The Daily Californian » Matt Trejo

Judicial Council finds Landgraf’s executive order unconstitutional

Matt Trejo — Wed, 15 May 2013 00:44:04 +0000

Connor Landgraf is the ASUC President.

The ASUC Judicial Council found ASUC President Connor Landgraf’s use of an executive order in the recent ASUC elections unconstitutional on Tuesday, nullifying the health and wellness referendum, which would use student funds to build new fitness and wellness centers on campus.

Devonte Jackson, campus organizing director for the external affairs vice president’s office, filed the petition against Landgraf on May 1, claiming that Landgraf missed a constitutionally mandated deadline for issuing the executive order that placed the referendum on the ballot. The council ruled in Jackson’s favor, saying that Landgraf’s use of an executive order was “neither urgent nor necessary to the functioning of the ASUC,” according to the Judicial Council’s summary brief.

“We believe it goes against the spirit of the ASUC Constitution to allow the decision of one student place a fee referendum on the ballot when the Constitution and Bylaws have explicitly set out deadlines that were missed,” according to the brief.

According to the text of the ASUC Constitution, the president is vested with the authority “To direct by Executive Order the taking of actions which are urgent and necessary to maintain the functioning of the A. S.U.C. until the Senate can again meet.”

More updates to follow.

Jackson v Landgraf Official Judicial Council Summary Judgment (PDF)Jackson v Landgraf Official Judicial Council Summary Judgment (Text)

Contact Matt Trejo at mtrejo@dailycal.org.

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Judicial Council considers divestment bill’s constitutionality

Matt Trejo — Thu, 09 May 2013 04:53:57 +0000

Benny Grush/Staff

The ASUC Judicial Council hears arguments addressing controversial divestment bill SB 160 on May 8.

The ASUC Judicial Council heard oral arguments Wednesday in a case regarding the controversial divestment bill, SB 160.

The council heard the case, Ickowitz-Freeman v. ASUC Senate & SB 160, at Anna Head Alumnae Hall Wednesday morning. Petitioners Noah Ickowitz, SQUELCH! party chair and a former Daily Cal columnist, and Joey Freeman, former external affairs vice president, allege that the bill’s passage was unconstitutional because it legislated investments, did not pass through the ASUC’s investment committee and did not obtain the two-thirds majority required to approve investment legislation.

CalSERVE Senator Nolan Pack argued for the defense, saying that SB 160 makes no changes to the budget and therefore does not fall under the investment committee’s purview. He also said that SB 160 leaves the ASUC’s revenue sources unaltered. If this is true, the bill’s passage would be constitutional.

On Friday, the Judicial Council approved a settlement agreement to the case that would remove language from the bill, making the passage constitutional. On Saturday, however, the Judicial Council backtracked on that decision, deciding instead that the settlement was invalid.

ASUC Attorney General Hinh Tran agrees with the petitioners that the bill’s passage was unconstitutional and decided not to represent the ASUC Senate in this particular case despite the attorney general’s traditional role of doing so.

“The settlement would have produced a constitutional SB 160,” Tran said. “I determined personally that there are parts of SB 160, as is, that are unconstitutional because the ASUC intended that anything finance-related would require a two-thirds vote in order for the ASUC to divest.”

SB 160 was originally passed on April 18 by a vote of 11 in favor and nine against after 10 hours of debate that continued through the night and into the following day.

Pack — in place of Tran — argued for the constitutionality of the bill’s passage.

However, despite the procedural nature of the case, both sides felt their personal beliefs on divestment were being brought into the debate, raising questions about whether individual values will influence the justices.

“A significant part of the defense’s arguments were personal attacks on the plaintiffs rather than arguments against legal claims that the plaintiffs were making,” Ickowitz said. “Personally, I felt that they harped on one of the violations I was asserting but briefly addressed the others.”

Pack said, however, that this is not about Israel or Palestine but about upholding the integrity of decisions made by the ASUC.

“I hope that the Judicial Council upholds the legislative decision of the senate to support SB 160 rather than affirming arguments that aim to use judicial council to achieve a legislative goal,” he said.

The Judicial Council declined to comment on this story.

Click here for a video of Ickowitz’s statement.

Contact Matt Trejo at mtrejo@dailycal.org.

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Petition over EAVP-elect Safeena Mecklai’s election violation to move forward

Matt Trejo — Thu, 02 May 2013 03:52:49 +0000

Despite the ASUC attorney general’s announcement that he will drop his investigation of External Affairs Vice President-elect Safeena Mecklai for alleged bylaw violations, the initial petitioner will continue moving forward with her charges.

