Student Groups To Be Charged Next Year as OSL Budget Shrinks
A while ago I mentioned that the Office of Student Life was attempting to phase out Parliamentary Debate at Berkeley, ostensibly to save money. A few days later the Daily Cal came out with an article expanding on the attempt to shut down Parli, as well as the broader threat to other student groups as OSL seeks to save money. (I'd provide links except the Daily Cal website is down and our links are bloggered.)

The story takes an interesting turn today, with my discovery of an e-mail in the Berkeley LiveJournal Community. Apparently OSL wants to start charging forty dollars per student group in order to register with OSL. I cannot vouch for the veracity of the e-mail at the moment, although I am doing my best to contact leaders of student groups to see if I can get a copy of it forwarded to me directly. Here is the e-mail in its entirety.

To all Signatories: (Please pass this e-mail on to your new leadership for
the Fall 2004 semester. Thank you.)

The Office of Student Life will be implementing a $40 annual fee for
recognized student groups beginning Fall 2004. We regret that it is
necessary to initiate this charge at a time when students are feeling
increased financial constraints. However, due to the significant budget
crisis, this fee is necessary in order to continue our services as well as
improve and develop quality programs for student groups at CAL. We have
researched similar institutions within the UC system to determine
alternatives and have found such a fee to be a standard practice at other
Universities. We hope that you will take this opportunity to fully utilize
our services.

This year, the office has implemented a variety of new services including
leadership workshops and on-line leadership resources. During the coming
year, groups will continue to have an assigned staff advisor and can expect
to see increased support on event planning and group development from staff
advisors and student peer advisors. Over the past year, OSL has been
committed to developing additional resources and opportunities for student
leaders, all of which will be advertised in the Fall semester.

You will receive more information regarding details on recognition prior to
the Fall semester. If you have questions, please email
studentlife@berkeley.edu or stop by 102
Sproul Hall between 10am-3pm this summer.

Marcia Gee Riley
Director of Student Group Advising
Office of Student Life
102 Sproul Hall

Susan ten Bosch Paull
Student Affairs Officer
Office of Student Life
University of California, Berkeley
102 Sproul Hall, #2430
Berkeley, CA 94720-2430
Tel: (510) 642-1448 * FAX: (510) 642-1672
E-Mail: tenbosch@berkeley.edu
Hours: 8 AM - 4 PM; Monday & Wednesday - Friday

*update* I added some information I left off the letter when it was originally posted, and reworded the title so it is more clear.

P.S. More to come...Email This Post!