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	<title>The Daily Californian &#187; Alison Fu</title>
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	<link>http://www.dailycal.org</link>
	<description>Berkeley&#039;s Newspaper</description>
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		<title>Survey finds UC students satisfied with quality of education</title>
		<link>http://www.dailycal.org/2013/05/14/survey-finds-uc-students-satisfied-with-quality-of-education/</link>
		<comments>http://www.dailycal.org/2013/05/14/survey-finds-uc-students-satisfied-with-quality-of-education/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2013 04:31:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alison Fu</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[UC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nolan Pack]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Office of Planning and Analysis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sereeta Alexander]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shelly Meron]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Survey of New Students]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UC Office of the President]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UC Undergraduate Experience Survey]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dailycal.org/?p=215586</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Despite budget cuts and increased tuition, undergraduate students in the UC system are satisfied with the quality of their educations, according to survey results released this week by the UC Office of the President.  <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/05/14/survey-finds-uc-students-satisfied-with-quality-of-education/" class="read-more">Read More&#8230;</a></p><p>The post <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/05/14/survey-finds-uc-students-satisfied-with-quality-of-education/">Survey finds UC students satisfied with quality of education</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.dailycal.org">The Daily Californian</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Despite budget cuts and increased tuition, undergraduate students in the UC system are satisfied with the quality of their education, according to survey results released this week by the UC Office of the President.</p>
<p>The results come from the systemwide 2012 UC Undergraduate Experience Survey, with questions on academic engagement, community involvement and financial background.</p>
<p>According to the survey results, 82 percent of UC students responding said they were content with their overall education. Despite more than $900 million in state funding cuts to the university over the last five years, this percentage has remained relatively constant since 2006.</p>
<p>“I think that shows that despite the economic recession and the decreased funding to UC in recent years, we’ve been able to continue serving our students really well,” said Shelly Meron, spokesperson for the UC Office of the President, in an email.</p>
<p>But while academic approval has remained relatively constant, students are increasingly unhappy with the cost of getting a degree. The survey found that student satisfaction with the value of a UC education is now at 60 percent, down from 71 percent in 2006. The percent of students worried about the cost of tuition has increased from 64 to 71 percent over the last two years alone.</p>
<p>“Obviously we’re concerned about tuition increases, and we’re continuing to work with state legislators and the governor to resolve UC’s funding issues,” Meron said in the email.</p>
<p>Sereeta Alexander, research analyst at the UC Berkeley Office of Planning and Analysis, said that the campus’s own survey of new students has found similar results — that students are concerned about financing their education in the next few years.</p>
<p>“(The results) show that we should be thinking about how we should support students more with financial aid and scholarships — even if tuition and fees are rising,” Alexander said.</p>
<p>CalSERVE Senator and Executive Vice President-elect Nolan Pack said that higher student costs may reduce campus involvement, another issue studied in the survey.</p>
<p>“The more a college education costs, the more students have to work while they’re in school and the less time they have to do other things like public service or civic engagement,” Pack said. “The more we increase tuition, the more we’re chipping away at the holistic college experience.”</p>
<p>Pack also criticized possible plans to make tuition more affordable through online education, pointing out that the high academic satisfaction rates show that students value a classroom education.</p>
<p>“It’s clear that the quality of a UC education remains very high, but the state’s continued divestment from higher education puts that at risk,” Pack said. “The fact that students are overwhelmingly satisfied with faculty and instruction should say something. Online education &#8230; contradicts the experience of being in the classroom.”
<p id='tagline'><em>Contact Alison Fu at <a href="mailto:afu@dailycal.org">afu@dailycal.org</a>.</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/05/14/survey-finds-uc-students-satisfied-with-quality-of-education/">Survey finds UC students satisfied with quality of education</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.dailycal.org">The Daily Californian</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Campus honors Birgeneau with farewell celebration</title>
		<link>http://www.dailycal.org/2013/05/07/chancellor-birgeneaus-farewell-celebration/</link>
		<comments>http://www.dailycal.org/2013/05/07/chancellor-birgeneaus-farewell-celebration/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 May 2013 02:58:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alison Fu</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Campus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[A. Ruben Rodriguez]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bahar Navab]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Connor Landgraf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[David Vogel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ian Saxton]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mary Catherine Birgeneau]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nicholas Dirks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Theresa Hirashima]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tim Ravey]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dailycal.org/?p=214855</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Hundreds of UC Berkeley students and staff gathered Tuesday to celebrate Chancellor Robert Birgeneau and his wife Mary Catherine Birgeneau’s nine years of service to the university. <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/05/07/chancellor-birgeneaus-farewell-celebration/" class="read-more">Read More&#8230;</a></p><p>The post <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/05/07/chancellor-birgeneaus-farewell-celebration/">Campus honors Birgeneau with farewell celebration</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.dailycal.org">The Daily Californian</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p dir="ltr">Hundreds of UC Berkeley students and staff members gathered Tuesday to celebrate Chancellor Robert Birgeneau&#8217;s nine years of service to the university as well as that of his wife, Mary Catherine Birgeneau.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The chancellor’s farewell party, held at the Lisa and Douglas Goldman Plaza outside Memorial Stadium, featured a barbecue lunch with the chancellor and various campus speakers who spoke of the dedication to service the chancellor and his wife have shown over their tenure.