In April, CalSERVE Elections Coordinator Anais LaVoie filed charges against Mecklai for allegedly violating ASUC Constitution bylaws during the recent ASUC elections. The charges include explicit disobedience of residence hall staff directives, distribution of campaign literature in the residence halls, solicitation in the dining commons and solicitation in the residence halls, according to the hearing brief.

After the charges were filed, the case was automatically deferred to the attorney general’s office per ASUC protocol, said ASUC Judicial Council Chair Suneeta Israni. The attorney general’s office is responsible for conducting investigations of alleged bylaw violations of the ASUC Constitution.

Attorney General Hinh Tran determined Monday that there was not enough evidence for the case to move forward, citing a lack of witness response in the investigation.

“One witness decided not to participate, one witness indicated he did not consent to have his testimony included in the investigation and two other witnesses failed to respond after I made multiple attempts to contact them,” Tran said.

Tran said that he did not feel confident moving forward with his investigation because the allegations could not be substantiated by the witnesses themselves.

Although Tran’s office has decided not to move forward with the investigation, LaVoie has made it clear that she will proceed with the charges, Tran said.

LaVoie asked that the Judicial Council assign Mecklai 15 campaign censures, which would disqualify her from holding office as ASUC External Affairs Vice President.

In addition to a lack of witness participation, Tran said he uncovered additional problems with LaVoie’s petition during the course of his investigation.

“A witness’ testimony was included in her petition, but the witness had already expressed that they did not want their testimony included in the investigation,” Tran said.

He added that only his office, the witness and one other organization has access to that information, and he didn’t know how it was included in the petition. That information should not have been available to LaVoie, Tran said.

The Judicial Council is scheduled to hear the case against Mecklai on Thursday at 8 p.m. in Slottman Hall in Unit 1. But with a lack of participation from the attorney general’s office, Tran said he doubts that LaVoie’s case will be successful.

“For me, the case is not strong enough to get a conviction,” Tran said, “but maybe other witnesses will come forward for LaVoie.”

Mecklai, LaVoie and all the other witnesses named in the petition are currently under gag order and could not comment for this article.

Contact Matt Trejo at mtrejo@dailycal.org.

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Campus staff members, organizations honored with chancellor’s award

Matt Trejo — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 04:59:20 +0000

Kevin Hahn/Staff

Chancellor Robert Birgeneau congratulates recipients of the 2013 Chancellor's Outstanding Staff Award at a ceremony Monday.

Fourteen campus staff members and six organizations received the Chancellor’s Outstanding Staff Award for their dedication to the university at a ceremony on Monday.

The annual award, now in its 21st year, is given to campus staff and organizations in honor of their dedication to their jobs and commitment to the campus community. The recipients of the award this year included people in a wide variety of positions, including a nanoscientist, the university carillonist and a capital projects director.

These awards, given to university employees who have been working for at least a year, are among the highest honors bestowed upon staff by the chancellor, according to the Chancellor’s Staff Advisory Committee’s website.

A limited number of awards are given each year, and nominations are evaluated based on dedication to the university’s mission, leadership and sustainability, among other factors. The award recipients were selected out of a nomination pool of 41 individuals and 13 teams.

One recipient, Gillian Edgelow, a staff member of the department of gender and women’s studies, said she was honored to have received the award.

“During this challenging time for the university, it means a lot to be recognized,” Edgelow said, referencing the recent budget cuts to which the university has been adjusting. “It’s very apparent how hard all the staff members are working, and I’m honored to be a part of that.”

Edgelow was described during the awards ceremony as a team player who embraced change during departmental restructuring. Edgelow said her secret to success was simplification.

In addition individuals, the awards recognized campus organizations, such as the Technology Transfer Program at the campus’s Institute of Transportation, which trains and provides resources to professionals in transportation.

The TTP recently lost a state subsidy of more than $1 million. This year, the program was forced to make cuts, reducing its staff of 20 to six.

“A couple years ago, we didn’t know if our program would survive because we lost two major contracts,” said Eduardo Serafin, a member of the Technology Transfer Program team. “The biggest challenge we overcame was to reinvent ourselves the way we did.”

Serafin added that the organization no longer receives any money from the state and is completely self-sustaining.

Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, who was present at the event, acknowledged the difficult times the university faces.

“We have such an extraordinary staff during what’s been a challenging time at the university,” Birgeneau said. “I appreciate how hard they’ve worked, and it’s a privilege for me to be able to honor these staff members.”

