A Bill In Support of UC DIVESTMENT FROM WAR CRIMES

Authored By: Emiliano Huet-Vaughn and Tom Pessah

Sponsored By: Senators Gaurano , Carlton, Kwon, Oatfield

1. WHEREAS, the ASUC notes the complexity of international relations in all cases, including the Middle East, and recognizes the inability of a body such as the ASUC to adjudicate matters of international law and human rights law, or to take sides on final status issues on wars and occupations throughout the world. Yet, we do note the following findings from the United Nations and other leading human rights organizations regarding the Israel/Palestine conflict, and use it as a case study; and,

1. WHEREAS, prior and subsequent to the bombing the Israeli government has engaged in collective punishment of the whole of the Palestinian population, in the view of the human rights community,³ as exemplified by the ongoing 32 month blockade on Gaza, of which Physicians for Human Rights-Israel has written, “the prolonged siege imposed by the Israeli government on Gaza, the closing of its borders, the tightening of policies regarding permission to exit Gaza for medical purposes, and the severe shortage of medications and other medical supplies all severely damage the Palestinian health system and endanger the lives and health of thousands of Palestinian patients,”⁴ and of which the Red Cross has said “the whole strip is being strangled, economically speaking” making life in Gaza “a nightmare” for the civilian population, with essential supplies, including electricity, water, and fuel, being denied to the 1.5 million inhabitants 90% of whom depend on aid to survive;⁵ and

1. WHEREAS, within the occupied West Bank (including East Jerusalem), the Israeli government continues a policy of settlement expansion that, in the opinion of the United Nations Security Council, Human Rights Watch, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and numerous other organizations concerned with enforcement of international law, constitutes a direct violation of Article 49, paragraph 6 of the 4^th Geneva Convention which declares “an occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into territories it occupies.”⁶; and
2. WHEREAS, in the context of this bill, “occupation” refers to the current state of Palestinian life under Israeli’s military control in the West Bank and Gaza; a definition that is consistent to commonly-held international law; and

1. WHEREAS, student research⁹ has revealed that, according to the most recent UC investment report¹⁰, within the UC Retirement Program fund and the General Endowment Program fund there exist direct investments in American companies materially and militarily supporting the Israeli government’s occupation of the Palestinian territories, including American companies General Electric and United Technologies; and

1. WHEREAS, General Electric holds engineering support and testing service contracts with the Israeli military and supplies the Israeli government with the propulsion system for its Apache Assault Helicopter fleet, which, as documented by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, has been used in attacks on Palestinian and Lebanese civilians, including the January 4, 2009 killings of Palestinian medical aide workers¹¹; and

1. WHEREAS, United Technologies supplies the Israeli government with Blackhawk helicopters and with F-15 and F-16 aircraft engines and holds an ongoing fleet management contract for these engines, and, Amnesty International has documented the Israeli government’s use of these aircraft in the bombing of the American School in Gaza, the killing of Palestinians civilians, and the destruction of hundreds of Palestinian homes;¹² therefore, be it

* RESOLVED, that the ASUC will ensure that its assets, and will advocate that  the UC assets, do not include holdings in General Electric and United Technologies because of their military support of the occupation of the Palestinian territories; be it further 

* RESOLVED, that the ASUC will further examine its assets and UC assets for funds being invested in companies that a) provide military support for or weaponry to support the occupation of the Palestinian territories or b) facilitate the building or maintenance of the illegal wall or the demolition of Palestinian homes, or c) facilitate the building, maintenance, or economic development of illegal Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian territories; be it further

* RESOLVED, that if it is found that ASUC and/or the UC funds are being invested in any of the abovementioned ways, the ASUC will divest, and will advocate that  the UC divests, all stocks, securities, or other obligations from such sources with the goal of maintaining the divestment, in the case of said companies, until they cease such practices. Moreover, the ASUC will not make further investments, and will advocate that  the UC not make futher investments, in any companies materially supporting or profiting from Israel’s occupation in the abovementioned ways; be it further 

* RESOLVED, that this ASUC resolution not be interpreted as the taking of sides in the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, but instead as a principled expression of support for universal human rights and equality; be it further 