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“He’s done a fantastic job,” said Haas School of Business professor David Vogel. “He’s steered the university through some tough times, and I’m sad to see him leave.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Speakers included Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost George Breslauer, ASUC President Connor Landgraf and Graduate Assembly President Bahar Navab. In addition, both Birgeneau and his wife gave speeches recounting their experiences on campus, also thanking the students and staff members.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“In academia, there’s no other organization more important than UC Berkeley,” Birgeneau said in his speech. “It has been my privilege to serve.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Several speakers and attendees commended Birgeneau’s efforts to build an inclusive campus community.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I will always see him as a champion of diversity,” said A. Ruben Rodriguez, the campus&#8217;s associate development director in the Division of Equity and Inclusion. “He led the fight with undocumented students, and I’ve witnessed him speaking with a passion.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">However, some campus staff members who attended the event criticized Birgeneau’s leadership, claiming that the chancellor, in focusing on improving the school’s public image, has not prioritized workers’ needs.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“Honestly, the chancellor hasn’t done much for staff,” said Theresa Hirashima, an employee at International House. “I have had four salary increases in my 13 years here &#8230; yet we’re being asked to do more and more. They say we’re all in this together, but we’re really not.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">About five members of the bp Off Campus Coalition, a subgroup of Occupy Cal, also voiced complaints about Birgeneau, protesting outside the entrance to Memorial Stadium. According to the coalition, the chancellor has played a large role in the privatization of UC Berkeley and allowed the police to use violent means to subdue nonviolent protests.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The protesters also rushed into the event toward the end, reenacting a scene of alleged police brutality from the Nov. 9 Occupy Cal Day of Action.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“It is extremely important to have a chancellor who genuinely supports free speech, sustainability, accessibility and integrity,” said UC Berkeley graduate student Ian Saxton, one of the protesters. “We’re here to remind people that Birgeneau has failed in all these aspects.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Birgeneau has served as UC Berkeley’s chancellor since September 2004 and has also been involved in the campus department of physics. He has received several awards since the beginning of his tenure for his leadership and his work in physics.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Though Birgeneau will be replaced by Chancellor-designate Nicholas Dirks on June 1, he will be staying on campus as a physics faculty member.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“He was resolute in his belief of the right thing to do,” said Tim Ravey, a UC Berkeley alumnus and a current admissions officer for the school. “Despite shortfalls … he was able to put the campus in a more stable position for the future.”</p>
<p id='tagline'><em>Contact Alison Fu at <a href="mailto:afu@dailycal.org">afu@dailycal.org</a>.</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/05/07/chancellor-birgeneaus-farewell-celebration/">Campus honors Birgeneau with farewell celebration</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.dailycal.org">The Daily Californian</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>ASUC Senate honors adviser for 44 years of service</title>
		<link>http://www.dailycal.org/2013/05/05/asuc-senate-honors-adviser-for-44-years-of-service/</link>
		<comments>http://www.dailycal.org/2013/05/05/asuc-senate-honors-adviser-for-44-years-of-service/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 May 2013 03:34:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alison Fu</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Campus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Executive Vice President Justin Sayarath]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Irene Lam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jan Crowder]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Janice Crowder]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LEAD Center]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Millicent Morris-Chaney]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nadesan Permaul]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dailycal.org/?p=214399</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>The end of June will mark Jan Crowder’s retirement after 30 years of working for the ASUC and 44 years for UC Berkeley. Crowder was honored for leaving behind a legacy of student leaders who have developed under her close mentorship. <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/05/05/asuc-senate-honors-adviser-for-44-years-of-service/" class="read-more">Read More&#8230;</a></p><p>The post <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/05/05/asuc-senate-honors-adviser-for-44-years-of-service/">ASUC Senate honors adviser for 44 years of service</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.dailycal.org">The Daily Californian</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>For Jan Crowder, the day begins at 2:45 a.m., when she wakes up to board her early-morning carpool from Sacramento to Berkeley.</p>
<p>Around 5:40 a.m., as the sky is just beginning to brighten, she reaches her office at the LEAD Center, the campus leadership and advising center for student organizations, and begins her daily routine: Pick up a copy of The Daily Californian, check her schedule online and prepare for a busy day of meetings with student leaders.</p>
<p>The end of June will mark Crowder’s retirement after 30 years of work for the ASUC and 44 years for UC Berkeley. Last week, the ASUC Senate passed two bills recognizing Crowder and her colleague Irene Lam for their longtime service. Crowder was honored specifically for leaving behind a legacy of student leaders who have developed under her close mentorship.</p>
<p>“Jan is clear-thinking and indefatigably committed to contributing to the greater good &#8230; whether it be by giving some unsavory but needed advice to a well-meaning but misguided student or staff or by getting the party started with a laugh,” said Millicent Morris-Chaney, a UC Berkeley alumna and one of Crowder’s colleagues at the LEAD Center.</p>
<p>As former director of student affairs and a current LEAD Center coordinator, Crowder has been a source of constant support for hundreds of students over the years, advising them not only on organizational issues such as program planning and finances but also on personal and academic matters.</p>
<p>Morris-Chaney recalled how Crowder personally encouraged her to dream big and apply for a job with the ASUC Auxiliary after her own graduation from UC Berkeley 13 years ago.</p>
<p>“She saw qualities in me I did not know I had, and she supported the development of those qualities by encouraging my professional growth, providing honest and direct feedback and having confidence in my ability,” Morris-Chaney said.</p>
<p>Crowder has also worked closely with elected ASUC officials over the years, guiding them as they developed their visions.</p>