Zack Phillips, co-chair of the COSA committee, also expressed his gratitude to the hardworking campus staff members.

“It’s a real privilege to be able to recognize staff for their amazing achievements,” Phillips said. “This is the highlight of what we do at the COSA.”

Contact Matt Trejo at mtrejo@dailycal.org.

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Amendments to online education bill SB 520 aim to appease opposed faculty

Matt Trejo — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 03:54:05 +0000

State legislators approved amendments to a controversial online education bill last week in response to opposition from faculty members in the state’s public institutions of higher education.

SB 520, authored by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, would make the 50 most oversubscribed lower division courses in California’s higher education system available online. In the original draft of the bill, a nine-member council would be responsible for approving and overseeing the online courses.

The Senate Education Committee approved amendments that would eliminate the nine-member council and allow the UC president, the CSU chancellor, the chancellor of the California Community Colleges and each system’s respective academic senate to administer the new online education platform.

“(The amendment) eliminated the nine-person council so that more administration and faculty can be involved in the decision-making process for this online platform,” said Mark Hedlund, Steinberg’s communication director.

The bill has been met with much opposition since its introduction in February. Last month, the members of the Academic Senate of the University of California sent an open letter to the committee condemning SB 520. Earlier this month, the Berkeley Faculty Association created a petition opposing the bill that garnered more than 1,600 signatures.

“The primary victims of this bill and the trend it opens up will be California students who are going to be offered a subprime education,” said Colleen Lye, secretary of the BFA.

Representatives from the Academic Senate declined to comment.

Although Hedlund said the bill was amended to address the concerns of faculty members and administrators, many feel that the amendments are not enough. Dan Acland, an assistant adjunct professor at the UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy, signed the petition and said that the amendments do not change his mind about the bill.

“They talk about ‘oversubscribed’ courses,” Acland said. “An oversubscribed course is a course in which there are not enough spots available. But there are not enough spots available because there’s not enough funding. And there’s not enough funding because the Legislature has not provided enough funds.”

According to Hedlund, Steinberg presented additional amendments at a Wednesday hearing of the education committee. Currently, the bill requires private firms like edX, Coursera and Udacity to provide the online courses. Steinberg’s proposed amendment would allow California’s public colleges to design and implement their own online courses.

ASUC External Affairs Vice President Sharyar Abbasi said he does not think there is a one-size-fits-all approach and that online courses need to be implemented to supplement, not supplant, the classroom.

“I think it’s an important and innovative step in higher education, and I think it’s important to consider how these courses are implemented,” he said.

Contact Matt Trejo at mtrejo@dailycal.org.

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Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart to perform at Berkeley Rep

Matt Trejo — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 06:56:37 +0000

Berkeley residents should be on the lookout for famed English actors Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart.

Playwright Harold Pinter’s play, “No Man’s Land,” starring the critically acclaimed McKellen and Stewart, will present its pre-Broadway premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. “No Man’s Land” is scheduled for 34 exclusive performances in August at the Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theatre, beginning on the Aug. 3 and ending on Aug. 31, before it moves to Broadway.

The award-winning director of “No Man’s Land,” Sean Mathias, shared excitement about coming to the Berkeley Rep to kick off the play before it heads to Broadway.

“How thrilling to direct my first Pinter play and to do that for Berkeley Rep,” Mathias said in a statement. “I am delighted to come and discover the delights of Pinter with the Berkeley Rep audience.”

Marketing manager Kyle Sircus echoed Mathias’ sentiments, affirming the unique quality of the Berkeley Rep audience.

“The Berkeley Rep welcomes over 200,000 patrons through the door every year,” Sircus said. “We are lucky and blessed to have a smart and sophisticated audience hungry for new, challenging and engaging work.”

McKellen, known for his roles in films such as the “Lord of the Rings” series and “The Da Vinci Code,” and Stewart, who starred in “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” previously shared onscreen chemistry in the “X-Men” film series. McKellen and Stewart, who both have distinguished stage careers, expressed enthusiasm about coming to Berkeley.

“It’s high time I played Berkeley Rep, and I’m so pleased to be doing that at last in No Man’s Land (my first professional Pinter) and in such distinguished company,” McKellen said in the press statement.

Stewart echoed similar sentiments, stating in the release, “I am delighted to be performing at Berkeley Rep and look forward to living in and discovering the city and its surroundings.”

Tickets, whose prices range from $35 to $135, will go on sale to the general public on May 19.

Contact Matt Trejo at mtrejo@dailycal.org.

