This bit in the Daily Bruin about our own CRENOGate contains this very interesting tidbit:

Student leaders from UCLA have been trying to make things happen by advocating against the measure using resources from Berkeley, Kaczmarek said. All the flyers and buttons on the UCLA campus were obtained from the Berkeley campus.

This probably refers to Berkeley being used as a central depot for materials from the central anti-54 campaign HQ... But it could also mean that Berkeley spending was sent onward to UCLA. Wouldn't that be something?Email This Post!

CRENOGate keeps rolling on. The Daily Cal has done a fairly neat job of summarizing the relevant legal questions. They bring up another very relevant one-- that ASUC offices were listed as the contact information for the no-on-54 campaign. That's very basically illegal. If you even have buttons in your ASUC office during a political campaign you can get your whole party disqualified.

ASUC offices are listed as campaign headquarters on the Web site, Stop54.org. As university resources, this could constitute a misuse of university property, punishable by criminal sanctions.

The article does gloss over two important big legal controversies, as Beetle points out. The APPLE Party will be circulating a sort of class action petition to get refunds, starting today. The process for receiving a refund is unclear.

Meanwhile, Senator Vakil sends a list of questions. Some are just meant to embarass, but many others need quick answers to rectify a legal situation... especially the second one.

1.What preliminary measures have you taken to ensure that the spending of this money is legal (consulting a lawyer, looking at by-laws, etc)?
2. Have you sought legal counsel?
3. Where exactly did this money come from (the exact title of the fund, and the office)?
4. Through what exact process was this money allocated, and which officials were involved the decision making process for this allocation?
5. As a precautionary measure, do you believe the ASUC should freeze funds on the accounts in question?
6. How much of this money already been spent?
7. Who specifically spent the money? Was it an individual looking for reimbursement or was it an ASUC or GA office that is directly billed?
8. Where are the receipts, and have any of these receipts been officially filed? If not, why not?
9. If spent already, was the spending of this money registered with the state?
10. What is the process in effect for a student to ask for a refund of their mandatory student fee?
11. Does the staff of the Graduate Assembly know about this procedure?
12. Do you consider the office of External Affairs an ASUC resource?
13. Is the phone number listed on the “No on Prop 54” flyers considered a resource of the University? Of the ASUC?
14. Is the ASUC’s independence in danger?
15. Is the ASUC’s funding from the University in danger?
16. Is it fair to marginalize supporters of Proposition 54 by spending ASUC resources and funds against it?
17. According to the law, the University, and the ASUC does a difference between student group (campus organization) and student government exist?
18. To President Primm: is it your job to ensure the health of the organization?
19. If so, what corrective actions should be taken?
20. What advice can you give to the senate?
21. To Vice President Joshi: Have you had any contacts with UC officials regarding the mandatory student fee policy?
If so, when were the contacts made, who were these individuals, and did they tell you anything that would pertain to this situation?
22. Are you aware of the difference between lobbying and campaigning?
23. What actions are being taken by the current leadership to remedy the situation?

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BEARS BEAT USC 34-31!


[more photos]

In a major upset, the California Golden Bears defeated the 3rd ranked USC Trojans in triple overtime to the tune of 34-31, after which Cal fans stormed the field. The last time the Bears defeated a top-5 team was when Cal defeated USC in 1975.

Check out the Calbears recap and ESPN recap, as well as an ESPN column on how the Bears outsmarted USC.

The next matchup for the Golden Bears (3-3, 1-0 Pac-10) will be when they host the Oregon State Beavers (4-1, 1-0 Pac-10) on Saturday, October 4th. Kickoff is at 2:00 PM PST.Email This Post!

54-Gate is still growing.

The ASUC/GA Execs are pinning their hopes on a reading of the Wisconsin decision in the Supreme Court. Here's their interpretation:

Policies noted by representatives of the Daily Cal 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.

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.

It's a pretty tenuous reading. Here's the Clam's deconstruction on it.

What makes it worse for them is that while Southworth says that a University is not barred from spending student fees on political activity, it is not REQUIRED to, either.

As well as this Boalt Professor's comment, which I think sums it up.

But Boalt Hall School of Law Professor Jesse Choper said the Southworth case doesn’t apply in this scenario. “Southworth is a narrow opinion that tries to decide as few things as possible,” he said. “Southworth said a university may [permit compulsory fees to be used for lobbying]. Nothing in Southworth supports the view that the university must [do that]. This is a case in which the university of California says it won’t let funds be used for any political purposes.”