<p>“Student leaders come and go … but Jan was always there, keeping track of decades of student policy, constitutional changes and how to engage students without taking their agency from them,” said Nadesan Permaul, former director of the ASUC Auxiliary and a current UC Berkeley lecturer in rhetoric. “That is a gift.”</p>
<p>ASUC Executive Vice President Justin Sayarath remembered how Crowder reassured him during an especially stressful time last summer.</p>
<p>“Jan pulled me aside and helped me gather my thoughts,” Sayarath said. “She told me that I was doing a great job and that everything was going to be OK … (then) she sat down with me and ran through my plans to pack up the rest of the 300 organizations in Eshleman. She helped make the Lower Sproul surge successful, and I am so thankful for her.”</p>
<p>Since being hired as a typist in 1969 for Andrew Billingsley, one of the first faculty members of the campus department of ethnic studies, Crowder has gone through several different positions at UC Berkeley, including secretary at the chancellor’s office; office manager at the environment, health and safety office; director of student affairs in the ASUC and, now, a LEAD Center coordinator.</p>
<p>Her experiences within the various departments on campus have given her a wealth of knowledge about the inner functions of the school. Crowder attributes her success to the numerous staff members and students she has worked with.</p>
<p>“Everything I’ve done is with their support,” Crowder said. “It has been an experience of continuous educational growth for me.”</p>
<p>This support was especially crucial eight years ago, when Crowder was diagnosed with breast cancer. Though Crowder was declared cancer-free after only a couple of years of treatment, the experience caused her to reconsider her life philosophy.</p>
<p>“I know the cancer does come back,” Crowder said, “so I want to enjoy life while I can.”</p>
<p>Though Crowder is retiring, she plans to remain in steady contact with the students and staff members she has worked with during her term.</p>
<p>“It’s not just a job — I truly care,” Crowder said. “I’m a little bit sad about leaving … (but) it’s time for me to make way for the young ideas.”
<p id='tagline'><em>Contact Alison Fu at <a href="mailto:afu@dailycal.org">afu@dailycal.org</a>.</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/05/05/asuc-senate-honors-adviser-for-44-years-of-service/">ASUC Senate honors adviser for 44 years of service</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.dailycal.org">The Daily Californian</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Berkeley City Council to consider increasing minimum wage</title>
		<link>http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/30/berkeley-wants-to-increase-minimum-wage/</link>
		<comments>http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/30/berkeley-wants-to-increase-minimum-wage/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2013 00:05:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alison Fu</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Berkeley Restaurant Alliance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Commission on Labor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Councilmember Jesse Arreguin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Councilmember Kriss Worthington]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Tom Bates]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michael Reich]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Natalie Kniess]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dailycal.org/?p=213802</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>The Berkeley City Council is planning to discuss drafting an ordinance to raise the minimum wage in Berkeley Tuesday night to be among the highest in the country. <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/30/berkeley-wants-to-increase-minimum-wage/" class="read-more">Read More&#8230;</a></p><p>The post <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/30/berkeley-wants-to-increase-minimum-wage/">Berkeley City Council to consider increasing minimum wage</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.dailycal.org">The Daily Californian</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Berkeley City Council is planning to discuss drafting an ordinance to raise the minimum wage in Berkeley to be among the highest in the nation at its next City Council meeting.</p>
<p>Originally slated for discussion on Tuesday, the item was postponed due to the lengthy meeting and substantial agenda that day. Mayor Tom Bates and Councilmembers Jesse Arreguin and Kriss Worthington drafted a <a href="http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Clerk/City_Council/2013/04Apr/Documents/2013-04-30_Item_23_Increase_the_Minimum_Wage.aspx">statement</a> Tuesday urging the city’s Commission on Labor to consider implementing a local minimum wage of $10.55 per hour. Berkeley currently does not have a city minimum wage requirement and has been using the state standard, which is $8 per hour.</p>
<p>They also hope to add a provision that would automatically increase the wage along with inflation.</p>
<p>This push follows San Francisco’s increase in minimum wage this year from $10.24 to $10.55 per hour — the highest minimum wage in the country. San Jose also passed a minimum wage ordinance in November of $10 per hour.</p>
<p>The city of Berkeley also has another regulation — the Living Wage Ordinance — requiring city contractors to pay a minimum of $13.03 per hour along with a medical benefit of at least $2.17 per hour. Other businesses located in Berkeley but not contracted with the city are not held to these standards.</p>
<p>Though the impact of an increased minimum wage on Berkeley is still unknown, UC Berkeley economics professor Michael Reich said that his studies have found that San Francisco’s citywide minimum wage of $10.55 per hour has not created negative employment effects.</p>
<p>In another study titled “Increasing the Minimum Wage in San Jose: Benefits and Costs,” Reich also concluded that “minimum wage increases attract more workers to a local area and make it easier for employers to recruit and retain their workers.”</p>
<p>Arreguin explained that he and other council members were inspired to discuss the issue by the high cost of living in Berkeley.</p>
<p>“We need to establish our own minimum wage so that people who work minimum- and low-wage jobs have livable income to be able to support their families, to be able to support themselves,” Arreguin said. “It’s very expensive to live in Berkeley and very expensive to live in the Bay Area.”</p>
<p>However, the <a href="http://www.berkeleyrestaurantalliance.org">Berkeley Restaurant Alliance</a>, a coalition of more than 150 Berkeley restaurants, argues that this proposal is unreasonable and that the city’s communication with local businesses has been lacking.</p>
<p>“No one knew about this,” said Natalie Kniess, a co-founder of the Berkeley Restaurant Alliance. “The majority of businesses heard about it from the San Francisco Chronicle report. It was disrespectful to the business community. We want to help out the community &#8230; (but a) 32 percent wage increase will break the backs of the small mom-and-pop stores Berkeley is out to support.”</p>
<p>Arreguin said he has received a few emails from business owners expressing that this ordinance would negatively impact them but is confident that compromises can be made.</p>
<p>“Some businesses have voiced concerns, but there are ways we can work with the business community to move this forward,” Arreguin said. “I don’t think in the end it will force businesses to shut down.”</p>
<p>The minimum wage item was moved to the action agenda.