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Community marches to honor Kayla Moore’s memory

Matt Trejo — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 06:08:31 +0000

Levy Yun/Staff

On what would have been Kayla Moore’s 42nd birthday, family members and the community at large celebrated her life and marched peacefully to the Berkeley police station Wednesday evening.

Approximately 70 individuals attended the event to remember Moore, a 41-year-old transgender Berkeley resident and a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic who died in the custody of Berkeley Police Department on Feb. 12 after a disturbance call.

The memorial and protest began in the Gaia Building, where Moore lived, and featured an extensive cast of speakers, including friends, family, a City Council member and other community members.

“She was so brave to be herself,” said Maria Moore, Moore’s sister and a UC Berkeley graduate. “Kayla was such a fun person. She was a bubbly beach blonde inside a large male body. Kayla took care of other people before she would take care of herself.”

Along with honoring Kayla’s memory, many felt that the details of the investigation were taking too long to be released. Wednesday’s protest resulted in the protesters taping a Public Records Act request to the door of the BPD station in which they demanded that BPD release the coroner’s report.

BPD, however, has placed a “press hold” on the release of the autopsy report because the investigation remains open.

“The investigation is still ongoing,” said Officer Jennifer Coats, spokesperson for BPD. “Any investigation involving a death such as this includes thorough and detailed interviews with all witnesses and involved parties, the collection and analysis of all available evidence and preparation of appropriate reports.”

Councilmember Kriss Worthington, who knew Moore for almost 30 years, criticized the investigation for taking too long a time to release details.

“No family in the city of Berkeley should ever have to wait weeks or months to get a coroner’s report of the death of their family member,” Worthington said. “In hundreds of cities across California, you can get this information in days.”

Worthington added that Moore was dealing with so many issues that our society is not prepared to deal with. Family and community members alike voiced their desire to have police better trained to handle people with mental-health disabilities.

The coroner’s office is expected to conclude its investigation shortly, and BPD expects to release something in the “very near future,” according to Lt. David Frankel of BPD, though an exact date was not specified. Frankel added that this information is planned to be made available much sooner than in similar cases due to the high-profile nature of the case.

Another protest is planned for April 30, when the protesters will attempt to voice their concern to the city manager, to whom BPD reports, said Andrea Pritchett of the Berkeley Copwatch.

Contact Matt Trejo at mtrejo@dailycal.org.

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Officials expect record voter turnout for 2013 ASUC election

Matt Trejo — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 06:11:34 +0000

Carli Baker/Staff

Campus polling stations are less numerous than in previous years due to online voting.

Election officials say they expect record voter turnout during this year’s ASUC election.

Elections Council chair Jina Yoo speculated that voter turnout would increase this year based on the number of views the election website has received so far this election.

“I’m hoping that voter turnout increases, because the propositions that are on the ballot this year affect all students,” Yoo said. “Last year’s election experienced record turnout, and this year, the ASUC has put more money into advertising and social media than previous years.”

Before the election, the ASUC’s voting website only had about 3,000 views, and now it has more than 20,000, according to Yoo.

Around 12,600 students cast votes in last year’s election — the highest voter turnout in recent history.

The expected increase in voter participation, however, comes after the number of polling places on campus decreased from prior years. Yoo said that a majority of students voted online in recent elections, and the ASUC decided to reduce polling places to save money.

Yoo said that the ASUC wanted to see which polling stations would be the most efficient to have on campus because many people elect to vote online. She also cited the additional cost of running a polling station.

“I haven’t seen anyone actually use the computers (at the polling stations) to vote,” said poll worker Katie Rice. “I usually refer people to the website to vote.”

Although many students have already cast their ballots, others say they will not vote at all.

Shahin Bavarsad, a junior psychology major, said he does not plan to vote this year.

“I feel like if I’m voting for something I don’t know anything about, I’m abusing my right to vote,” Bavarsad said.

Thursday is the last day to cast a vote, with the last physical polling station closing at 9 p.m. and online voting closing at 11:59 p.m.

Contact Matt Trejo at mtrejo@dailycal.org.

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Professor speaks about smartphone use, earthquake mitigation

Matt Trejo — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 05:17:59 +0000

Samantha Rosenbaum/Staff

The ASUC Senate meets in March. A bill places a referendum shifting Advocacy Agenda implementation on the spring ballot.

A UC Berkeley geologist spoke about the use of computers and smartphones to collect data on earthquakes at a lecture in Banatao Auditorium on Monday evening.

