I recommend against going to UCSC (or any other UC) for grad school until they fix their ways.
The incompetent admin is demanding repayment from students (funds which came from grants, not the UC) for “overpayment” because of strikes.
Let me just remind you about the rents in Santa Cruz (https://www.ucop.edu/enrollment-services/data-and-reporting/student-budget-tables/typical-housing-costs-near-uc-campuses_2022.pdf) where most grads pay 40–50% of their stipend on rents to live in a shared house.
I’ve never seen a system run by a bigger bunch of clowns.
https://recurse.social/@redmp/113499422792861159