UC Berkeley

| | | | |

Don’t Look for Holiday Cheer from the Washington Post

Byuclafaculty

The Washington Post has looked west of late: UC-Berkeley and other ‘public Ivies’ in fiscal peril Daniel de Vise, Dec. 26, 2011, Washington Post Across the nation, a historic collapse in state funding for higher education threatens to diminish the stature of premier public universities and erode their mission as engines of upward social mobility.  At the University of Virginia, state support has dwindled in two decades from 26 percent of the operating budget to 7 percent. At the University of Michigan, it has declined from 48 percent to 17 percent.  Not even the nation’s finest public university is immune….

|

UC-Berkeley Announces New Tuition/Financial Aid Plan

Byuclafaculty

Below is the press release and a related video. Note that the aid is said to be financed by non-state sources including recycling revenue from out-of-state students. UC Berkeley launches groundbreaking middle-class financial aid plan By Public Affairs, UC Berkeley | December 14, 2011 University of California, Berkeley, Chancellor Robert Birgeneau announced today (Wednesday, Dec. 14) a new financial aid program to help middle-class families pay for the growing cost of an undergraduate degree. For families whose gross income ranges from $80,000 to $140,000 annually, the new plan caps the contribution parents make toward the total annual cost of a…

| |

Update: Brown on Pepper

Byuclafaculty

Jerry Brown says he’s ‘seriously concerned’ about protest response (excerpt) Capital Alert blog of Sacramento Bee 11-28-11 …”I am seriously concerned that the rules governing the use of force, in particular the use of pepper spray, are not well understood in the context of civil disobedience and various forms of public protest,” Brown wrote to Paul Cappitelli, director of the state Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. “The recent ‘occupation’ protests in cities throughout California and on campuses of the University of California underscore the urgency of articulating guidelines that are crystal clear and comport with constitutional requirements.” Brown,…

UC-Berkeley Police Statement

Byuclafaculty

The union representing UC-Berkeley police released a statement to the news media this morning, apparently timed for the rescheduled Regents meeting. It appeared in Political Blotter (link below). It is our hope that this letter will help open the door to a better understanding between UC Berkeley police and the University community. The UC Berkeley Police Officers’ Association, representing approximately 64 campus police officers, understands your frustration over massive tuition hikes and budget cuts, and we fully support your right to peacefully protest to bring about change. It was not our decision to engage campus protesters on November 9th. We…

| |

Yudof on Berkeley and Davis Incidents

Byuclafaculty

Note: See prior blog entries on the “Occupy” incidents at Davis and Berkeley. Links at bottom of this posting. President Yudof responds to campus protest issues Contact: UC Office of the PresidentPhone: (510) 987-9157 University of California President Mark G. Yudof today (Nov. 20) announced the actions he is taking in response to recent campus protest issues: I am appalled by images of University of California students being doused with pepper spray and jabbed with police batons on our campuses. I intend to do everything in my power as president of this university to protect the rights of our students,…

|

Yudof Issues Statement on Events at UC-Berkeley

Byuclafaculty

Statement on student protests (11-16-11) I am proud of UC students who are speaking out with passion and conviction in support of public higher education across the state. I was moved last night by the sight of thousands of students who peacefully demonstrated in UC Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza, and by those who traveled to Sacramento to protest state disinvestment in our colleges and universities. Free speech is in the DNA of the University of California, and public protest is an important part of our history. Free speech is often contentious, as is democracy. I want all of our students to…

| |

Campus Demonstrations: Recent & Back in the Day

Byuclafaculty

Videos from the Occupy demonstrations yesterday at UC-Berkeley are available at: http://www.dailycal.org/2011/11/16/video-series-november-15-occupy-cal-strike/ Of particular interest is the talk given by Robert Reich, shown above. Click on the link above (not the image above) to see the Berkeley videos. See also http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2011/11/16/MN7V1LVH5N.DTL Old timers will remember some of the scenes below: UC-Berkeley UCLA UC-Santa Barbara

| |

Back to the Future at UC-Berkeley and UCLA?

Byuclafaculty

From the Daily Californian: On Monday, the UC Berkeley administration sent an email to students stating that setting up any encampments on campus property would not be tolerated. But when Occupy Cal protesters voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to pitch tents on the lawns outside of Sproul Hall despite the warning, clashes with police ensued — the exact result campus officials had said they hoped to avoid… Full article at http://www.dailycal.org/2011/11/10/occupy-cal-moves-ahead-despite-uc-berkeley-administrations-warnings/ From the Daily Bruin: Eleven people were arrested and protesters shut down Wilshire Boulevard for two and a half hours Wednesday afternoon in the loudest pushback against tuition hikes and state…

|

UC-Berkeley Bake Sale Controversy

Byuclafaculty

Racially heated posting sparks UC Berkeley outrage Nanette Asimov, San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 24, 2011 A Facebook post announcing plans by a UC Berkeley Republican group to sell baked goods priced according to race, gender and ethnicity – “White/Caucasian” pastries for $2 and “Black/African American” pastries for 75 cents, for example – has drawn outrage on campus…The campus Republicans, who expect to go forward with their “Increase Diversity Bake Sale” on Tuesday, say the event is meant to mock an effort by the student government to drum up support for SB185, a bill to let the University of California and…

|

Police Arrests at UC-Berkeley Anti-Tuition Demonstration

Byuclafaculty

When Tolman Hall at UC-Berkeley was dedicated in 1963 (see picture at right), things were quite peaceful. Not so yesterday when a student anti-tuition demonstration got out of hand: From the Daily Californian (UC-Berkeley student newspaper) today: Tensions between police officers and demonstrators fluctuated throughout the course of a campus protest Thursday, culminating in a violent scuffle when one man was carried from Tolman Hall by his arms and legs. At about 9 p.m., after over seven hours of protest inside the building, protesters were chanting in the lobby of Tolman and police officers began to move towards the doors…