Students staged raucous rallies on nationwide college campuses Thursday in protests against deep education cuts that turned violent as demonstrators threw punches and ice chunks in Wisconsin and blocked university gates and smashed car windows in California. 
 
 Students block Sather Gate on the University of California at Berkeley campus Thursday, March 4, 2010, in Berkeley, Calif. Demonstrations, marches, teach-ins and walkouts are planned nationwide Thursday... (Associated Press) 
 
 Demonstrators march past Royce Hall on the campus at UCLA in Los Angeles Thursday, March 4, 2010. Students, teachers, parents and others rallied throughout California and many other states to protest... (Associated Press) 
 
 Demonstrators attend a rally on the campus at UCLA in Los Angeles Thursday, March 4, 2010. Students, teachers, parents and others rallied throughout California and many other states to protest deep cuts... (Associated Press) 
 
 University of California, Berkeley, students Griffin Cassara, 19, left, and Katherine Cole, 18, walk past the state Capitol after a participating in a ralley against funding cut to higher education in... (Associated Press) 
 
 Student protestors march on the University of California at Berkeley campus Thursday, March 4, 2010, in Berkeley, Calif. Demonstrations, marches, teach-ins and walkouts are planned nationwide Thursday... (Associated Press) 
 
 At least 15 protesters were arrested by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee police after as many as 150 students gathered at the student union then moved to an administrative building to deliver petitions to the school chancellor. 
 
 A woman who was allowed to go inside encouraged protesters to rush the building after she emerged, university spokesman Tom Luljak said. 
 
 No serious injuries were reported in the melee that followed. 
 
 "We have no problem with a protest," Luljak said. "We do have a serious problem when individuals decide to become violent." 
 
 Kas Schwerdtfeger, a national organizer for Milwaukee Students for a Democratic Society, said demonstrators were peaceful but persistent in approaching the hall. 
 
 "What we did was try to assert ourselves peacefully and nonviolently," Schwerdtfeger said. "Police started pushing, shoving, using mace on somewhere around 20 to 25 people." 
 
 The school was among dozens of nationwide campuses hit with marches, strikes, teach-ins and walkouts in what was billed as the March 4th National Day of Action for Public Education. 
 
 Organizers said hundreds of thousands of students, teachers and parents were expected to participate in the nationwide demonstrations. 
 
 The steep economic downturn has forced states to slash funding to K-12 schools, community colleges and universities to cope with plummeting tax revenue. 
 
 Experts said schools and colleges could face more severe financial trouble over the next few years as they drain federal stimulus money that temporarily prevented widespread layoffs and classroom cuts. 
 
 Some university officials said they supported the protests as long as they remained peaceful. 
 
 "My heart and my support are with everybody and anybody who wants to stand up for public education," University of California President Mark Yudof said in a statement. "Public education drives a society's ability to progress and to prosper." 
 
 In Wisconsin, more than 25,000 students have been put on a waiting list after the state's premier financial aid program ran out of money because of increased demand. 
 
 At the University of Illinois, about 200 professors, instructors and graduate faculty marched through campus carrying signs that read "Furlough Legislators" _ a reference to recent furloughs and 4 percent pay cuts imposed on thousands of university employees. 
 
 The state is $487 million behind on payments to the University of Illinois. State government has a budget deficit of $13 billion. 
 
 In Olympia, Wash., a group of about 75 protesters arrived at the Capitol bearing a faux coffin emblazoned with the slogan "R.I.P. Education." 
 
 They were later ejected from the state Senate gallery after interrupting a debate with a protest song that followed the tune of "Amazing Grace." 
 
 "I once could eat, but now I find, I can't afford the food," they sang. 
 
 Several Democratic senators applauded the performance, as security guards escorted the protesters from the building. 
 
 In Northern California, rowdy protesters blocked major gates at two universities and smashed the windows of a car. 
 
 Protesters at the University of California, Santa Cruz surrounded the car while its uninjured driver was inside. Earlier, demonstrators blocked campus gates. 
 
 University provost David Kliger said there were reports of protesters carrying clubs and knives, but Santa Cruz police Capt. Steve Clark could not confirm those reports. No arrests had been made. 
 
 An advisory posted on the school Web site urged people to avoid the campus because of safety concerns. 
 
 At the University of California, Berkeley, a small group of protesters formed a human chain blocking a main gate to the campus. Later in the day, hundreds gathered for a peaceful rally. 
 