<p id='tagline'><em>Contact Alison Fu at <a href="mailto:afu@dailycal.org">afu@dailycal.org</a>.</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/30/berkeley-wants-to-increase-minimum-wage/">Berkeley City Council to consider increasing minimum wage</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.dailycal.org">The Daily Californian</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>BAMN defends Berkeley High teacher facing performance review</title>
		<link>http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/28/bamn-defends-berkeley-high-teacher-facing-performance-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/28/bamn-defends-berkeley-high-teacher-facing-performance-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2013 05:32:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alison Fu</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B-PAR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BAMN]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Berkeley High Jacket]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Berkeley High School]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Berkeley Peer Assistance and Review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brian Crowell]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[By Any Means Necessary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Karen Hemphill]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pasquale Scuderi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shanta Driver]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yvette Felarca]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dailycal.org/?p=213304</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>About 30 members of BAMN congregated at the Berkeley School Board Meeting Wednesday night to protest the referral of a popular Berkeley High School teacher for performance review and possible disciplinary action. <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/28/bamn-defends-berkeley-high-teacher-facing-performance-review/" class="read-more">Read More&#8230;</a></p><p>The post <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/28/bamn-defends-berkeley-high-teacher-facing-performance-review/">BAMN defends Berkeley High teacher facing performance review</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.dailycal.org">The Daily Californian</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p dir="ltr">About 30 members of BAMN congregated at the Berkeley school board meeting Wednesday night to protest the referral of a popular Berkeley High School teacher for performance review and possible disciplinary action.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Brian Crowell, who teaches history to ninth- and 10th-grade students at Berkeley High School, has been scheduled for a disciplinary meeting with the Berkeley Unified School District’s Human Resources Department set for Monday. The administration alleges Crowell inflated students’ grades and failed to take regular student attendance.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Crowell has also been <a href="http://www.berkeleyfederationofteachers.org/resources/faqs/peer-assistance-and-review">referred</a> to the Berkeley Peer Assistance and Review program, which evaluates underperforming teachers.</p>
<p dir="ltr">According to School Board Director Karen Hemphill, the B-PAR program is designed to fairly evaluate underperforming teachers and allows teachers to improve their teaching after receiving unsatisfactory evaluations instead of dismissing them outright. The B-PAR panel is made up of both teachers and administrators who jointly make evaluations.</p>
<p dir="ltr">BAMN, an activist group, alleges that the referral is a retaliation against Crowell, who had criticized Berkeley High School’s ninth-grade curriculum in February as being poorly designed. According to Crowell, he received notice of the referral for review and disciplinary hearing soon after sending a note about the curriculum to administrators at the school.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“The district has praised him in the past for having an ability to really connect with students in a way that is very unique,” said Shanta Driver, the national chair of BAMN and one of the attorneys representing Crowell. “None of these accusations against him came into being before he attacked the ninth-grade curriculum.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Berkeley High School principal Pasquale Scuderi declined to comment, saying that Crowell’s situation is an internal issue. Hemphill said she could not comment on personnel matters but said this decision is made at the school-administration level, not at the school-board level.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Various BAMN affiliates spoke at the meeting, including Yvette Felarca, a BAMN organizer and teacher at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Berkeley, as did a number of Crowell’s students.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“He teaches about current events,” said UC Berkeley freshman Aillen Zazueta-Bella, a former student of Crowell. “He tells students that they can go to college. There is no reason for him to be here (in this situation).”</p>
<p dir="ltr">BAMN also said that Crowell was targeted because he compiled and <a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bzhjq3ozQKX3SGk3UGdWQ3lDQ1k/edit?usp=sharing">publicized</a> statistics that were critical of the administration&#8217;s B-PAR policies. An article <a href="http://www.bhsjacket.com/april_19/skewed_demographics_fuel_teacher_resentment_bpar">published</a> in the Berkeley High Jacket, the school’s newspaper, referencing Crowell’s data analysis, said that over the last decade, black and Latino teachers, female teachers and teachers over 50 have been disproportionately placed in the B-PAR program.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“We have teachers who have been at BHS for 30 years who are scared for their jobs (because of this),” Crowell said. “If the administration fires me, it will send a chilling message to the other teachers and create an environment of fear.”</p>
<p id='tagline'><em>Contact Alison Fu at <a href="mailto:afu@dailycal.org">afu@dailycal.org</a>.</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/28/bamn-defends-berkeley-high-teacher-facing-performance-review/">BAMN defends Berkeley High teacher facing performance review</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.dailycal.org">The Daily Californian</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Postal Service approves relocation of Downtown branch</title>
		<link>http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/23/postal-service-approves-relocation-of-downtown-branch/</link>
