Sometimes we Gauchos — surrounded by pristine beaches, a party scene that could muddle the mind of a rocket scientist, spoiled by warm weather in the middle of winter and surrounded by a young, tanned and nubile student body — forget that we are adversely affected by the deep recession, the state legislature and the UC Regents.

However, not even we are safe. Faced with a partisan state legislature that can’t balance a budget and is made up of typical Californians who spend much more every sunny day because they think the California economy will be sunny all year, we, the non-flagship UCs, are in dire straits. California, as you may know, will be behind to the tune of $42 billion. The proposed cut extends to the UC schools. On average, not only will the average UC student have to pay $1000 more on his or her tuition, but new incoming classes will be reduced as well, ostensibly to save money.

But as UC president Mark Yudof recently told the UC Regents, they are cutting enrollment because “we can’t leave the state with the impression that we can continue doing more and more with fewer and fewer resource.â€