Today, students across the country are going on strike, attending rallies, engaging in civil disobedience, and more as part of the National Day of Action to Defend Education. You can read more about it and find local actions here, read Campus Progress’s statement here, and take action here.

The latest updates:

• Protestors in Sacramento being beaten, tased, gassed by police as they try to march forward.
  -via @ CaliforniaAggie on Twitter
• 500 High School students and supporters in Baltimore, as part of the Algebra Project, marched to a youth detention center in order to draw attention to the “school-to-prison” pipeline. They’re insisting that money for the youth detention center be diverted to education.
  -via SocialistWorker.org
• Hundreds at UCLA convene in the Chancellor’s office to present their demands to Gene Block: lower fees and less layoffs.
  -via Huffington Post
• 200 students at UMass-Amherst had the same strategy as UCLA. Disrupting the chancellor is a popular tactic today.
• 18 students arrested at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee after rallying with 250 others to deliver signatures to the chancellor. Police are accused of  using excessive force. Video here and here.
• 400-500 UW students in Seattle marching in the streets demanding to see UW President Mark Emmert.
  -via @JayBeeStarkey on Twitter

• Fire alarms are being set off across several campuses in a symbolic effort to represent the state of emergency in higher education.
  - via @reclaimuc on Twitter
• Crowds are steadily increasing at CSUN for the March 4 higher education walk out while hundreds more gather at Berkeley and Laney College in Oakland.
  - via @dailysundial, @NSNS, and @dailcal on Twitter
• A Washington Post article highlights the student protest efforts that have taken place throughout the day noting the increased tuition rates and the drastic budget cuts that have sparked students to protest.
• San Diego area college students will meet today at 3 PM in Balboa Park to march to the Governor’s office in downtown San Diego.
  - via @cfaCSUN on Twitter
• Approximately 2,500 people are already gathered at the State Capitol in Sacramento, CA to protest.
  -via @mrdaveyd/loxocele on Twitter
• Several hundred students at Hunter College in Manhattan faced police resistance when trying to enter buildings to encourage more walkouts. A march on Governor Paterson’s office may occur after this afternoon’s rally.
  -via Socialistworker.org

Stay tuned for more, and take action at campusprogress.org/march4th

By: Yosef Getachew

• More than 100 students turn out for the teach-in for education at Brooklyn College, still 3 hours to go until official demo begins
  -via @SocialistZine Twitter
• Service workers at UC San Diego are marching with the students in protest of layoffs and budget cuts.
  -via @JenMeanIt Twitter
• California’s Electronic Disturbance Theatre has initiated a virtual sit-in on the UC Office of the President. The simple action (available at the link above) involves just leaving your computer on.
• Faculty at UC Irvine have released a statement encouraging faculty to participate in any action they see fit: “…announcing the events in class, allowing the students to participate in these activities without any penalty, teaching about the current crisis in public education.”
  -via UC Regent Live
• Children in Redwood City get in on the protest action. At the rate we’re headed now, they won’t be able to afford college once they reach that age.
  -via @ StudProtest Twitter

• Due to safety concerns from the continuing March 4^th protests, UCSC officials have told all employees not to come to the main campus until at least noon.
  -via @studentactivism on Twitter

• Students gather to protest at Berkeley chanting “education is a right one fights.”
  -via @studprotest on Twitter

• A UCSC professor writes an open letter urging for the end of racism, sexism and homophobia at UC San Diego. The letter not only condemns recent racist events that have occurred on campus but also calls for an increase in African American student enrollment, increased funding for organizations that support underrepresented students, and an upgrade to the universities diversification office.
  -via @NSNS on Twitter

• The Washington Post has put together a guide to the March 4^th protests including a list of events and key protests around the nation.

• The Huffington Post has compiled a list of the largest tuition increases in public universities. Public universities have seen tuition increases up to an astounding 32%, which have added heavily to student debt.

Stay tuned for more, and take action at campusprogress.org/march4th

By: Yosef Getachew