* RESOLVED, that the ASUC Senate engage in education campaigns to publicize the divestment efforts and violation of international human rights law, and that furthermore, a committee of 5 members, 2 senators selected by the senate body as a whole, 2 members of or students selected by the UC Berkeley Divestment Task Force, and the ASUC President or a representative from his/her office, form at the end of this semester to monitor and promote university progress in regards to the above mentioned ethical divestment goals; and,*

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that this Committee will recommend additional divestment policies to keep university investments out of companies aiding war crimes throughout the world, such as those taking place in Morocco, the Congo, and other places as determined by the resolutions of the United Nations and other leading international human rights organizations

I just thought I would let you all know what I’m doing right now:

7-8pm:

I’ve been in the Residence Hall Assembly meeting, I’m their liaison, I get to present to them what is going on in the ASUC.  It’s really exciting to hear the programs that are coming out of RHA, such as Boat Dance (this brings back memories), Dance & Casino Night (1st year memories), the Green Room Certification Program & the Durant Food Court sign competition- great programs.

During this meeting it has been announced that Nicole Durbin will be next year’s RHA president- congratulations to Nicole!

Now I’m just looking over the finance bills that the finance committee will have to decide on tonight- looks like it’ll be a long night.

I’m also, in the back of my mind, thinking about the presentation that I’ll be making with other senators in regards to the RFP process to the Store Operations Board.  I’m also skimming through the emails that currently fill my gmail account…

It’s now 8pm- and I can’t attend  “A Night of Comedy feat. Greg Walloch”  for Disability Awareness Week because I have ficomm and I’m hungry.

8:05pm: RHA has motioned to take a break- it seems that the Advocacy committee is caucusing…

Time for me to leave & get some food.

Take care

-Franco

Dear campus community,

I begin this entry with the simple premise that without transparency there cannot be accountability.

Every year, we democratically elect senators and executives who run on platforms that have the potential to affect the student body in a positive manner.  When we put these officials into office there are two things that we need to take into account:

· What are the means within the ASUC to know what elected officials are doing?

· What are the means within the ASUC to keep these officials accountable to what they are doing?

The first question points out the issue of transparency- the right for the public to know what elected officials are doing, while the second question addresses the issue of allowing the public to question elected officials on what is known to the public.

Within the ASUC there are two means of communication to the public- there are elected official announcements, which allows any elected official to talk about their constituents’ or affiliated communities’ events. And then there are Executive Reports, which allow Executives to talk about their progress on their initiatives, meetings with administrators and other issues.

These two spaces are completely different- for Executive Reports, execs must report on their progress in regards to their initiatives & take questions from the public.  Executive reports allow for the dissemination of information, which creates transparency, & the questions that follow after allows us to hold them accountable.

It is problematic that this institutional space of transparency & accountability does not exist for Senators.  By not having such a space- it not only prohibits the student body from knowing what the senate is doing, but also from holding the senate accountable.

That is why I believe we must have senator reports.

Sincerely,

Senator Franco

P.S:

The Senate Committee on Constitutional & Procedural Review will be considering SB 61 tonight in the Senate Lounge @ 9pm:

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dg7zq884_246hfkzhtgz

DEAR CAL COMMUNITY,

ON WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17 RISING IMMIGRANT SCHOLARS THROUGH EDUCATION (RISE) AND I PRESENTED A POWER POINT PRESENTATION TO THE ASUC SENATE TITLED “AB540 UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS.” THE PURPOSE OF THE PRESENTATION WAS AS FOLLOWS. FIRST, TO PROVIDE ACCURATE INFORMATION ON UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS AND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AB540. SECOND, TO SEEK UNANIMOUS SUPPORT FROM THE SENATE TO PASS A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE D.R.E.A.M. ACT HR 1751/S.729. AFTER A GREAT PRESENTATION, INCREDIBLE MULTI-ETHNIC COMMUNITY SUPPORT, AND ANSWERING VARIOUS SENATORS QUESTIONS àWE SUCCESSFULLY PASSED THE RESOLUTION WITH UNANIMOUS SUPPORT!

