Higher Education

Mission Statement

To build student leadership and knowledge in the pursuit of a more accessible, diverse, and affordable California public university.

Our Values

Affordability

Tuition to attend the University of California and California State University has doubled in the past seven years, and this is only one part of the affordability equation.  The overall cost of education in California is also impacted by diminishing financial aid, increasing textbook prices and housing costs, and scandals surrounding student loans and student credit cards. 

We are losing a generation of students who have simply determined that they cannot afford to attend college.  We think the long-range impact of this generational shift on society, its workforce, and its economy should give pause to every person concerned about California’s future.

Diversity

Since the implementation of Proposition 209 more than a decade ago, the public university in California has become far less diverse.  The University of California has especially seen rapidly-diminishing inclusion of African American and Latino students, and the campuses and segments (UC, CSU and CCC) are becoming further racially stratified. 

In what is supposed to be the bellwether state in a multi-racial democracy, and where the majority of new households are households of color, California’s public university system nowhere near reflects its diverse population.

Our Strategy

Our strategy is student-led and volunteer-driven. We work to develop student leadership on thirty campuses in the University of California, California State University and California Community College systems.  Our student leaders learn organizing and leadership skills and actively create partnerships across sectors with parents, faculty, policy groups, elected officials, and labor and business leaders.

A particular strength of our student leaders is a total immersion in new technology. We like the “Wikipedia model” of student leadership … in other words, a ground-up effort where the knowledge shared is contributed by any interested student using Web 2.0 tools.  We actively use sites like MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube to communicate and connect.

For more information on our Higher Education program, please contact:

Chris Vaeth, Legislative Director: chrisv@greenlining.org