		<comments>http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/23/postal-service-approves-relocation-of-downtown-branch/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 24 Apr 2013 02:51:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alison Fu</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Augustine Ruiz]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Berkeley Main Post Office]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Councilmember Jesse Arreguin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Harvey Smith]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Tom Bates]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Post Office Subcommittee]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Save the Berkeley Post Office]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[United States Postal Service]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[USPS]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dailycal.org/?p=212581</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>The United States Postal Service announced Monday that it has officially approved the relocation of the Berkeley Main Post Office downtown, due to the organization’s need to reduce its current multi-billion-dollar deficit. <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/23/postal-service-approves-relocation-of-downtown-branch/" class="read-more">Read More&#8230;</a></p><p>The post <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/23/postal-service-approves-relocation-of-downtown-branch/">Postal Service approves relocation of Downtown branch</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.dailycal.org">The Daily Californian</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p dir="ltr">The United States Postal Service announced Monday that it has officially approved the relocation of its Downtown Berkeley branch due to the organization’s need to reduce its current multibillion-dollar deficit.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Serving the Berkeley community since 1914, Downtown Berkeley&#8217;s main post office is one of the city’s historical landmarks listed in the National Register of Historic Places and contains two pieces of Works Progress Administration artwork. <a href="http://about.usps.com/news/state-releases/ca/2013/ca_2013_0422.htm">Monday’s announcement</a> means that the Postal Service will be selling the property and moving operations from the historic building to another location nearby, which has yet to be determined.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The decision comes after the Postal Service <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2012/07/01/downtown-berkeley-post-office-move-services/">announced in June of last year</a> that it intended to relocate the Downtown branch as part of a <a href="http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2012/pr12_058.htm">nationwide strategy to consolidate up </a>to 140 locations by 2013 and another 89 by 2014. The Postal Service has been facing a nationwide $25 billion deficit over the past four years, according to Postal Service spokesperson Augustine Ruiz.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“It doesn’t mean we’re going to go out of business,” Ruiz said. “All we’re saying is that we don&#8217;t need a 57,000-square-foot building anymore when we only need 4,000. It makes good business sense.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Since the plan to relocate the post office was revealed, residents and city officials have opposed it.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Local groups, such as Save the Berkeley Post Office, have held several protests outside the building, and the mayor and several Berkeley City Council members created the Post Office Subcommittee last July to lobby the USPS.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I’m really disappointed,” said Mayor Tom Bates. “It’s a beautiful building. We talked to the Postal Service about the need to keep the building public, but they just seem to have it in their minds that they want to sell it no matter what.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">According to the statement, there is a 15-day appeal period during which anyone can send a letter to the Postal Service, which will review the complaints prior to making a final decision.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Bates and Arreguin both voiced plans to take part in appealing the decision. A special City Council session may be held to organize a collective letter of appeal from the city on April 30, Arreguin mentioned.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“We’re going to appeal, but I think the chances of the appeal going through are about one out of 20,” Bates said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Save the Berkeley Post Office also intends to hold a protest against the decision and has been talking with lawyers about the possibility of challenging it legally, according to Harvey Smith, spokesperson for Save the Berkeley Post Office.</p>
<p>“In the end, even if the outcome of the appeal is not favorable, what we can certainly do as a city government is to work with the USPS to make sure who buys the building uses it for a positive use,” Arreguin said.
<p id='tagline'><em>Contact Alison Fu at <a href="mailto:afu@dailycal.org">afu@dailycal.org</a>.</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/23/postal-service-approves-relocation-of-downtown-branch/">Postal Service approves relocation of Downtown branch</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.dailycal.org">The Daily Californian</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>South Berkeley residents&#8217; group meets with city officials</title>
		<link>http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/21/south-berkeley-residents-group-meets-with-city-officials/</link>
		<comments>http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/21/south-berkeley-residents-group-meets-with-city-officials/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Apr 2013 03:27:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alison Fu</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CalJulia Neighbors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christine Daniel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Julia Street]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Max Anderson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sacramento Street]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sofia Zander]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[South Berkeley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tania Carlone]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dailycal.org/?p=212032</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Discontent residents of South Berkeley convened with city government officials Tuesday night to discuss the need for improvements in a neighborhood they call home. <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/21/south-berkeley-residents-group-meets-with-city-officials/" class="read-more">Read More&#8230;</a></p><p>The post <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/21/south-berkeley-residents-group-meets-with-city-officials/">South Berkeley residents&#8217; group meets with city officials</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.dailycal.org">The Daily Californian</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p dir="ltr">
<p>Discontented residents of South Berkeley convened with city government officials Tuesday night to discuss the need for improvements in  their neighborhood.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://caljulia.wordpress.com">CalJulia Neighbors</a>, an organized group of residents from the two-block area around the intersection of California and Julia streets, has been meeting since 2011 to address three main points of concern in the neighborhood: an ineffective stormwater drainage system, traffic and pedestrian-safety problems and the decline of business on Sacramento Street.</p>
<p>At Tuesday’s meeting, about 30 residents presented these issues directly to five city officials, including Councilmember Max Anderson and City Manager Christine Daniel.</p>