This isn't to say that the GA doesn't have ANY case. But it's very tenuous, and the University would only need to win on one of the three objections noted here. The GA would have to win on all three! And this is besides the reporting requirements that don't appear to have been followed.. notice that the op-ed letter says nothing about them.

So what's the potential outcomes? I see two at this junction. Note that the ASUC Administrators are refusing to reimburse expenditures on Prop 54 things. This is good! It might keep the ASUC from being legally liable.

Unfortunately, it leaves the CalSERVE Execs with a wad of spending they need to be reimbursed for. Assuming they can't convince the ASUC to reimburse them, they really have two options. Well, three.

The first is to swallow their pride, take the losses, and let this all drift away. This is the preferable option for students. No one really pays but the Execs who got us into this mess. There's a possibility the UC Admins will still press for changes, but unlikely.

The second, and very awful option, is that the GA/ASUC Execs decide to sue to force the reimbursements, based on their reading of the Wisconsin decision. This is a very bad option. First, it entangles the ASUC in an expensive legal proceeding that they are very unlikely to win. Kiss more ASUC money goodbye. Second, it will push the Administrators even farther towards curtailing the independence of the ASUC, which they're already being pushed to do. Third... well, the first two should be enough.

The final option is to play tricky buggers with expenditures. Claiming the money wasn't spent from student fees may be a legal loophole. They could also try and hide the expenditures in other requests. The second one would be illegal, but it's been done before by other Execs. The first one is more plausible, but it's a little late to claim.

In sum, we're pretty hosed. Hopefully some of the Execs will come to their senses and back out, instead of pushing forward through sheer stubbornness. Ha! Back out for the first time in CalSERVE history? Back out when they've already turned their debacle into a crusade in their own minds? All of a sudden the morass they've created has become a last stand for student governments NATIONWIDE?

'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.

Oh no, we're only going in deeper, my friends.
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Word on the street is that GA President Quindel and ASUC President Primm will be our student representatives on the Committee to select the new Chancellor.

Hard to argue with the selection of President Primm. He got more votes then anyone prior... but President Quindel was only very tenuously elected. She said herself less then 500 people voted in the last GA election.. and she's appointed by a vote of the delegates. Sounds like a recipe for institutional capture by an ideological elite!

In any case, two student reps is hardly enough to give any prospective Chancellor a feel for this campus. Form a broader advisory committee of students, selected from campus leaders in numerous student groups. Not only will it make students feel wanted, it's easily ignored by the real Committee should they decide to be devious. Can't lose!Email This Post!

Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl will step down from his position as head of the Berkeley campus in June 2004. Search for new chancellor expected to take 6 months.Email This Post!

Looks like Mr. Miller might file a complaint with the Fair Elections Practices Commission vis a vis the GA spending. This wouldn't be the stuff talked about below, tho.

But here's the thing: has that $35K been spent? Doesn't look like it! All money has to go through the fourth floor.. which will refuse to authorize any spending that is illegal. There's no confirmation that this has ever happened. The money is earmarked, but apparently not spent, and the propaganda around campus has apparently come from State no-on-54 funds. It's a whole 'nother can of worms!Email This Post!

***BREAKING***

Word on the street is that a Law Student at UCLA has filed a suit against the ASUC, as well as criminal charges against GA President Quindel. No word yet on the charges or who's making them.

BTW: 'Word on the Street' means that this is an interesting but unconfirmed rumor. But it's being investigated and will be confirmed or denied as soon as possible.

...More as it comes in...Email This Post!

The Planet has an excellent piece on the latest in the Daily Cal negotiations. Lots of new details, including where the Daily Cal is moving, financial numbers, and when the DC would move, if at all. And boy, is the paper dealing from a position of strength! The new site is across the street-- in the old Campus Textbook Exchange building. Take it! You'd be silly not to!

It looks like a spectacular deal.

From a financial standpoint, the move to Bancroft and Telegraph seems like a no-brainer. The owner has offered a four-year deal, with an option for six more years on a 4,300-square-foot-office for about $60,000 per year. The paper has until Oct. 6 to sign the lease.

“The ASUC has quite a deal to live up to compared to what we’ve been offered at this space,” Schewe said, noting that the paper pays the student government $72,000 a year for 4,100 square feet in Eshleman Hall.

