Angry students shout down UC Regents

Any hopes the UC Board of Regents had for a peaceful spring break were shattered Thursday when students upset over fee hikes and lack of transparency shouted down and halted their meeting for about 20 minutes.

Some students showed up at the meeting at UCSF in spring break-style clothing to protest the timing of the meeting. Staging a Regents meeting during spring break made it difficult for some students to attend, they argued.

At 9:20 a.m., police in riot gear entered the auditorium after students began chanting after the public comment segment of the meeting was cut short.

Students from all over the state gave up poolside margaritas for the meeting. Shelby Cohantz, a junior at San Diego State, was one who made the trip:

“I have spent almost 22 hours round trip just to get here and they say they don’t have time to listen to everybody.”

The spring breakers were ordered to leave the building by 9:35 a.m. By 9:36, police already had two of them in handcuffs while the rest exited the auditorium. Three students, all from UCLA, were booked on charges in connection with the protest.

Tuition costs for UC students appear grim after being tripled to more than $13,000 in the last 10 years. At the meeting, UC President Mark Yudof said Governor Brown’s proposed tax initiative on the November ballot:

“(The initiative) represents the best opportunity to clamber out of a sinkhole of fiscal uncertainty and move forward into a better, more prosperous future.”