<p>“I was really excited that the city came out and really took the time to listen,” said Sofia Zander, one of the main organizers of the CalJulia Neighbors. “Some neighbors were frustrated &#8230; (they) were really waiting for city to take some leadership.”</p>
<p>The problems facing the community are not new, according to Zander. Concerns about flooding and pedestrian safety have been present since she moved into the area 10 years ago, she said.</p>
<p>“My kids walk across California Street on a daily basis to get to school, so we experience the pedestrian-safety issue daily, and the flooding at that intersection is present whenever there is a storm,” Zander said.</p>
<p>Additionally, one main lot on Sacramento Street has been vacant for about 34 years, even though there have been various local efforts to develop it, according to a statement <a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/17A1lRYpZHT-mggwyjOx5T6Kr2g17buVHkc6mxn6f2qdGbsu0i8zKC2tpDH1d/edit?usp=sharing">released by the CalJulia Neighbors in February 2012</a>.</p>
<p>“It’s an eyesore and an incessant target for graffiti and littering,” said Tania Carlone, a community organizer who lives near the abandoned property. “It is a dominant feature in our neighborhood’s landscape.”</p>
<p>City officials, who say they heard of these problems only recently, assured residents they would work on issues like the storm drains and had employed city workers to unclog neighborhood drains the next morning. However, according to Zander, this would not solve the deeper issue of the drains’ flawed designs.</p>
<p>Regarding the matter of traffic and pedestrian safety, Daniel urged the group to file a report with the city’s transportation division. To address Sacramento Street, another meeting between city officials and residents will be held in upcoming weeks.</p>
<p>Anderson emphasized that the collaboration between residents and the city is still in its beginning stages.</p>
<p>“We’ve just started looking at things and outlining what needs to be done,” he said.</p>
<p>The CalJulia Neighbors also hopes that its efforts will bring attention to other South Berkeley areas in which there are similar desires to move forward with improvements.</p>
<p>“It’s a great group — there’s a lot of potential and a lot of energy,” Daniel said. “We’re looking forward to working with them.”
<p id='tagline'><em>Contact Alison Fu at <a href="mailto:afu@dailycal.org">afu@dailycal.org</a>.</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/21/south-berkeley-residents-group-meets-with-city-officials/">South Berkeley residents&#8217; group meets with city officials</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.dailycal.org">The Daily Californian</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>NextSpace opens in downtown Berkeley, looks to promote collaboration</title>
		<link>http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/14/downtown-workspace-looks-to-promote-collaboration/</link>
		<comments>http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/14/downtown-workspace-looks-to-promote-collaboration/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 14 Apr 2013 23:16:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alison Fu</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Berkeley Startup Cluster]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Erin Griffin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mike Cohen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NextSpace Berkeley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Richard Noroski]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dailycal.org/?p=210672</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Starting June 3, Berkeley startups and home-based workers will have a new place to collaborate. <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/14/downtown-workspace-looks-to-promote-collaboration/" class="read-more">Read More&#8230;</a></p><p>The post <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/14/downtown-workspace-looks-to-promote-collaboration/">NextSpace opens in downtown Berkeley, looks to promote collaboration</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.dailycal.org">The Daily Californian</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p dir="ltr">Berkeley startups and home-based workers will have a new place to collaborate when NextSpace Berkeley opens June 3 as a communal office space Downtown.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Advertising large, open office spaces, trendy decorations and a prime location, NextSpace Berkeley hopes to be the new hub for creative collaboration and innovation in Berkeley. The space, located on the corner of Shattuck Avenue and Center Street, will be able to house more than 200 members in an area that was once home to a bank.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="http://nextspace.us">NextSpace</a>, which was founded in 2008, is a company that brings together freelancers, telecommuters and startups by providing professional workspaces for those who need them. The goal is to stimulate innovation through the exchange of ideas in casual, communal office settings.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“We don’t simply provide office space to our members,” said Erin Griffin, community curator of NextSpace Berkeley. “We create a community.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">To build community and facilitate networking, NextSpace organizes weekly lunches, Friday happy hours and occasional game nights for its users. The company also encourages its members to participate in local events together and get involved in their own communities.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Each NextSpace location includes an open workspace, private office spaces, conference rooms, basic office supplies and free coffee and tea. Some highlights of NextSpace Berkeley will be its large skylit cafe area, in which members will be able to work with one another and network, and its unique conference room, which is set up in what used to be a bank vault.</p>
<p dir="ltr">There are currently NextSpace locations in Santa Cruz, Culver City, San Francisco, San Jose and Venice Beach.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“(NextSpace drives) down the cost and risk associated with starting and growing a small business,” said Richard Noroski, a UC Berkeley alumnus who has used NextSpace in Culver City to start his company, Noroski Engineering. “I would say the biggest impact on me personally and my business has been getting to meet new people and see inside their minds and their businesses.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">The opening of a NextSpace location in Berkeley follows several <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/11/new-hackerspace-in-cory-hall/">other efforts</a> to encourage the development of startups in the area. There are currently seven other similar co-working spaces that exist in Berkeley.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“Co-working spaces such as NextSpace … will help stem the innovation drain that has been occurring for years due to Cal and Berkeley lab spinouts moving to the South Bay and Peninsula,” said Mike Cohen, co-founder of the Berkeley Startup Cluster, an organization that promotes networking between startups in the area.</p>