That is to say, it's just as close, cheaper, has more space, and offers a four-year lease with option for many more. The few objections seem piddling.

Many of the paper’s board are alumni who remember the paper’s travails when it first left campus in 1971 and did not return until 1994.

During those years the paper was subject to the fluctuations of Berkeley’s real estate market, and the paper failed to make rent payments on several occasions.

Schewe said that although commercial real estate prices are down now, several board members prefer to remain on campus where rent prices are more stable.

Another concern would have to be security. On the other hand, the Daily Cal would, in one swoop, rid themselves of endless ASUC posturing and threats.

So it looks like the GA's hard tactics have succeeded mostly in requiring the Daily Cal to make an excellent business deal. Congrats on pushing so hard for their objectives that they're going to lose everything. And now they're so focused on the tiny issue of Graduate Assembly representation on the Store Operations Board that $72,000 in rent money is about to walk out the door.

In the first month of this Administration's reign they've opened the ASUC up to numerous lawsuits, lost tens of thousands of dollars, misspent tens of thousands more, and we're not even through September. Looking forward to October.Email This Post!

Interesting: despite the fact that many things cost more in Berkeley than at most other UC towns, our "campus fee" is the lowest in the UC system. This is the part of tution beyond UC fees that cover campus specific programs. For Berkeley, our ASUC and Class Pass fees are included. Berkeley's campus fee: $266; Davis': $869. I hope they're getting something for it.

http://www.ucop.edu/pathways/ucnotes/#counselorsupplement

Just one of the many interesting this you learn as a high school college advisor.Email This Post!

Have the ASUC and GA opened themselves to lawsuits and state fines? Looking that way! State Law appears to require campaign spending in excess of $1,000 to be registered with the State. There's no indication this has happened in the ASUC/GA's example-- possibly because such spending appears to be illegal in the first place.

I don't have any legal background, so I'd appreciate some intelligent commentator explaining the implications of the language-- as well as the possible fines for failing to meet requirements.Email This Post!

Kudos to the Daily Cal for aggressive investigative reporting today.

The current question is: what now? It would seem a simple lawsuit before the Judicial Council would produce a stop-order on behalf of direct Prop 54 monies. I'd be surprised if Senator Lafata and friends wasn't following this up. (And this would be a good opportunity for Mr. Lafata to broaden his anti-GA crusade into more then one person filing lawsuits. Recruit people. Make more of a movement out of it.)

It's also possible the GA/ASUC will find a loophole in the spending.

It's ironic that the two governments are funneling so much money into this, when the anti-54 campaign has already been well-funded by opposition groups around the state. They don't need the extra money at this junction so much as they could use vocal opposition and organization. And yet the no on 54 buttons are thick on the ground only among traditional Progressive groups, with very few on more mainstream students. But it's apparently easier to spend cash, even knowing it'll expose an Administration as seeing the Law as either a tool to be used or an obstacle to avoid. Email This Post!

Bears beat Illinois

31-24

A sack on the final play of the game stopped a late Illinois rally and sealed the victory for the Bears. [recap]

The next game for California (2-3) will be on Saturday, September 27th, when they host the 4th ranked USC Trojans. Kickoff is at 3:30pm, and the game will be televised on Fox Sports Net.

BOOKMARK THIS: GoCyberBears.com has the complete football schedule for the Cal Sports Magazine, a weekly 30 minute show on Fox Sports Net that covers recent Cal Athletics news and highlights.Email This Post!

A rare interview with Chancellor BerdahlEmail This Post!

The Daily Cal continues to use its front page as a negotiating tactic.

The question of the day is: is the Daily Cal bluffing, or are they really that close to moving off campus? If it's a bluff, it's a pretty good one! They're aggressively roughhousing the prickly CalSERVE Execs, which they have to know will make them less cooperative, not more. (CalSERVE does not respond well to threats from people it hates.) They're demanding emergency meetings from the Store Operations Board when the Board is already in turmoil. They're threatening massive lawsuits while announcing they've signed a letter of intent... if they want to stay on campus, they're hiding it well.

Most of all, if they're bluffing, and truly want to stay, I'm not sure this is how to go about it... You bluff, them cut some bullshit deal to let the Execs save face. You certainly don't publicily humiliate and pressure them.

So wherever this new place on Bancroft is, it must offer them: reasonably low rent, adequate space, reasonably close to campus, and security from invasion. Hence the threats.

