When California Gov.-elect Jerry Brown convenes an education summit at UCLA Tuesday, it’s unlikely he’ll receive anything close to the angry welcome Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, got last week.

Protesters attacked the royal couple’s Rolls Royce, smashing a window with sticks and bottles, denting a rear panel and splashing white paint on it after the House of Commons tripled the cap on university tuition.

Are American students, particularly Generation Y, apathetic, disengaged and too technology-obsessed to dabble in the practical world? Maybe only a ban on smart phones would provoke that kind of anger and response from today’s youth.

That’s the easy and superficial answer. The real answer is much deeper.

Sure. Jerry probably won’t receive an impassioned welcome--rude or otherwise--from the college community. With most of the UC system already on winter break, many students probably won’t even know he’s on campus. But it’s not because of student apathy. More to the point: the governor-elect has yet to anger or inspire anyone in my generation.

Though he appears serious about fixing the state’s budget problems, it’s time he took his ideas public and worked to garner the support of Californians for them.

We got a small clue as to how the governor-elect may deal with the growing budget deficit this week when the L.A. Times reported that he may hold a special election in 2011, asking voters to pay higher taxes or live with fewer government services.

Brown appears to be striking a bipartisan tone in his talks, as he reaches out to lawmakers and influencers on both sides of the political spectrum. He will also be retaining Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s state finance director, Ana Matosantos, who is known for her “no-spin grasp of core, complex budget facts.”  

These are encouraging signs that Brown knows the extent of the state’s failures and crises. But we want more evidence that Brown’s listening to key demographic groups and not relying on policy wonks and lawmakers.

On the campaign trail, Brown vowed to ask people what they want from government. Since winning the election, he’s largely ignored a key demographic in his efforts to connect with Californians: the 18 to 30-year-olds who will be looking for work in California and paying taxes--or who already are.

I spent much of the fall covering the fight for public education in California where people in this demographic are working overtime to guarantee a better future for the next generation.
 
Walk into any overcrowded classroom, speak with any laid off teacher or talk to students struggling to pay for their education after a tuition hike. The effects of recent cuts in higher education are painfully apparent.  

But one person has been notably absent from the public eye during the long struggle, and that’s Jerry.

When tens of thousands of students, parents, teachers and workers across the country took to the streets on March 4 to protest budget cuts in California's designated "Student Day of Action," it raised the question of how Jerry, given his father's legacy, planned to fix our crumbling education system. His father, Edmund "Pat" Brown, who served as California governor from 1959-1967, is credited with building the state's higher education system.

Neon Tommy began its Jerry Brown Watch: a chronicle of our efforts to engage California's Democratic gubernatorial candidate in a conversation about his education policies.

Following his primary win, Brown again failed to provide specifics on education.

Brown said he would only raise taxes if the people voted for them, and when pressed by a Neon Tommy reporter on how he would fix the education system if he didn't raise taxes, he responded, "We would cut. We need here some reality. If we have $85, we can't spend $100. It's just that simple."

Perhaps California’s students, teachers, parents and others aren’t bringing their fight to Jerry or Sacramento because they see no benefit. Brown has yet to lay out any concrete plans for the sort of education system he thinks the state should have, so how does he expect to win support, from voters and the state Legislature, for it?

Though the University of California’s Board of Regents approved an 8 percent fee hike in mid-November, raising annual tuition from $10,302 to $11,124, the students have not given up. The fight continues on blogs, social media, e-mail blasts, online discussion forums and in person on a day-to-day basis. The question now is where the governor fits in, and if he feels he’s up to being the kind of leader this energized and activist generation expects him to be.

Those fighting for public education have made news through protests, walk-outs, sit-ins, rallies and other events, without the help of the future governor.

It’s time for Jerry to take a stand and show Californians leadership on the battle to restore public education to its former status as the envy of the world.

Go ahead, governor, take a risk and show true leadership on one of the most vital issues of our time.

To reach editor-in-chief Callie Schweitzer, click here.
To follow her on Twitter: @cschweitz
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For previous coverage of the UC/CSU system, click here.