Our next meeting is this Wednesday 9/17 at Abbot Square

Send an email to UC Regents, and ride with us on Saturday 9/27

September 15, 2025

📣 Upcoming Pacific For People Advocacy meeting - this Wednesday, September 17 at Abbot Square

📝 Send an email to UC Board of Regents in support of affordable on-campus housing for UCSC students

🚲 Join us at the Pacific For People Advocacy Bike Ride on Saturday, September 27

Our next Pacific for People Advocacy Meeting is going to be this Wednesday, September 17 at Abbot Square.

📅 Wednesday, September 17 (add to calendar)

🕠 6 - 7 PM

 📍 Abbott Square (courtyard outside the MAH, toward the back)

Join us at our next Pacific for People meeting. It’s a great chance to connect, share ideas, and get involved in making Santa Cruz more people-friendly.

If you need directions, call or text 831-227-1789.

We hope to see you there!

UCSC students are struggling more than any of their peers across the UC system, as shown by the Lookout article — and have been since at least 2014 — and the reason is clear: housing. The lack of affordable, campus-owned housing is weighing on students’ mental health, fueling stress, depression, and burnout.

(If you can’t access the article, let us know—we’ll make sure you are able to read it.)

Why do UCSC students have the worst mental health in the UC system? Let’s start with housing

UC Santa Cruz students report the worst mental health in the UC system, citing stress, anxiety and housing insecurity. Activist Kevin Norton calls on UCSC to provide more on-campus housing, slow enrollment growth and establish stronger ties between students and the wider community.

lookout.co/why-do-ucsc-students-have-the-worst-mental-health-in-the-uc-system-lets-start-with-housing/story

A UCSC student renting an illegal converted pool shed. From the photo documentary “Invisibly Housed Students of the Westside,” created by students Ava Donovan, Nazareth Velazcol, Catherine Siefert, Marlene Vazquez, and Victor Mendez.

Photo: Leo Alas. Overcrowded one-bedroom apartment housing a family of four. From the “No Place Like Home: Affordable Housing in Crisis, Santa Cruz County, CA” report. Credit: Via UCSC Center for Labor and Community

Take action:
You can email the UC Board of Regents and suggest they prioritize affordable on-campus housing in Santa Cruz while putting the brakes on enrollment growth.

Why this matters to Downtown Santa Cruz:
Let’s be honest — our downtown doesn’t exist without UCSC. Students are the lifeblood of our local economy. If UCSC continues down this unsustainable path, the consequences won’t stop at campus borders. Most importantly, however, we feel compassion for students.

🚲 Pacific For People Advocacy Bike Ride – Safer Roads Are Possible in Santa Cruz

📅 Saturday, September 27, 2025 (add to calendar)

🕒 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM

📍 Start at United Methodist Church, 250 California St, Santa Cruz – FREE PARKING

🚩 About 6 miles of riding at casual pace

Join us for a 6-mile ride on the western half of the Bikeway designed by Ecology Action. We’ll stop along the way for group discussions—sharing ideas, building connections, and talking about how to win safer, more protected bike lanes in Santa Cruz. And of course, we’ll have fun.

Bring your bike, helmet & friends. Let’s ride, connect, and show that safer roads are possible in Santa Cruz.

All ages and abilities welcome – see you there!

Questions, comments, suggestions? Reply back or ask us on Instagram.