CalSERVE is never going to get anywhere with threats, either. They're essentially asking the Editorial Staff to commit Career suicide by signing on to this defacto oversight deal. Daniel Hernandez took a huge amount of heat for a questionable apology to the Horowitz ad of some time ago. This would be giving the reins to a lowly student government over a rent issue. It'll get some press. The New York Times is not going to hire the wimps who gave in to some protesters.

CalSERVE could control the Daily Cal in time, if they were patient about it. Work from the inside. Turnover at the DC is astounding. Get some friendly people to write for them, work their way up the ladder, and eventually assume editorial control. If they were determined enough and discrete, it'd work. At least, I can't see any other way to go about it.

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Not to be too critical, since I generally agree with the direction of the usually-pathetic ASUC website under Ms. Gomez's leadership. For once, a new Exec doesn't mean a complete and pointless redesign. And some real thought has gone into getting documentation and information to students, if the redesign delivers as promised. No more pointless and half-assed online services, too. Kudos also to the well-run events calendar.

However, there's no excuse at this date for the Senate page not even having the new e-mails up. And while I applaud the Final Budget being put online, it should probably have more then just the Publications budgets. Email This Post!

Cal did exceptionally well in a recent study of Business Schools, beating the pants off stupid Stanfurd. Email This Post!

The most interesting sentence in this gloom and doom comes at the very bottom, with the beginning of suggestions for private funding.

Some regents suggested tapping more into private sources of money, including alumni donations and cutting costs in clerical expenses by putting more services online.

New sources of revenue, and more services online are fun because they're easy for students to come up with.

So here's this week's Calstuff Contest: What's the best new source of revenue/cost-cutting measure you can think of? Two categories: funniest and most effective! Winner gets a Calstuff Favor and the strong possibility of having the idea ripped off by either the Daily Cal or the University.

Speaking of which, it'd be an easy Editorial to discuss the pros and cons of choosing between enrollment cuts and academic quality cuts... Email This Post!

Calstuff Correspondant TBP reports that Ms. Quindel was not appointed to the Store Operations Board last night, an apparent victory for the Daily Cal. Hopefully my ASUC Correspondant will have the full report soon.Email This Post!

The EBE has a neat bit on Berkeley's insane Landmarks Preservation Committee.Email This Post!

Berkeleygop.com was Haxxored. (Hacked). Here's a snapshot of the hacked page, since it appears to be down now. Email This Post!

Fun bit on Berkeley Small Claims Court.Email This Post!

Do ANY Faculty members read this? I'm at the point in a young man's life and Law School application when he realizes he wasted his entire College career talking to undergrads. I'm going to start needing some recommendations.Email This Post!

Besides the jaw-dropping horror of postponing this recall election until March, the postponement poses some interesting tactical questions for the current ASUC Administration.

Right now their focus has been on CRENO. And when I say 'Focus,' I mean 'entire focus.' The Executives have been pursuing CRENO to the exclusion of just about all other activity.

This is fine when the silly thing will be probably defeated in early October. But a long campaign until March opens up a whole new set of strategic questions. Could CRENO-- now trailing-- continue to be a focus of activity for basically 3/5s of this Administration? It may well be.

Also on the ASUC Burner is the upcoming appointments of the Student Advocate, Attorney General, and Elections Chair. Should be interesting.

The purser is also taking bets on who'll win the battle over the Daily Cal-- the Daily Cal or Jessica Quindel. I'm giving good odds on Ms. Quindel. Email This Post!

BeetleBeat has good analysis of the recent City Council Israel proposals.Email This Post!

Here's the objectives of the recently reconstituted Hate Crimes Commission:

Identifying safety concerns and issues.

Updating the Student Code of Conduct to specifically address hate-related incidents.

Creating a comprehensive system for reporting and responding to harassment and hate-related incidents.

Formally evaluating the current climate on campus, encouraging dialogue to improve understanding.

Encouraging awareness, education and outreach, including enhancing opportunities for dialogue to improve understanding of the root causes of hate and bias.

What's missing? Addressing the ties between lax campus security and an understaffed police force and Hate Crimes. Hate Crimes are crimes first, after all.

Of course, many of the members of this Committee have already made an ideological committment to the idea that police either make worse or actually cause Hate Crimes. The Hate Crimes group started in the Spring primarily through the urging of upset Jewish students was quickly captured by Progressives and BAMN members. It still has all that, but now it's huge and unwieldy.

