About 100 students protest fee hikes at UCI - LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

On the first day of UC Irvine's winter term Monday, about 100 demonstrators gathered in front of the campus' Administration Building to once again protest the University of California's recent fee hike. Organizers attempted to use this rally to remind the Irvine students returning from winter break of the UC system's controversial budget cuts and 32 percent tuition increase, and to advertize an open forum with Chancellor Michael Drake on Jan. 13. "It's important for students to be ready on the first day of school to show that we're standing up for each other," said graduate student Mohamed Abdelgang, one of the rally's organizers.