I WANTED TO THANK THE COMMUNITIES, ESPECIALLY THE LATINO COMMUNITY, THAT CAME OUT TO SUPPORT THE PRESENTATION AND THE RESOLUTION ON WEDNESDAY. THANK YOU TO THE AB540 STUDENTS WHO BRAVELY MADE THEIR VOICES HEARD. I AM VERY PROUD OF EVERYONE! THANK YOU FOR KEEPING ME ACCOUNTABLE AND HELPING ME IN THE PURSUIT OF MY PLATFORM.

IMPORTANT FACTS…

WHO ARE UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS?

BORN OUTSIDE OF THE USA, MANY WHO HAVE LIVED WITHIN THE USA FOR SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THEIR LIFE, AND WHO RESIDE WITHOUT THE LEGAL PERMISSION OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

SOME ENTERED LEGALLY ON WORK OR TOURIST VISAS AND OVERSTAYED

OTHERS ENTERED WITHOUT ANY LEGAL IMMIGRATION STATUS

SOME STATISTICS…

US CENSUS ESTIMATES IN 2000, 2.5 MILLION UNDOCUMENTED YOUTH UNDER AGE OF 18 IN USA

EACH YEAR ABOUT 65,000 UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS GRADUATE FROM USA HIGH SCHOOLS

40% OF ALL UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS LIVE IN CA

MANY UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS HAVE EXCELLED AS HONOR STUDENTS, VALEDICTORIANS ETC.

ARE UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS ELIGIBLE FOR FEDERAL FINANCIAL AID?

NO! NOT ELIGIBLE FOR STATE OR FEDERAL FINANCIAL AID. IN EXAMPLE: STATE à CAL GRANT AND FEDERAL à FAFSA

ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR MANY SCHOLARSHIPS

WHAT IS AB540?

ASSEMBLY BILL 540 WAS SIGNED INTO LAW ON OCTOBER 12, 2001, AUTHORIZING ANY STUDENT WHO MEETS SPECIFIC CRITERIA TO PAY INSTATE TUITION AT CA PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES AND STATE COLLEGES à CC, CSU, UC

AUTHORED BY MARCO A. FIREBAUGH

TEXAS WAS THE FIRST STATE TO PASS SUCH LEGISLATION à 10 OTHER STATES WITH SIMILAR

AB540 ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT

MUST HAVE ATTENDED CA HIGH SCHOOL FOR 3 YEARS

MUST HAVE GRADUATED FROM CA HIGH SCHOOL OR ATTAINED ITS EQUIVALENT FROM

MUST HAVE REGISTERED OR CURRENTLY BE ENROLLED IN ACCREDITED INSTUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN CA

MUST HAVE FILLED OR WILL FILE AFFIDAVIT  AS REQUIRED BY INDIVIDUAL INSITUTITONS.

YOU MAY NOT BE A NON IMMIGRANT HOLDING A VALID LETTERED NON IMMIGRANT VISA. 

WHO USES AB540?

MAJORITY OF AB540 UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS ARE DOCUMENTED à IN 2006 716 WERE DOCUMENTED AND ONLY 380 WERE POTENTIALLY UNDOCUMENTED

MAJORITY OF AB540 STUDENTS WERE NOT LATINO à DIVERSITY OF ETHNIC GROUPS THAT BENEFIT

LARGE PERCENT ARE ALSO GRADUATE DOCUMENTED STUDENTS

A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE D.R.E.A.M. ACT HR 1751/S.729

AUTHORED BY CYNTHIA NAVA ZAVALA

SPONSORED BY SENATORS: CYNTHIA NAVA ZAVALA, LEAN DELEON, CHANEY SAEPHAN, ANISH GALA, ARIEL BOONE, CHRISTINA OATFIELD, CHRISTOPHER FRANCO, EMILY CARLTON, EUNICE KWON, HUDA ADEM, JONATHAN GAURANO, J.P. SHAMI, MINJI KIM, NHU NHU NGUYEN, NOAH STERN, PARTH BHATT, RAHUL PATEL, SAM LEE, SANDRA COHEN, VIOLA TANG

WHEREAS, APPROXIMATELY 65,000 UNDOCUMENTED CHILDREN WHO HAVE LIVED IN THE UNITED STATES FOR FIVE YEARS OR LONGER GRADUATE FROM HIGH SCHOOL EACH YEAR[1]; AND,