An honest assessment of Hate Crimes would start with the understanding that most are perpetrated by off-campus people. The Swastikas... the attack on the Sikh student last Spring... all these are probably caused by non-students. So who cares about an 'open dialogue?' I've never seen any evidence that these dialogues lead to anything but screaming matches and feeling pissed off. And are any of the people attending these dialogues the same ones scrawling swastikas? Not likely. 'I hate those Zionazis... but lets see what they have to say.'

The 'updating of the Student Conduct Code' should also be sending off warning bells in ACLU-minded types. This could easily turn into Stalinist Speech Codes, where anything 'contributing to negativity' is banned and the right to prosecute people for free speech is enshrined. I had hoped American campuses had gotten beyond that.

Real combat of Hate Crimes would require the recruitment of more police, more lighting, and better response times. Especially since most of these incidents are done in the dead of night when there's no lights around, or by outside people who run in, do something awful, and run off again. There's really no way for Cal students to combat that except by good security. Besides, we need more security protection anyway.
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Cal Football Update
Despite scoring 17 points in the 3rd quarter, the Bears (1-3) lost to Utah in the final minutes of Thursday night's nationally televised game, which ended at 31-24 [recap]. Dan Hodes wrote a great column about the game in general and the quarterback situation in particular.

Cal's 5th and last non-conference game will be at Illinois next Saturday, September 20th, and will be broadcast on "ESPN regional", whatever that means. The Bears haven't defeated the Illini since 1974.Email This Post!

Jesse Jackson will be speaking on Upper Sproul next Tuesday (9/16) at noon.

Among other things, he'll be speaking on Prop. 54 (CRENO), the initiative to ban all racial data collection by agencies of the State of CA.

Thanks to Dave Madan for the info.Email This Post!

Don't forget to watch the Utah-Cal game tonight at 4:45 on ESPN. Email This Post!

Tsk tsk to Columnist Stein for a series of lazy generalizations. I'm going to extra hard on her because I know she can do better.

but using the often-alienating posturing of the extreme left on campus as a reason to go hard right? That's not revolutionary, refreshing, or even righteous. It's lazy.

Why is that politically 'lazy?' Many people drift to the right as the result of direct exposure with the Left. I know I have. Why not? The way the Left works around here is shrill, bent on destruction, and prone to indoctrination by infiltrating Socialist groups. Worst of all, it's ineffective on a larger scale. Wouldn't it be more lazy to accept all that instead of reforming the Progressives? And is it lazy to drift right, but not far right? I don't understand the logic.

It's just too damn easy to be a conservative at Cal. I hate to pick on those who were raised in a Republican household because their continued conservative stance simply saddens me, not for political reasons, but because, well, hasn't our popular culture taught us to rebel at least a little bit? You could easily become a Goth like all of the other SoCal suburbanite kids who had speech impediments and sucked at dodge ball.

Being a Republican at Cal IS rebelling. Being a Goth is more or less conforming -- like wearing dreadlocks at Lothlorien. How can being part of a tiny minority be conforming?

Being a Republican has its compensations, true. A big social group that supports you. Applause, money, and publicity from nationwide Republicans that are cheering you on. And the campus Republicans seem to relish their persecution in a way that turns me off. Ms. Stein is right when she says they have a tendency to be 'reveling in self-martyrdom and self-pity.'

But no Democrat ever got graded down by a GSI for their politics -- or can count on protestors whenever they bring a speaker to campus. Many Republicans have adapted to this abuse, to make it a challenge to be savored. But this is more adaptive survival then a normal facet of being right of center. And they don't need to be 'getting off your ass to do something truly productive.' If they weren't doing Republican-y things on campus, they wouldn't be protested. You can't criticize them both for being attacked when they do Conservative things and for being lazy losers who don't do nothing.

A study theorizing about the psychology of a political party that annually celebrated Strom Thurmonds' record-setting filibuster of an anti-lynching law is interesting

The study was about Conservatives, not Republicans. Logic fallacy, as the two overlap but are not a subset of each other.

Ms. Stein will have better luck if she presents conclusions from evidence instead of making generalizations from personal experience.

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**BREAKING**

A swastika and anti-semitic hate speech were scrawled in Leconte over the weekend. Not much besides that so far, except that the Chancellor is taking steps.

