A panel of six city and university leaders started off the second day of the fifth annual Town & Gown Conference in Berkeley discussing what needs to be done in the state to fund education and create jobs.
The panelists — Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates, Palo Alto Mayor Sid Espinosa, Rohnert Park Mayor Gina Belforte, Sonoma State University President Ruben Arminana, San Francisco State University President Robert Corrigan and UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau — agreed that although California cities and universities have come far in their partnership efforts, much more should be done on the state level.
The conference is a two-day event for college and city representatives from throughout the state to meet to discuss strategies for dealing with current and potential obstacles.
Riverside Mayor Ron Loveridge, who moderated Friday’s panel, started the Town & Gown conference six years ago with Bates, at a time Loveridge referred to as a contentious period between cities and universities.
“It’s important to have mayors, chancellors and presidents talking to one another and working together,” Loveridge said at the panel. “We need to discuss how we can educate together.”
Bates said cities must embrace relationships with universities rather than be concerned by the influx of young people.
The panelists spoke of their proudest examples of mutual effort, their current efforts and hopes regarding connections for economic growth and job creation and their ideas on how to promote joint advocacy. They agreed that not enough has been done to lobby Sacramento for support for education and job growth.
“We lack ability even to threaten punishment to the people who get elected on promises,” Arminana said.
Arminana added that both city and university officials in Rohnert Park — where his university is located — have traveled together to Sacramento and Washington D.C. “to show that there is a symbiotic relationship between the university and the city.”
Bates — who was asked to end the panel with a few words on what can be done to advocate for university and city rights — said change will only come if the state legislature passes a majority vote to raise taxes and fees. He encouraged university leaders to work together to lobby legislators for such a change.
“Community colleges, state universities and UCs need to say enough is enough and politically organize,” he said.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPQGczUPITg&w=560&h=315]
Sarah Mohamed is the lead city government reporter.
Comment Policy
Comments should remain on topic, concerning the article or blog post to which they are connected. Brevity is encouraged. Posting under a pseudonym is discouraged, but permitted. The Daily Cal encourages readers to voice their opinions respectfully in regard to the readers, writers and contributors of The Daily Californian. Comments are not pre-moderated, but may be removed if deemed to be in violation of this policy. Click here to read the full comment policy.
Our Democrat state legislators are paid to represent our district’s businesses and interests. Our Democrat city officials are paid to represent our city’s local businesses and interests. Now our city officials want to pay lobbyists to bribe our state legislators using our tax dollars? No wonder the Democrats always want tax hikes.
The education infrastructure was operating on thin margins to begin with, there’s not much left to cut.
Raising taxes and fees like the online tax is not popular, and Amazon will fight it. Just cut the prison budget. Do we really need to feed, provide medical, and house people for small infractions? The justice system is a joke. Public defenders don’t care: overworked.
Tax people who are chronically buying new cell phones and adding to the landfill. Was UC Merced a good idea? Have angel investors do power lunches with undergrads and grads, schools get the $$$, investors get the copyrights, students get internships=win win win. Rent out college stadiums for concerts. Have the numbers on elevators replaced with brands: “What floor do you want?” “I’m going to Victoria’s Secret what about you?” “Abercrombie.” Install coin-operated light switches for each classroom, you know like summer camp, 50 cents a minute for hot water, so 50 cents for 5 minutes of class lecture time: “Omigod I’m blind!” “Who’s got 50cents?!” ”Who’s hand is on my breast?” Professors can model the latest sponsored fashion: “Hey what class you got next?” “I got ethics with the professor wearing Vera Wang, you?” “American History…Tom Ford.” Replace all water fountains with 5hour energy drinks sponsorship. Nobel Prize professors must wear Jawbone ear pieces at all times, this allows them to talk to their genius selves without alarming anyone. Monday-Friday is bring your own utensils day, also your own TP (toilet paper) no exceptions! Sather Tower will mysteriously have a Armani Exchange billboard featuring David Beckham in tighty whiteys appear overnight and nobody is allowed to ask why. The treadmills in the gym are the sole generators for electricity for the stadium lights. Paper towels in restrooms will be replaced with rubbing your hands against your pants. There will be a fee of $10 per person participating in any campus flash mobs, also panhandling permits will be $50 a day, french mimes=$100. The business school students will hold a weekend car wash forcing them to do manual labor for once. Architectural Landscape students will hold an auction of their Chia pets, the highest bid passes the class. UC can heat up coal in the labs until they become diamonds! No more free donuts for the UCPD, also cruisers replaced with horses. Install gaming machines in vistors locker-room rigged to never pay out. Offer honorary degrees to celebrities and asked them to sign everything to be later auctioned off, also have them put their hands in wet cement at Sproul Hall and sell tickets to tourists at the gate. Sell life sized cardboard cutouts of Cal’s Nobel Laurates for $100. Increase revenue by applying the Socrates method in each class, incorrect answers costs $15, ATM in each classroom. While bike stations will remain free, a tip jar will be present. Come up with a new chemical element and auction the name to the highest bidder, Stanford need not apply. Law students will polish shoes for $10. Commencement speeches will be charged 10 cents a word. Calapalooza table rentals are $50 or 50 push ups, we prefer the $$. Brass pole is $40 extra. Let real bears run free inside the Capitol while cling film the Governor’s car. If you build a statue of Oprah, she will come. or we could collect signatures and cross our fingers…desperate times people!
Someone might point out that UC has access to nuclear weapons.