Richard Allen, director of the UC Berkeley Seismological Laboratory and a professor of Earth and planetary science, spoke at the 2013 Lawson Lecture on seismology about possible ways to use science and technology to mitigate the threat of an earthquake. Allen’s lecture focused on using smartphones to implement public early-warning systems and to collect data on earthquakes.

“The potential is huge in California,” Allen said. “There are over 16 million people using smartphones.”

Allen is involved in developing a prototype app called ShakeAlert, which sends out earthquake alerts via computers and smartphones up to 30 seconds before users feel a quake. But Allen is confident that smartphones can be used to measure seismic movement as well.

According to Allen, researchers can use smartphones’ built-in accelerometers and gyroscopes to detect motion during an earthquake and GPS to pinpoint location. He found that smartphones can currently detect a magnitude-5 earthquake within a distance of about 30 kilometers.

Possible applications of this technology in the seismically active Bay Area include allowing people to move to a safe zone, slowing down or stopping BART trains and initiating a response before an earthquake hits.

“There is about a two-in-three chance of a major damaging earthquake in the Bay Area over the course of the next 30 years,” Allen said.

The most dangerous areas are the San Andreas and Hayward Faults, with the latter running directly under UC Berkeley, Allen noted.

According to UC Berkeley spokesperson Bob Sanders, the campus makes use of an emergency broadcast channel, a cellular phone network and a police unit as part of the Seismic Action Plan for Facilities Enhancement and Renewal, a plan to seismically retrofit buildings on campus and develop emergency response procedures for earthquakes.

The campus initiated approximately $500 million of seismic and related improvements in buildings across campus since 1997. Buildings including Evans and Tolman Halls and smaller, unoccupied facilities, such as the Old Art Gallery, still require seismic retrofitting, according to SAFER’s website.

Amina Assefa, a manager in the Office of Emergency Management, said that she supports the idea of incorporating technology in emergency preparedness.

“There are some gaps in our preparedness and our ability to meet the immediate needs of our population after a disaster,” Assefa said. “I think the use of emerging technology and teaching people how to use it is really important on a college campus, where most students use technology.”

Contact Matt Trejo at mtrejo@dailycal.org.

Correction(s):
A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the Greek Theatre was part of a list of campus facilities that needed retrofitting. In fact, the Greek Theatre was retrofitted last year.

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Berkeley Police Association sends out survey on taser use

Matt Trejo — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 02:09:45 +0000

Bowen Xiao/File

A new survey has been sent out to Berkeley residents asking for their opinions about Berkeley police officers potentially carrying tasers.

The Berkeley Police Association, a labor organization serving member officers, sergeants and command staff, sent out the survey in an email on March 27. Chris Stines, president of the Berkeley Police Association, called the survey a “preliminary step” toward starting a discussion on Berkeley Police Department taser use.

“Taser use in the city has not been seriously explored for many years,” Stines said. “We are very interested in the opinions of the community we serve.”

Berkeley police officers are some of the only officers in the Bay Area who are not equipped with tasers, according to Councilmember Gordon Wozniak, a supporter of the adoption of tasers.

“The controversial political climate in Berkeley has kept the UCPD and BPD from using tasers,” said UCPD Lt. Marc DeCoulode.

Many police departments, including UC police departments such as those in UCLA and UC Davis, have chosen to use tasers as an alternative to forces such as gunfire, according to DeCoulode.

Wozniak believes that tasers can be useful tools that should be available to Berkeley officers. Wozniak added that, as with firearms, there should be strict guidelines on their use. Support, however, is not unanimous on the council.

Councilmember Max Anderson voiced opposition to the use of tasers in Berkeley, citing the dangers of using them on people with medical conditions.

Andrea Prichett, a co-founder of Berkeley Copwatch, a volunteer group that monitors police, said that she believes tasers are the equivalent of lethal force and emphasized the risks that their use may pose that could result in death.

DeCoulode acknowledged the risk of using tasers but affirmed their usefulness to police officers, saying that they reduce physical confrontations and give officers another option besides the use of deadly force to subdue suspects.

“There are cases in which people have died from taser use, but there are also people who died after being arrested and put in a certain position,” DeCoulode said. “The important thing is appropriate application.”

Additionally, Sgt. J.D. Nelson of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, which currently uses tasers, said the devices are an effective tool in his department because lethal force can be avoided.

The Berkeley Police Association will release the results of the survey in the next few weeks along with its subsequent course of action, Stines added. The City Council, however, will have the final say on this matter, according to Wozniak.

Contact Matt Trejo at mtrejo@dailycal.org.

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