Chancellor Drake: Stop ignoring your students!

For several years, UCI community members have been fighting for better pay and working conditions for campus workers, and for the insourcing of janitorial workers. Students have also been advocating for divestment from companies that support war in Palestine and genocide in Sudan, and for an end to sweatshop production of UCI apparel. Throughout these struggles, the UCI administration has been unresponsive to students' needs, often refusing to meet with student organizers; yet when students protest, they are berated by administrators for not following "the proper channels." UCI deserves better leadership from our Chancellor. As the economic crisis worsens, many of our classmates are struggling to make tuition payments, some go to class hungry, and some students' parents are losing their homes. In these tough times, we need administrators who respect the students, faculty, and staff who make this institution what it is--we need someone who is accountable and responsive to us. If we are not given access to "the proper channels," we will be forced to find alternate channels to satisfy our needs.

Therefore, we, the undersigned students, faculty, and staff at the University of California, Irvine, call on Chancellor Michael V. Drake and the administration of UCI to stop ignoring the concerns of students on this campus and immediately implement policies allowing for greater accountability to students, including:
* holding regular and publicly announced office hours;
* promptly meeting with student organizations when requested;
* publicly posting procedures for scheduling meetings with the Chancellor and his staff;
* promptly addressing student inquiries and formally responding in writing to issues presented by all student organizations.