Author Archives: Ryan Nelson

Ryan Nelson: Split roll would give universities, municipalities more funds

Last year, Governor Jerry Brown, in the face of fiscal austerity, tied education spending to his proposed tax hike, Proposition 30. Now, with the passage of the sequester putting research and education-related jobs on the chopping block, lawmakers once again have the ability to stimulate conversation about education funding through tax reform.

Ryan Nelson: SHIP’s debt should not be students’ burden

Health insurance is boring until it isn’t. This was the sentiment expressed at a weekly Undergraduate Students Association Council meeting in early February. This statement symbolizes the new fight brewing over the University of California’s Student Health Insurance Plan, which is now more than $57 million in debt.

Ryan Nelson: UC should provide fairer compensation for workers

Across California, from San Diego to Los Angeles to Berkeley, service and medical workers took up signs and megaphones to protest a contract put forth by the University of California that would require the workers to pay more into the UC Retirement Plan. The American Federation of State, County, and Municipality Employees Local 3299 Union, […]

Ryan Nelson: Courses would benefit from hands-on education

As students, we are no strangers to the effects of budget cuts and their potential impact on our classrooms. Larger lectures, more students and fewer academic options have all been results of fiscal ineptitude on the part of both state and school, reflections of California’s economic troubles. Despite this dreary outlook, there have been opportunities […]