The Chancellor will speak out against acts of hate and bias on out campus this Wednesday, September 10, 2003, 10:30AM-11:15AM. In front of students, administrators, and members of the press and public, he will formally appoint a student lead and initiated Task Force on Hate and Bias. We need your help. Come and witness this event and get involved. This is a unique opportunity for all communities to stand together and show everyone this a community that will not accept intolerance.

More as it develops...Email This Post!

What do engineering students do in their spare time? Why, build canoes out of concrete, of course. Berkeley actually has a concrete canoe team that competes in regional and national competitions every year and is traditionally very successful. They are having informational meetings for anyone interested in joining on Sep. 11 at 6:00 and Sep. 23 at 7:00 in 502 Davis. Check their website or e-mail them at concretecanoe@uclink.berkeley.edu for more information.Email This Post!

Berkeley student and Econ major Maryam Fattahi is one of those being sued by the RIAA for downloading illegal files.

Thanks to Calstuff Correspondant BS for the catch.Email This Post!

Make sure to attend the Squelch Comedy Show tomorrow at 8, at the Bear's Lair. Featuring *Jim Short*, Louis Katz, and Mark Nadeau. Tickets are $8 at the door, $5 in advance. Email This Post!

The Berkeley College Republicans are seething at the Office of Student Life. They had planned to commemorate 9.11 with some flag-waving and patriotism, so had filled out all the forms well in advance to reserve Sproul on Thursday. At the last minute, OSL turned around and said, in effect, 'We're not giving it to you because it's an important anniversary. We're giving it to the ASUC.' So now the Republicans are complaining about the blatant favoritism towards Progressives inherent in giving our ASUC Executives the rights to Sproul on 9.11.

It will be pretty stupid if a 9.11 memorial is used to denounce Prop 54. But in general, I'd be a lot happier if Student Groups weren't given exclusive rights to Sproul on important national anniversaries. BCR might throw a non-political event this year, but who knows what the ISO would put together on 9.11.04? The best system has to be having the Administration run an all-inclusive event with all student groups participating, or give it to the closest thing students have to an elected representative. If that happens to be CalSERVE this year, so be it. It was Student Action last year, and everything worked out fine. Email This Post!

Cal Football Update

After a heart-wrenching 23-21 loss to Colorado State on Sunday [recap], the Golden Bears (1-2) travel to Utah this Thursday, September 11th, for a primetime matchup that will be nationally televised on ESPN. It will be Cal's first weeknight game since 1992, and its first trip to Utah since 1963. Kickoff is at 4:45pm PST.Email This Post!

Mother Jones' latest Top Ten Activist Campus list is out. Berkeley is number nine.

9. UC Berkeley: True to form, 1,500 Cal students rallied at Sproul Plaza as the Iraq war began, demanding that Baghdad University be declared a sister school and that Berkeley refuse to provide student records to federal authorities. And 98 students were later arrested as they staged a four-hour sit-in, effectively bringing school business to a halt. "In many cases the students did not walk," says police captain Bill Coo-per, "so the officers had to drag them out."

That was an impressive protest, sure thing. Unfortunately for our activist reputation, it was a single moment in time, not followed up by any sort of impressive activism. If there was anything that symbolized the inability of campus activists to harness student dissent, that was it.

An informative comparison might be California JC's to the UC system. The JC's are number 2 on the list

2. California Community Colleges: On March 17, after California announced it was cutting $530 million from community colleges and hiking tuition by 120 percent, 10,000 students marched on Sacramento. Two weeks later, 4,000 students chanted, "Educate! Don't Incarcerate!" as they marched in Los Angeles, railing against cuts that would deprive 200,000 students of an education. Despite a $35 billion budget shortfall, Governor Gray Davis restored $245 million to the colleges and scaled back tuition increases to 50 percent. "The students should be proud of their involvement in the process," says Peter Ragone, communications director for the governor, "and proud of the fact that their voice has influence."

The UC's response was the usual unproductive bitchery outside of a Regents meeting, as well as an unconvicing 200 or so well-dressed students half-heartedly cheering in front of the Capital. And now efforts for fighting those increases have been abandoned during the battle against Prop 54.Email This Post!

I'm somewhat surprised that OSL is taking such a harsh stance against recent Frat craziness, as they're smack in the middle of personnel changes. Tom Durein, in charge of all Fraternity-related management on the University's behalf, has resigned to go somewhere else. He had a pretty far-ranging job, but a lot of it was to mediate between Fraternities and the University or Neighbors. That meant that if your Fraternity messed up massively, you could count on a stern talking to from Mr. Durein and some form of punishment. But he knew the community, he knew how hard to push, and in general you could count on the personal touch.

