Radio Rahim

Why I am Occupying

I am occupying UCLA because I am fed up with the mismanagement of this university. Let me explain:

I am here for my students, who face another round of fee increases, even though they’re up to their necks in debt and scared about how they’re going to pay it back once they graduate.

I am here for my students who can’t get the classes they need to graduate, much less the classes they want to take. 

I’m here for myself, because I don’t turn away extra students who want to enroll in my sections, so I end up teaching more students than I’m supposed to and working more hours than I get paid for. 

I’m here for my students who work multiple jobs to support their education and then fall asleep in section because they’re so tired. 

I’m here for our student body, which has no meaningful way to influence how money is spent on this campus. We watch new buildings pop up left and right while the quality of our education continues to crumble. 

I’m here because the UC Regents are not a democratic body. I don’t know how to hold them accountable for their decade of failure, but I do know that if I did my job as badly as they do theirs, I’d be fired. 

I’m here because the UC Regents are not educators. I’m here because the Regents don’t have our interests at heart. I’m here because they must be shamed and embarrassed into change and because so far nothing else has worked. 

I’m here because if I could figure out an easier way to make my voice heard, I wouldn’t be sleeping in a tent to try to send a message.