WHEREAS, THE SUPREME COURT RULED IN PLYER V. DOE (1982)[2] THAT BECAUSE THESE CHILDREN ARE “PERSONS” UNDER THE CONSTITUTION ARE THUS ENTITLED TO EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER THE LAW ACCORDING TO THE 14^TH AMENDMENT AND CANNOT BE DENIED ACCESS TO PUBLIC ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ON THE BASIS OF THEIR LEGAL STATUS; AND,

WHEREAS THE CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES, THE CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY AND THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SYSTEM WERE FOUNDED, AS STATED IN THE CALIFORNIA MASTER PLAN OF HIGHER EDUCATION, TO SERVE THE PUBLIC OF THE STATE; AND,

WHEREAS, UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS IN CALIFORNIA, AND THROUGHOUT THE NATION, HAVE DEMONSTRATED EXEMPLARY LEVELS OF ACHIEVEMENT, WHILE FACING THE HARSHEST FINANCIAL CONDITIONS; AND,

WHEREAS, ASSEMBLY BILL 540 (AB 540)[3], AUTHORED BY ASSEMBLYMAN MARCO FIREBAUGH, PROVIDED THE FIRST STEPS TO ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION FOR UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS BY QUALIFYING THEM FOR IN-STATE TUITION IF THEY ATTENDED A HIGH SCHOOL IN CALIFORNIA FOR AT LEAST THREE YEARS, GRADUATED FROM A CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOL, AND FILE AN AFFIDAVIT WITH THE INSTITUTION; AND,

WHEREAS, AB 540, SUPPORTED BY NUMEROUS ORGANIZATIONS, PRESENTED AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CALIFORNIA’S HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES TO CONTINUE THEIR EDUCATION IN THE STATE’S PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES AND PLACED CALIFORNIA AT THE FOREFRONT OF A NATIONWIDE MOVEMENT TO RECOGNIZE THE MERIT OF UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS; AND,

WHEREAS, THESE STUDENTS ARE INDISTINGUISHABLE FROM THEIR PEERS, AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE VIBRANT CAMPUS COMMUNITY BECAUSE OF THEIR PERSPECTIVE AND DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS; AND,

WHEREAS, UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS FREQUENTLY ARE LOWER-INCOME, FIRST GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS; AND,

WHEREAS, THE UNDOCUMENTED STUDENT CAUSE HAS BEEN THROUGH ESPECIALLY DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES DUE TO THE RECENT THREAT TO ASSEMBLY BILL 540 IN THE CASE OF MARTINEZ VS. UC REGENTS; AND,

WHEREAS, THE DEVELOPMENT, RELIEF AND EDUCATION FOR ALIEN MINORS ACT (HEREON REFERRED TO AS THE DREAM ACT) IS A BI-PARTISAN PIECE OF LEGISLATION THAT WOULD CREATE A PATH TO LEGAL STATUS FOR UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS WHO WERE BROUGHT TO THE U.S. BEFORE THE AGE OF 16, HAVE BEEN CONTINUOUSLY PRESENT IN THE COUNTRY FOR FIVE YEARS PRIOR TO THE BILL’S ENACTMENT, HAVE OBTAINED A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA OR ITS EQUIVALENT, AND DEMONSTRATE GOOD MORAL CHARACTER[4]; AND,

WHEREAS, OUR IMMIGRATION LAW CURRENTLY HAS NO MECHANISM TO CONSIDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS AND THE DREAM ACT WOULD BEGIN TO ELIMINATE THIS FLAW; AND,

WHEREAS, PASSAGE OF THE DREAM ACT WOULD PROVIDE: AN INCENTIVE FOR PURSUIT OF HIGHER EDUCATION, INCREASE SCHOOL REVENUES BY BRINING IN TUITION FROM STUDENTS WHO OTHERWISE WOULD NOT BE IN COLLEGE, FACILITATE THE MOVE OF UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS INTO BETTER PAYING JOBS FROM WHICH THE STATE WOULD REAP MORE TAXES BENEFITING THE U.S. ECONOMY[5]; AND,