<p dir="ltr">NextSpace Berkeley also hopes to attract people with its location in the Wells Fargo building Downtown, just a few blocks away from campus.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“Being located near Cal will play an interesting role,” Griffin said. “None of our other spaces are so closely influenced by a university, so I think we will see a lot of young startup creativity and maybe some academics and grad students that the other spaces do not experience as often.”</p>
<p id='tagline'><em>Contact Alison Fu at <a href="mailto:afu@dailycal.org">afu@dailycal.org</a>.</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/14/downtown-workspace-looks-to-promote-collaboration/">NextSpace opens in downtown Berkeley, looks to promote collaboration</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.dailycal.org">The Daily Californian</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>State Assembly passes bill aimed to curtail school district debt burden</title>
		<link>http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/09/state-assembly-passes-bill-aimed-to-curtail-debt-burden/</link>
		<comments>http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/09/state-assembly-passes-bill-aimed-to-curtail-debt-burden/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 10 Apr 2013 02:47:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alison Fu</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AB182]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Assembly Bill 182]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Association of California School Administrators]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Berkeley Unified School District]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bill Lockyer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[California Association of School Business Officials]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[California State Assembly]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Joan Buchanan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Karen Hemphill]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mark Coplan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Molly McGee Hewitt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tom Dresslar]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dailycal.org/?p=210020</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>The California State Assembly unanimously passed a bill on Monday restricting the use of high debt-accumulating bonds in school districts and community colleges. <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/09/state-assembly-passes-bill-aimed-to-curtail-debt-burden/" class="read-more">Read More&#8230;</a></p><p>The post <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/09/state-assembly-passes-bill-aimed-to-curtail-debt-burden/">State Assembly passes bill aimed to curtail school district debt burden</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.dailycal.org">The Daily Californian</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The California State Assembly unanimously passed a bill Monday restricting the use of high-debt-accumulating bonds in school districts and community colleges.</p>
<p>Introduced by Assemblymember Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo, Assembly Bill 182 attempts to reduce the future debt burden by limiting the length of capital appreciation bonds to 25 years and restricting money owed to a maximum of four times the borrowed amount. The bill would also let districts refinance these bonds at a lower interest rate and require increased disclosure to the school districts’ governing boards.</p>
<p>“They shove debt on the next generation of taxpayers who won’t benefit directly from the facilities the bonds finance, which means (the next generation will) have less ability to finance what their kids need,” said Tom Dresslar, spokesperson for California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer, who has been a strong advocate for the bill.</p>
<p>Capital appreciation bonds have been used by public schools throughout the nation to fund large-scale projects like school construction. Unlike traditional bonds, however, for which the funds are repaid in gradual, short-term increments, capital appreciation bonds are paid back in one total amount at a set date, often decades after the bond is issued.</p>
<p>However, during the period between the bond’s issue date and its maturity date, interest is continuously compounded, which often results in high levels of accumulated interest. In some cases, debt payments have accrued to even 10 times the original amount borrowed, according to Dresslar.</p>
<p>Several groups, such as the California Association of School Business Officials and the Association of California School Administrators, believe that capital appreciation bonds should be limited but that AB 182 should be revised.</p>
<p>“If passed in its current form,&#8221; said Molly McGee Hewitt, executive director of CASBO, &#8220;we are concerned that many school districts will have to delay their facilities&#8217; construction programs, resulting in substandard facilities for students, teachers and staff that are in the greatest need of them — particularly in districts that serve a high percentage of economically disadvantaged families.”</p>
<p>The Berkeley Unified School District is not using any capital-appreciation bonds at the moment, though the use of such bonds is “likely to happen in the future,” according to Mark Coplan, BUSD public information officer.</p>
<p>Karen Hemphill, president of the BUSD Board of Education, mentioned that the board has weighed the pros and cons of capital-appreciation bonds and would consider them only in the context of saving taxpayers money.</p>
<p>“Fiscal responsibility has been the hallmark (of the district),” Hemphill said. “We have a lot of checks and balances and accountability.”</p>
<p>The state Senate will vote on AB 182 in the following months. If passed and signed by the governor, the bill will be implemented beginning Jan. 1 of next year.</p>
<p id='tagline'><em>Contact Alison Fu at <a href="mailto:afu@dailycal.org">afu@dailycal.org</a>.</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/09/state-assembly-passes-bill-aimed-to-curtail-debt-burden/">State Assembly passes bill aimed to curtail school district debt burden</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.dailycal.org">The Daily Californian</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>CalSERVE presidential nominee DeeJay Pepito aims to give voice to minorities</title>
		<link>http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/07/deejay-pepitocalserve-presidential-nominee-deejay-pepito-aims-to-give-voice-to-minorities/</link>
