dignity for undocumented immigrants. Students erected a mock border at the campus entrance to highlight the challenges faced by Latinos entering the US for work. Protestors say all individuals, regardless of nationality, are entitled to freedom and human rights. The rally is also in support of service workers at UC Santa Cruz who are struggling for wage parity with other schools. UCSC students and workers will march through Santa Cruz at noon today, ending at San Lorenzo Park. Meanwhile, the players, coaches and families of La Liga de la Comunidad, the Santa Cruz Community Soccer League, will gather in the Beach Flats at noon, for a 1 pm march to San Lorenzo Park. There, the two groups will join for a large afternoon rally. Other actions are taking place throughout the day in this region, incluing Watsonville, Salinas, Seasise, and San Jose.


As of this writing at 10 :15 AM, a total of more than 300 people are clogging up both entrances of campus, causing traffic jams and buses to run late. The main entrance has been basically shut down, and UC police are rerouting drivers to the West entrance.

One student activist was reportedly stopped for jaywalking and found to have a warrant. He was given a ticket and released.