WHEREAS, THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY HAS BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF ORGANIZING AND ADVOCATING FOR THESE STUDENTS THROUGH STUDENT ORGANIZATION SUCH AS RISING IMMIGRANT STUDENTS THROUGH EDUCATION (RISE) AND MULTICULTURAL IMMIGRANT STUDENT PROGRAM (MISP); AND;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT, THE ASSOCIATED STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA (ASUC) SUPPORTS THE UNDOCUMENTED STUDENT MOVEMENT AND STANDS BEHIND LEGISLATION SUCH AS ASSEMBLY BILL 540, THE FEDERAL DREAM ACT AND SIMILAR LEGISLATION AND PROGRAMS THAT WOULD INCREASE ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION AND PROMOTE A PATHWAY TO STATUS ADJUSTMENT FOR UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS; AND, 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, THE ASUC ENDORSES AND SUPPORTS THE EFFORTS OF STUDENTS ON CAMPUS WHO ORGANIZE IN GOOD FAITH TO ADVOCATE FOR THE IMMEDIATE PASSAGE OF THE DREAM ACT AND THE PROPOSAL BEING PRESENTED BY THE CHANCELLOR OF UCLA AND THE STUDENT REGENT TO THE UC BOARD OF REGENTS AT THEIR NEXT MEETING MARCH 23-25, WHICH WOULD SECURE THE RIGHT OF AB540 STUDENTS TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR INSTITUTIONAL FINANCIAL AID; AND,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT ASUC PRESIDENT WILL SMELKO WRITES LETTERS TO CHANCELLOR ROBERT J. BIRGENEAU STRONGLY REQUESTING THAT IN AN OPEN LETTER TO THE CAMPUS HE DECLARES HIS SUPPORT FOR THE DREAM ACT, THE UPCOMING PROPOSAL BY UCLA CHANCELLOR BLOCK AND STUDENT REGENT JESSE BERNAL TO THE UC REGENTS TO SECURE AB540 STUDENTS ELIGIBILITY FOR INSTITUTIONAL FINANCIAL AID, AND DECLARES THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY CAMPUS AND ITS SURROUNDING COMMUNITY, A SAFE SPACE FOR UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS, WHO HOPE TO COMPLETE THEIR EDUCATIONAL GOALS, MAINTAIN THEIR GOOD MORAL STANDING AND CONTRIBUTE TO THIS SOCIETY; AND,   

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED THAT ASUC PRESIDENT WILL SMELKO WRITES A LETTER TO GOVERNOR ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER STATING THAT THE ASSOCIATED STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY SUPPORT PASSAGE OF THE DREAM ACT AND STRONGLY REQUEST THAT HE NO LONGER CONTINUES TO VETO STATE VERSIONS OF THE DREAM ACT (SB 160 IN 2006, SB 1 IN 2007, SB 1301 IN 2008) AND THAT HE SIGNS THE CALIFORNIA DREAM ACT, SB 160 2009, INTO LAW.

[1] Gonzalez, Roberto G. “Wasted Talent and Broken Dreams: The Lost Potential of Undocumented Students.” Immigration Policy in Focus 5.13 (2007) 1-11. Print

[2] Gonzales, Roberto G.

[3] Huber, Lindsay Perez, Maria C. Malagon and Daniel G. Solorzano. “Struggling for Opportunity Undocumented AB540 Students in the Latina/o Education Pipeline.” CSRC Research Report 13 (2009) 1-11. Print 

[4] Gonzales, Roberto

[5] Gonzales, Roberto

A decades-long financial wilting of the UC and CSU systems may come to an end with a proposed constitutional amendment that would guarantee at least 10 percent of the state budget to the two university systems.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed the measure in his Wednesday State of the State address to a joint meeting of the California legislature. He added that he would protect higher education for next year in his proposed state budget slated to be announced Friday.

Deep cuts to the state corrections system would fund the measure, which would limit spending to 7 percent of the state budget in contrast to the 11 percent currently directed to corrections. Partial privatization of the state prison system would also be included in the effort to slash costs.

