by John Corgiat Jr., Santa Cruz

SC Sentinel – As You See It, March 6, 2012

I find it distressing that a group of UC Santa Cruz students were allowed to block the entrances to UCSC on Thursday, March 2. I was attempting to drive onto the campus at the western entrance, and two young men came to my vehicle to inquire why I wanted to go on campus. When I told them that I was trying to bring my young grandson to his parents, they instructed the students to step aside to provide an opening for me to drive through. Just past the students were several police officers, who did not appear to be doing anything to stop the students from blocking the entrance.

I am an American citizen, and I should not have to explain my reasons for going on campus to anyone unless the person is a law enforcement official.

I am one of the California taxpayers who provide the funds to even have the university; the funds that the state has stopped spending on college education partly would have to come out taxes that I pay if the cuts are reversed. How much do any of the students pay in taxes compared to the rest of us? The students should not have any rights to interfere with the flow of traffic onto the UCSC campus, a campus that is provided by the taxpayers of this state.

I am told that the students were protesting the increasing costs to attend UCSC. I have no problem with protests as long as their rights do not infringe on my rights, and those students blocking the entrance on Thursday were definitely infringing on my rights.