 "We're one of the largest economies in the world, and we can't fund the basics," said Mike Scullin, 29, a graduate student in education who plans to become a high school teacher. "We're throwing away a generation of students by defunding education." 
 
 At the University of Texas at Austin, about 100 students and staff rallied on campus to protest a 5.4 percent hike in tuition and fees approved by regents a day earlier. Protesters complained the quality of education was taking a backseat to the university's bottom line. 
 
 Officials said the tuition hikes, which include another 3.89 percent jump for the fall of 2011, were necessary to avoid cuts in the face of declining endowment payouts and an anticipated cut in state aid. 
 
 In Alabama, Broderick Thomas, a 23-year-old Auburn senior, attended an annual higher education rally in Montgomery and said he feels "it's the moral duty of the state to give back what they promised." 
 
 However, the chairman of the state Senate education budget committee, Sen. Hank Sanders, D-Selma, curbed the enthusiasm, saying it would be hard to find additional funds for higher education this year. 
 
 "I wish we could give all the money higher education needs," Sanders said, as some in the crowd groaned. "We're having to cut up to $460 million out of the budget the governor recommended." 
 
 Students, teachers, parents and school employees from across California gathered in Sacramento for a midday rally at the Capitol to urge lawmakers to restore funding to public schools. 
 
 Linda Wall, a state Department of Mental Health employee, said she had two children attending Sacramento State University. Hikes in student fees and mandatory furloughs for state workers have strained her budget. 
 
 "Their tuition has taken a big chunk of my paycheck and my paycheck is shrinking, so it's a double whammy," Wall said. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press Writers Marcus Wohlsen in San Francisco, Robin Hindery in Sacramento, Calif., David Mercer in Urbana, Ill., April Castro in Austin, Texas, Bob Johnson in Montgomery, Ala., Curt Woodward in Olympia, Wash., and Dinesh Ramde in Milwaukee contributed to this report. ||||| A national day of protests against education funding cuts began Thursday with generally peaceful rallies, walkouts and teach-ins at universities and high schools. But an incident in which demonstrators smashed the windshield of a car trying to enter UC Santa Cruz brought a warning against any other violence. 
 
 At Cal State Dominguez Hills in the Carson area, about 50 students gathered in front of the student union with some shouting "Give My Education Back!" and carrying signs that proclaimed: "From Pre-K to Ph.D., Let Me Go to School." They played a mock “Wheel of Fortune” game with stops that included "graduating in four years with a good education" and "getting a 30% fee increase." 
 
 One of the organizers, Kevin Orantes, 23, a junior majoring in public administration and communications, said he became involved because he was upset about the effects of budget cuts on access to education and wanted to leave a better legacy for his own children. "Today’s generation is reaping the benefits of sacrifice that generations before had to accomplish, like civil rights and women’s rights," Orantes said. "If we don’t do anything for the next generation, it will all be in vain." ||||| A rally is planned at the University of California, Davis to express outrage over the police pepper-spraying of peaceful anti-Wall Street protesters that was captured on video. 
 
 In this Friday, Nov. 18, 2011, photo University of California, Davis Police Lt. John Pike uses pepper spray to move Occupy UC Davis protesters while blocking their exit from the school's quad Friday in... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this Friday, Nov. 18, 2011, photo Occupy University of California, Davis, protesters including David Buscho, far left, react after being pepper sprayed by police who came to remove tents set up on... (Associated Press) 
 
 University of California, Davis, student Mike Fetterman, receives a treatment for pepper spray by UC Davis firefighter Nate Potter, after campus police dismantled an Occupy Wall Street encampment on... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this Friday, Nov. 18, 2011, photo occupy Davis protestors are pepper-sprayed by campus police while blocking their exit from the school's quid, Friday in Davis, Calif. Two University of California,... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this Friday, Nov. 18, 2011, photo occupy protester David Buscho is helped after being pepper sprayed by campus police while blocking their exit from the school's Quad Friday in Davis, Calif. Two University... (Associated Press) 
 
 Organizers say the noontime rally on Monday by faculty and students will include protesters from Occupy Sacramento. 
 
 It comes on the heels of the school's announcement that the UC Davis police chief and two officers have been placed on administrative leave over Friday's pepper spray incident. Video showed an officer dousing the faces of protesters as they passively sat on the ground, arms linked. 
 
 Chancellor Linda Katehi said Sunday she has also asked the Yolo County District Attorney's office to investigate the police department's use of force. Protesters have called for Katehi's resignation, but she has resisted. 
 
 THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. 
 
 The president of the University of California system said he was "appalled" at images of protesters being doused with pepper spray and plans an assessment of law enforcement procedures on all 10 campuses, as two police officers and the police chief were placed on administrative leave. 
 
 "Free speech is part of the DNA of this university, and non-violent protest has long been central to our history," UC President Mark G. Yudof said in a statement Sunday in response to the spraying of students sitting passively at UC Davis. "It is a value we must protect with vigilance." 
 
 Yudof said it was not his intention to "micromanage our campus police forces," but he said all 10 chancellors would convene soon for a discussion "about how to ensure proportional law enforcement response to non-violent protest." 
 
 Protesters from Occupy Sacramento planned to travel to nearby Davis on Monday for a noon rally in solidarity with the students, the group said in a statement. 
 
 UC Davis said early Monday in a news release that it was necessary to place police Chief Annette Spicuzza on administrative leave to restore trust and calm tensions. The school refused to identify the two officers who were place on administrative leave but one was a veteran of many years on the force and the other "fairly new" to the department, Spicuzza earlier told The Associated Press. She would not elaborate further because of the pending probe. 
 
 Videos posted online of the incident clearly show one riot-gear clad officer dousing the line of protesters with spray as they sit with their arms intertwined. Spicuzza told the AP that the second officer was identified during an intense review of several videos. 
 
 "We really wanted to be diligent in our research, and during our viewing of multiple videos we discovered the second officer," Spicuzza said. "This is the right thing to do." 
 
 Both officers were trained in the use of pepper spray as department policy dictates, and both had been sprayed with it themselves during training, the chief noted. 
 
 Meanwhile, UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi said she has been inundated with reaction from alumni, students and faculty and would speed up an investigation that was to have taken three months. 
 
 "I spoke with students this weekend and I feel their outrage," Katehi said in a statement Sunday. 
 
 Katehi also set a 30-day deadline for her school's task force investigating the incident to issue its report. The task force, comprised of students, staff and faculty, will be chosen this week. She earlier had set a 90-day timetable. 
 
 She also plans to meet with demonstrators Monday at their general assembly, said her spokeswoman, Claudia Morain. 
 
 The UC Davis faculty association called for Katehi's resignation, saying in a Saturday letter there had been a "gross failure of leadership." Katehi has resisted calls for her to quit. 
 
 "I am deeply saddened that this happened on our campus, and as chancellor, I take full responsibility for the incident," Katehi said Sunday. "However, I pledge to take the actions needed to ensure that this does not happen again. I feel very sorry for the harm our students were subjected to and I vow to work tirelessly to make the campus a more welcoming and safe place." 
 
 The incident reverberated well beyond the university, with condemnations and defenses of police from elected officials and from the wider public on Facebook and Twitter. 
 
 "On its face, this is an outrageous action for police to methodically pepper spray passive demonstrators who were exercising their right to peacefully protest at UC Davis," Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said in a statement Sunday. "Chancellor Katehi needs to immediately investigate, publically explain how this could happen and ensure that those responsible are held accountable." 
 
 The protest Friday was held in support of the overall Occupy Wall Street movement and in solidarity with protesters at the University of California, Berkeley who were jabbed by police with batons on Nov. 9. 
 
 Nine students hit by pepper spray were treated at the scene, two were taken to hospitals and later released, university officials said. Ten people were arrested. 
 
 Meanwhile Sunday, police in San Francisco, about 80 miles south of Davis, arrested six anti-Wall Street protesters and cleared about 12 tents erected in front of the Federal Reserve Bank. 
 
 Across the bay in Oakland, police made no arrests after protesters peacefully left a new encampment set up in defiance of city orders.
– Thousands of students, from university down to elementary-school level, are rallying today across the US to protest the ever-more-dismal state of education funding. California demonstrators, who also included faculty and parents, have been most visible, and mainly peaceful, though a car windshield was smashed during the gathering at the University of California-Santa Cruz, authorities tell the San Francisco Chronicle, and punches were thrown at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the AP adds. Students from UC-Davis tried to march from that campus to the state capitol in Sacramento, 15 miles away, using Interstate 80, but were turned away by police using pepper spray. At the Cal State-Dominguez Hills campus, protestors played a mock Wheel of Fortune game, where spins could yield “graduating in 4 years with a good education” and “a 30% fee increase,” the Los Angeles Times adds.