“Because our future economic well-being is so dependent upon education, I will protect education funding in this budget,” Schwarzenegger said in the address. “I will submit to you a constitutional amendment so that never again do we spend a greater percentage of our money on prisons than on higher education.”

The proposal comes after the state cut nearly $813 million from the UC budget last year prompting the university to adopt faculty furloughs and a 32 percent fee increase.

“This is a bold and visionary plan that represents a fundamental restoration of the values and priorities that have made California great,” UC President Mark Yudof, who went before a joint committee of the legislature last month to ask for renewed funding for public higher education, said in a statement.

The proposed amendment needs a two-thirds majority vote from both houses of the legislature and the majority approval of voters in order to take effect. According to Rachel Arrezola, a spokesperson for Schwarzenegger, the intent is to have the amendment passed by the legislature in time to be placed before voters in the November 2010 election.

Though the guaranteed funding would not go into effect until the 2011-12 fiscal year, UC spokesperson Steve Montiel said the move represented an important step forward in the relationship between the university and the public at large.

“There are definitely still short-term funding concerns, but what we see as important about the proposal is not so much the number and percentages but the opportunity for Californians to rethink their investment in the university,” Montiel said.

But getting the proposal past the legislature and onto the ballot will be a tricky process, according to Ken Miller, an associate professor of government at Claremont McKenna College in Southern California. While traditionally Democrats are more willing than Republicans to cut funding from prisons and pay for higher education, they also tend to oppose the privatization of social services that Schwarzenegger proposes, he said.

“In general Republicans like privatization … so if you can shift money from state toward privates then they would support that,” Miller said. “That is the sweetener for Republicans.”

With the proposal straddling traditional party fault lines,”You are going to get an interesting mix of supporters and opponents I would guess,” he said.

Despite the two thirds majority required to pass and the unique character of the proposal, the governor’s office says it can muster the support. “This is one of the governor’s key priorities,” Arrezola said. “We are confident we are going to get it passed.”

Wonder what a 32% fee increase will mean to international students? Does one more international student mean one less Californian student? What are some of the difficulties and challenges international students face?

The International Students Association at Berkeley is hosting an International Student Teach-In on the Budget Cuts! The event will highlight the effects of the budget cuts on international students, raise awareness on the difficulties and challenges international students face due to university policy, and look towards some viable alternatives or solutions for students and the administration to consider for the future.

Please help us forward the publicize the event! Invite your friends to the Facebook event at http://www.littleurl.net/a648e1

Time: 6pm - 8.30pm Monday November 16th

Venue: Multicultural Center, MLK Student Union

Speaker Panel:

• Professor Darren Zook, Political Science
• Professor Bob Jacobsen, Physics (Physics for Future Presidents)
• Ariel Boone, ASUC Senator
• Viola Tang, Undergraduate International Student & ASUC Senator
• Farren Briggs, Graduate International Student & Graduate Assembly International Student Affairs Committee Chair
• Magrethe Nergaard, Concurrent Enrollment & Exchange Student

Well, there is a new tool available to help you answer to all these questions (and so many more). It’s called CourseRank, and although it may not be able to read your mind and plan the perfect schedule for you (that website is still in development…), it will definitely help you compare classes and decide which ones might fit in best with your preferred course load and major.

So what is CourseRank?

It’s ‘The Ultimate Course Guide’. You can search for courses by keywords, terms, units, ratings, and time commitments in order to find classes that will fit in with your schedule, filtering out those you don’t want. Once you find a course you’re interested in, there is a description of what it entails along with ratings and reviews to help you make your choice. All kinds of other information like book lists, individual teacher reviews, and bar graphs of the grades people have received in the class in the past are also available. Plus, if you want even more information, you can submit a question for other CourseRank users to answer for you. This is a fully comprehensive site that has pretty much everything I can think of to help a student decide if they want to take a class or not.

Plus, CourseRank has a weekly schedule and a long term planner to help you map out not only this semester’s basic schedule, but also a plan for your future here at Cal.

So why join?

Well, other than the personal benefit of being able to use this incredible tool for FREE (most similar websites require payment), we really need more people to start using CourseRank. It’s still in its beginning phases, and we need students to review courses they’ve already taken and help build up the site. It’s constantly growing, and if Cal can get a majority of students to both use and contribute to CourseRank, it can become an extremely helpful tool in planning schedules here at UC Berkeley.

