Calstuff
Don't mess this up!
-Kevin Deenihan,
Emeritus


Home
Archive
Extended

Help CalStuff!

Disclaimer: Calstuff and/or the opinions expressed are not affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley.
Recent Guest Posts
Tenants' Rights Week
by Jason Overman
Search

Powered by:
Contact
Email Calstuff
FaceBook CalStuff!
Allen L.
 About
 E-mail
 IM
Andy R.
 About
 E-mail
 IM
Ben N.
 About
 E-mail
 IM
Cooper N.

 About
 E-mail
 IM
Syndication
Site Feed (ATOM)
Comments Feed
Add to LJ Friends

Subscribe in NewsGator Online
Subscribe with Bloglines
Berkeley Blogs
CalJunket
With humor.
Cal Patriot Blog
Conservative Blog
UC Berkeley Livejournal
Discussion Forum
California Patriot Watch
Self Explanatory
Brad DeLong
Econ Prof
The Bird House
Cal Prof on everything
Cal Politik
Rants & Raves
Beetle Beat
Full Time Whiner
"Frat" Life
Cal "Frat" Boy
Cal Tzedek
Jewish Students Blog
Personal as Public
Soft Boiled Life
Hilariously Un-PC.
Cal Alumni/ Squelch Blogs
Kedstuff
Remember him?
I Fought the Law
Optimus Primed
Zembla
With Cuteness
Ne Quid Nimis
With Photography
Tuesday, October 07, 2003
# posted by Kevin @ 5:29 PM

Here's the full text of the op-ed that ran a week or so ago regarding the ASUC/GA's position. The Daily Cal cut it considerably. Too bad, when the full explication of the GA/ASUC's position is so important in judging what to do next.
Free Speech Movement: Forty Years Later

By ASUC President Kris Cuaresma-Primm, Graduate Assembly Academic Affairs
Vice President Temina Madon, Catherine Ahn, Law Student Delegate

Whether you support or oppose Proposition 54, the Graduate Assembly’s recent censure by the UC Berkeley administration for funding a “No on Prop 54” student group should concern you.

The GA’s allocation of funds for lobbying activities is entirely legal.

But questioning that allocation undermines students’ rights to exercise authority over their own fees. Graduate students, undergrads, and faculty across campus should be worried that individuals are challenging student rights guaranteed by the US Supreme Court.

Yesterday, the UC Berkeley administration requested that the UC Office of the President’s General Counsel investigate alleged Graduate Assembly violations of UC policy governing student group funding.

We argue that our government’s allocation abides by the “University of California Guidelines for Funding Registered Campus Organizations and Related Programmatic Activities by Compulsory Student Fees.

Policies noted by representatives of the Daily Cal, namely the UC Policy on Student Governments (80.00), are obsolete because they have been superseded by court cases, including a Supreme Court case, affirming the right of student governments to fund politically partisan activities.

Outdated campus policies have not been amended to recognize the provisions of the Southworth v. University of Wisconsin Supreme Court case of 2000. This case, along with more recent guidelines published by UCOP, undeniably protect the right of student governments to take positions on issues and, more importantly, to devote funds to promoting those positions. Indeed, the UCOP guidelines reflecting the Smith v. Regents and Rosenberger v. Rector decisions state that, “official student lobbying activities on student-related matters may be funded by compulsory student fees available to such student governments.

Furthermore, these same guidelines provide for the funding of organizations considered to be political, religious, or ideological in nature. Examples of these organizations include any group that “supports or sponsors ballot initiatives, candidates seeking election, or other political purposes.” The guidelines further state that students who object to the positions represented by these groups “are entitled to a pro rata refund.”

University policy could not read any more clearly.

The decision by the delegates to the Graduate Assembly to fund Proposition 54 activities was the product of a transparent and democratic process, not of the particular views of its executives (who do not vote on allocation of funds). By challenging the allocation of funds by the Graduate Assembly, our democratic process is undermined.

We urge the student body to carefully evaluate this issue. Failing to engage in thoughtful examination of the facts could result in a substantial weakening not only of our student governments, but also of student governments nationwide.

The power that we currently hold has been gained through decades of steadfast work by scores of student leaders. That power is too precious not to protect.
Email This Post!

Home
Advertisements
Advertising Policy

Place an Ad on Calstuff



Get Firefox!

Cal Magazines
Heuristic Squelch
Humor Mag
California Patriot
Conservative
Hardboiled
Lefty/Asian mag.
Bezerk
Comics Mag
In Passing
Bloggish
Cal Newsites
Daily Californian
Student Newspaper
Daily Planet
City Newspaper
Berkeleyan
Faculty/Staff news
Newscenter
Administrative Announcements
Indybay
Hard Left News
East Bay Express
Alt-weekly
Cal Other
UC Rally Committee
Stand nineteen feet tall! Be united! Be tough! Be proud!
CyberBears
GO BEARS!
ASUC
Cal's Student government
One
Cal's Student Portal
Berkeley Bookswap
Good Deals

Weblog Commenting and Trackback by HaloScan.com