504 Alumni Threaten To Withhold Donations To UCSC: Wildcat Strike

SANTA CRUZ, CA — As the deadline for final grades looms, more than 500 UC Santa Cruz alumni have signed a letter threatening to withhold donations to the university until the school's administration agrees to pay a "cost-of-living adjustment" of $1,412 a month to graduate students.

Employed as academic student employees, some UCSC grad students are in a second week of a wildcat strike demanding the higher wage, threatening to withhold students’ fall quarter grades until given a raise. Final grades are due Wednesday, Dec. 18.

School officials said they are working to reduce or eliminate any impacts from grades being submitted late, and they are "actively working on short- and long-term solutions to address our students’ housing needs." High housing costs in Santa Cruz County have been cited as a top reason behind the need for a cost-of-living wage increase.

"We support the graduate students’ demand for a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) of an extra $1,412 per month for all UCSC graduate students to enable a decent standard of living necessary to engage in academic labor," the alumni letter reads.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the letter had 504 signatories. It's unclear how many of the signatories have made donations to the university in the past, or how many intended to do so in the future.