This means that Tina Barnett, OSL's Panhellenic person, will be handling the Fraternities along with other OSL people for the time being. That 'time being' could be substantial, too-- the University is in the middle of a hiring freeze. So for awhile the Frats will be dealing with -- gasp -- a woman. More importantly, they'll be dealing with someone without much personal experience in handling Frat Boys. Or in how each House is run. Does she know what sets apart Kappa Sig from Alpha Delta Phi? I should hope so.

Maybe it shouldn't be surprising, then, that the University is reaching for the big gun instead of concentrating on these problems case-by-case.Email This Post!

Since both the Patriot and Daily Cal have done editorials attacking the proposed Rich Kids Surcharge issue, I thought it'd be nice to get an update on where it was at. From Regent Murray:

Kevin,

There hasn't been any official proposal really. Regent Sayles suggested the concept of a surcharge. The Office of the President did an analysis of what such a proposal could look like as far as costs, revenues, administration, etc. go, along with an assessment of possible pros and cons. The Regents will probably discuss the concept at the September meeting along with a whole range of other possible courses of action to deal with the budget situation, but I don't see it going much farther than that.

I personally have heard very little if any really enthusiastic support for the idea and quite a lot of vehement opposition. I'd be very surprised if the administration or the Regents actually went ahead with it.

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First 10,000 fans at the Colorado game this Saturday get a Coach Tedford bobblehead doll.Email This Post!

Kyle Boller is now the starting quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens, the NFL team that drafted him last year. It's time to see what Boller can do on a real football team. He's got strong physical skills, and is apparently learning well in camp and preseason.Email This Post!

Senator LaFata e-mails his position:

"Question: who is the person that holds the following influences: Chair of the Store Operations Board, Head of GA, and all the Executive Offices? Jessica Quindel!

She holds majority in the SOB (2 undergrad reps that come from the ASUC President and some Senators on a committee - interim UG reps are appointed by President; 2 Grad reps; the President; the EVP). She can change the book store, Daily Cal, or restaurant deals in a meeting if she wills. The only thing stopping her are contract violations. She can call for a veto on any act of the Senate and block any veto override with the block of Senators she influences. She can block any appointment to the J Council, changes to the bylaws, or allocation of money.

How much of this power did the students give her? Pittance. She is appointed to her position in the GA, but the rest of the power she took. She also received a healthy stipend of over $10,000 last year. Not bad for one who isn't elected.

That's right: she gets an 'A' in Machiavellian politics, and the students have no idea."

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The ASUC/Graduate Assembly wars rage on. Senator Lafata has three lawsuits against them. Some of them stem from a different understanding of how the GA works-- paying them large stipends results from a suggestion by the Administration, for example. (My Column on the subject. Still timely!)

But for Mr. Hammon to claim that

"The Graduate Assembly is a vulnerable target right now," Hammon said.

is ludicrous. The GA is at a position of historic strength right now. With the sole exception of Senator Lafata's voice in the wilderness before the J-Council, the Graduate Assembly has its hands firmly on the levers of power. Graduate Assembly President Quindel is also Chair of the Store Operations Board, an underappreciated power base. Through CalSERVE ties, the Graduate Assembly Executives are effectively indistinguishable from the ASUC's Executives. Through the same avenue, the GA has direct access to UCSA, UC's lobbying team. (Plus less formal ties that have been in place forever.)

Not only that, but while the ASUC Senate is always divided, the GA has a much more solid hold on the spending and priorities of the Graduate Assembly-- especially important when the ASUC has no money left to give.

The only possible point of vulnerability is that the GA might overreach. Moving towards independence could trigger eye-rolling amongst students or some form of J-Council ruling. But these are tiny possibilities. Excepting adverse J-Council rulings, the GA is remarkably powerful.

Things would've been much different should Student Action have won last year. They were all geared up to take the GA down as many pegs as needed. But they were swept from power.Email This Post!

Cal has Triplets!

If you find yourself doing a triple-take on campus, you might not be as sleep-deprived as you feel. This year, UC Berkeley welcomes Sonia, Erica, and Monica, the first triplets to ever attend a public four-year university in California.

Check out the full story here. And don't forget to say hello, hello, and hello.Email This Post!

People's Park Ballers comment on Kobe



Check out Berkeley's local ballers mentioned in this ESPN Story.
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