		<comments>http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/07/deejay-pepitocalserve-presidential-nominee-deejay-pepito-aims-to-give-voice-to-minorities/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Apr 2013 04:20:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alison Fu</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[ASUC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[2013 ASUC Presidential candidate profiles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ASUC Student Spaces Director]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bakersfield]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bridges Multicultural Resource Center]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CalSERVE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Deejay Pepito]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lyndon Pepito]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Multicultural Community Fund]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pilipino Academic Student Services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sadia Saifuddin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Surge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tom Seung Kun Lee]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dailycal.org/?p=209397</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>As one of about 800 Pilipinos on a campus of nearly 36,000, Pepito says she hopes to represent the Pilipino community, along with other minority groups, such as women, that she feels are underrepresented in the ASUC. <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/07/deejay-pepitocalserve-presidential-nominee-deejay-pepito-aims-to-give-voice-to-minorities/" class="read-more">Read More&#8230;</a></p><p>The post <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/07/deejay-pepitocalserve-presidential-nominee-deejay-pepito-aims-to-give-voice-to-minorities/">CalSERVE presidential nominee DeeJay Pepito aims to give voice to minorities</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.dailycal.org">The Daily Californian</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Editor&#8217;s note: This is one of four profiles that will be published on candidates for ASUC President. Stories on David Douglass and Rafi Lurie will appear in print and online by Tuesday.</em></p>
<p>There is a street in Bakersfield that marks the divide between the middle-class residents and the less privileged ones, according to CalSERVE presidential candidate DeeJay Pepito.</p>
<p>Once you cross this street, Pepito says, “you start seeing more people of color.”</p>
<p>When Pepito was 7 years old, she and her family crossed from the poorer side of town to the richer suburban area, becoming one of few Pilipinos in a community dominated by white residents.</p>
<p>As Pepito describes it, on one end lies a community full of cookie-cutter houses. Drive farther down, however, and everything is different. The roads are full of cracks and potholes; instead of spotless single-family homes, there are trailer parks and grimy fast-food joints.</p>
<p>With the move, Pepito learned firsthand what it feels like to not belong. In high school, she was one of 17 Pilipinos in a student body of more than 2,500 people, she said.</p>
<p>“It was hard for me to relate to others because I was always placed as the ‘other’,” Pepito said. “It was difficult growing up and trying to figure out who I was and what my identity was.”</p>
<p>Even today, Pepito is one of about 800 Pilipinos on a campus of nearly 36,000. Pepito says she hopes to represent the Pilipino community, along with other minority groups, such as women, that she feels are underrepresented in the ASUC.</p>
<p>Since her freshman year, Pepito has worked to improve student opportunities and bridge the divide between students of different backgrounds. In particular, Pepito has been heavily involved with the Pilipino Academic Student Services and bridges Multicultural Resource Center. She was also directly involved in facilitating the move from Eshleman Hall to the SURGE spaces as part of the Lower Sproul redevelopment process when she was student spaces director.</p>
<p>Along with independent Senator Sadia Saifuddin, Pepito also oversees the Multicultural Fund, which allocates money to student groups that host multicultural events.</p>
<p>“At the beginning of our term, she wanted to do so much, and while that was really admirable, she just didn’t have the bandwidth to take on the amount that she did,” Saifuddin said. “She learned how to say no to some opportunities and weigh the costs and benefits of each one.”</p>
<p>Although admired by many of her fellow CalSERVE senators, Pepito has also been criticized as being too outspoken and even aggressive.</p>
<p>“I would say she is one of the more ‘aggressive’ figures on the floor, including both the positive and negative connotations that may or may not come with that specific verbiage,” said Student Action Senator Tom Seung Kun Lee.</p>
<p>According to Lee, in one instance, Pepito was among a handful of senators who asked for people who were in support of Measure S, a city measure that would have banned people from sitting on sidewalks in commercial areas, to stand up in an ASUC meeting. In an already hostile environment, Lee was the sole person standing.</p>
<p>“I would say the conversation was unproductive because some senators came into the chamber with their minds set and no intention of listening to others or compromising,” Lee said.</p>
<p>Pepito’s assertive attitude may be rooted in her family’s tough experiences during her adolescence. The youngest of three children, Pepito says she gathers her strength from her mother and father, whom she claims as inspirations.</p>
<p>As an immigrant, Pepito’s mother was unable to get a job, as her optometry license from the Philippines was not considered valid in the United States. Meanwhile, Pepito’s father worked to support the costs of raising three children. Throughout Pepito’s childhood, the family struggled financially, especially after the economic downturn in 2008.</p>
<p>“It gave her great insight on the disparity between the privileges and resources that are available to families with a higher socioeconomic status and those with lower statuses,” said her older brother Lyndon Pepito.</p>
<p><a href="http://asuc2013.dailycal.org"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-188783" title="TienNote2" alt="" src="http://a1.dailycal.org/assets/uploads/2013/04/Electiongraphicicon.png" width="250" height="90" /></a></p>
<p>Recently, the family has had more than just finances to worry about. In March of last year, just as her senate campaign had begun, Pepito received a shocking call. Her father, who is in his mid-60s, had experienced multiple strokes and was in the hospital in critical condition.</p>
<p>“Dad was always my superhero,” Pepito recalled. “When I had gone home and seen how the stroke had affected him … I remember thinking, I have to be my dad’s superhero now.”</p>
<p>Pepito hopes to carry over this heroic instinct to her role as student body president, if she is elected next week, by creating a more welcoming and safe campus environment and increasing the accessibility of campus administrators for current and future students.</p>
<p>“It’s easy at Cal to feel like you’re a small fish in a big pond,” Pepito said. “In reality, we’re all big fishes. We just need to really learn about one another more, about ourselves and really seize the opportunity to make a change.”
<p id='tagline'><em>Contact Alison Fu at <a href="mailto:afu@dailycal.org">afu@dailycal.org</a>.</em></p>
<p id='correction'><strong>Correction(s):</strong><br/><em>The print version of this story incorrectly switched Jason Bellet and DeeJay Pepito&#8217;s platforms. In fact, Pepito&#8217;s platforms are improving campus safety, advocating for public higher education and increasing accountability of campus administrators.</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2013/04/07/deejay-pepitocalserve-presidential-nominee-deejay-pepito-aims-to-give-voice-to-minorities/">CalSERVE presidential nominee DeeJay Pepito aims to give voice to minorities</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.dailycal.org">The Daily Californian</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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