So get involved! It’s as easy as logging in and ranking a few courses, maybe writing a few quick reviews. It doesn’t take long, and it can be a great way to vent about the philosophy professor you couldn’t stand last year or to share how much fun you had in Physics for Future Presidents. This can be a fantastic resource for students here at Cal, and all we have to do to use it is to contribute to its database! J

So go to www.berkeley.courserank.com and enjoy! J

-BearBlogger

• The program must be on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night.
• The program must be between January 22, 2010 to April 30, 2010.
• The program must on campus, alcohol-free, and between 9 pm to 1 am.

If your program meets these guidelines, apply to get some funding from a pool of $18,000 from Campus, Life, and Leadership. You can get the application at this link: http://student.berkeley.edu/osl/studentorganizations.asp?id=2574. Once completed, email your group’s submission to ghesp@berkeley.edu for review. Applications are accepted on a rolling deadline.

–

Depressing, I know. I’ve been trying to find the best time saving solution to submit ASUC Senate Bills during my study intermissions for midterm season #2. To shorten this time I would send in blank bills.

QUESTION: Jonathan, what do you mean by blank bills?

A: Ah, good question. For reference, an example of an ASUC Senate Bill can be viewed here: ==>CLICK<==
The process works, in which once a bill is submitted it takes one full week before it is considered; therefore, any type of resolution or fund request to be processed takes a minimum of two weeks.

With this information, I would try to find a shortcut and send in a bill that is completly blank - and only have a title example: SB 46  ===>CLICK<=== (Scroll all the way down to see the final text of the bill)

*Note* It seems bill SB 40 - SB 94 whilst writing this blog - haven’t been updated with final text.

Then, during the week (after completing my midterms) I would begin to write the bill. Before or during the meeting I would make the appropriate Amendments to the bill - and walla - it would be complete. Hence, hopefully in about a week from this post SB46 will show my Amendments. The final text would show the entire bill and all its glory; bam! Pretty good idea and plan - Right?

 No. It shows a lack of professionalism on my part - though it saved me time - it can be perceived as a HALF - ASS move on my part. I’ve learned. It won’t happen again.

 QUESTION: How are you coping? 

A. Well, as my four year old brother once said to me, “A wise man learns from his mistake, but a wiser man learns from the mistakes of others…” I know now, he won’t make the same mistake because he is a wiser man.

But California’s budget crisis has damaged those pipelines and exacerbated long-known problems with the transfer process, such as a poor statewide transfer rate and a confusing set of requirements. A landmark came in June when Cal State announced that it would reduce its total enrollment by 40,000 students, or 9 percent, forcing nearly all 23 of its campuses to essentially close admissions during the spring, when transfer students typically arrive.

The transfer problems in Silicon Valley are a microcosm of the pressure California’s budget crisis is putting on students: Public colleges in the state plan to cut an estimated 300,000 students from their classrooms during the next year and a half.

Some 40,000 students will be unable to attend the California State University system in the next year and a half because of enrollment cutbacks. The following seven Cal State campuses are each predicting a 10.8-percent enrollment decline, the highest among the system’s 23 institutions.

Compañera/os:

In the now infamous New York Times Magazine interview (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/magazine/27fob-q4-t.html), UC President Yudof states, “being president of the University of California is like being manager of a cemetery: there are many people under you, but no one is listening.”

Begging the obvious implications to his leadership as manager of a cemetery, I call on all of us to seize the opportunity of Día de los Muertos and dress as calaveras!!

Dress as calaveras on November 2 and seize the opportunity to educate everyone you encounter on that day about the real issues and challenges facing the UC.

Who is listening to whom??  Do not let this budget crisis allow our so-called leaders to roll back 30 years of progress — in curricular innovations and student support, in hiring outstanding faculty and staff of color at all levels, in brilliant cutting-edge research, and in providing access to excellent higher education for all of California’s peoples.  Get informed and stay involved…it’s going to be a long struggle.

If you have any questions/want to get involved with UC Berkeley efforts against the cuts PLEASE CONTACT ME at cnava@asuc.org

*Call for applications: *
*25th Anniversary Empowering Women of Color Conference*
* Planning Committee*

We are looking for *graduate/undergraduate/staff/community* members who are
committed to women of color issues. Please be advised that the time
commitment requires attendance at a two-hour bi-weekly meeting during 2009.
In 2010, the two-hour meeting will be held weekly. All meetings will be
catered and are an excellent way to network and meet like-minded people.

The conference will be held March 13 & 14, 2010 here at University of
California, Berkeley.

We are looking for members to fill these capacities:

• Public Relations: Work with current Public Relations to develop press release, PSA, media packets, and communicate/outreach to local media.

• Publicity/ Outreach: Looking for 1-2 coordinators to do outreach on college/high school campuses, and the larger bay area and national community to achieve our theme of intergenerational representation. This is a Fall and Mid Spring Commitment.

• Performance Coordinator: Looking for 1-2 coordinators to work with current performance chair to assist with booking possible performers and logistics of performance. Specifically, we are currently looking for someone who is familiar with organization and/or performers of different generations.

•  Logistic Coordinator: Looking for two coordinators to help with day of logistics. Will become familiar with the conference and committee operations.

• Community Resources: Will work with community outreach/PR on obtaining resources for women of color communities and locating organizations that work with women of color.

• Workshop:  Looking for one coordinator to assist in finding workshop for both conference days. Specifically, assistance is needing in finding workshops for youth (middle school to college students). We will be searching for ten workshop for Saturday and eight for Sunday.

• Vendors: Work on recruitment of businesses for profit. Work with EWOCC chair to develop guidelines for businesses.

Applications are due November 20th by 9:00PM. We hope that you consider supporting and contributing to the 2010 Empowering of Women of Color Conference. If there are any questions, please feel free to contact woci@ga.berkeley.edu.

“As students, you pay tuition in order to get an education at UC, and you know that the Regents plan to raise your tuition even higher. You may think that the tuition you pay is primarily or exclusively used for instruction, but this is not its …only use. UC recently sold more than $1.6B in highly rated bonds one month after declaring an “extreme financial emergency.” Why is its bond rating excellent, even after UC says that without cutting employee pay it will have difficulty paying its bills? The single most important reason that UC has an excellent bond rating, much better than the state’s, is that it can now raise your tuition at will. “

Essentially, the University issues bonds that are backed by OUR tuition to fund capital projects (construction, renovation, expansion, etc). This way, the bonds have high ratings, as they can ALWAYS be paid back by raising our tuition.

The article also includes much more insight regarding the issue of privatization in OUR University.

Get educated. Get empowered.

http://www.cucfa.org/news/2009_oct11.php

Haha. This picture, where it’s placed…aww man, cracks me up - anyways:

The Daily Cal & ASUC spectators have been focusing their attention on the issue in regard to the Finance Officer. I think, the most important issue of the night was this man you see above.

See this man. His name is George Breslauer. Why is he important? Because he is the “is Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost of the University of California, Berkeley.”  You can view an article about him => here <= 

With that said, I would like to state this man was talking about the future of UC’s and how to uphold its excellence:

•  Increase Out of State (OS) and International Students (IS) by 20% acceptance rate.
• Pell Grants, another function students (especially OS and IS) should vie, when it comes to financial aid
• The Chancellor is fighting “with great effort” to obtain money for this university
•  Poses the question, why are Correction Facilities better funded than Public Education?
• Who is to blame?
• Hiring Bain & Company to consult fix the leaks of their budget
• Bain & Company considers that UC Berkeley is spending 125 million dollars ineffectively
• Chancellor has last say when it comes to the decision makings regarding budget issues

There is more; however, for now these are the bullet points, which strike a chord in my mind. Like I said I recorded his speech and will do my best to upload it on this website. In addition, I will post the minutes on here as well. Don’t worry you - I’ll make it an attachment so it doesn’t hurt your eyes

One Luv,
- Senator Jonathan Gaurano

P.S. I really do hope we find some conclusion who we, the Senate, fill is a good candidate to be the Finance Officer. Business is closed at this hurts the communities we represent. I feel the pain as it is October - National Disability Employment Awareness Month - Ouch.