Editorials

Overstepping boundaries

UNIVERSITY ISSUES: The discussion surrounding the appointment of UC Student Regent-designate Sadia Saifuddin was disrespectful and failed to focus on her qualifications.

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Nathaniel Solley/Staff

When former ASUC senator Sadia Saifuddin was appointed to the position of UC student-regent designate at this month’s UC Board of Regents meeting, what should have been a conversation focusing on the candidate’s qualifications devolved into a shameful spectacle. The conversation to approve Saifuddin failed to assess her preparedness to Read More…

Editorials

Open contradictions

UNIVERSITY AFFAIRS: The university’s recently passed open access research policy is at odds with the goals of the open access movement.

Earlier this summer, The Daily Calfornian wrote an editorial in support of the nationwide open access movement, which aims to make results of government-funded research freely available to the public online. On July 24, the UC Academic Senate proudly announced that beginning in November, anyone will be able to access Read More…

Editorials

Overcrowded housing

CAMPUS ISSUES: The Residential Student Service Programs should have prepared for a large class of incoming freshmen, eliminating any possibility of a housing scarcity.

With the largest incoming freshman class in UC Berkeley history coming to campus this fall, the Residential Student Service Programs need to ensure that all students are guaranteed quality housing. Reports that the impending increase in the size of the student body might lead to a scarcity in campus housing Read More…

Editorials

Facilitated free speech

UNIVERSITY ISSUES: A new change in UC policy to protect faculty speech is encouraging but the policy should be broader.

The UC Board of Regents approved a change to its faculty code of conduct earlier this month to protect faculty members who wish to speak out against administrative policies from the possibility of losing their jobs. It comes as a surprise that this protection was not already in place; it Read More…

Editorials

Napolitano’s test

UNIVERSITY ISSUES: The choice of Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano as president of the UC is an unorthodox one. We hope she is up to the challenge.

The news that the secretary of homeland security would be the next president of the University of California came as a surprise. While we are supportive of the unique experiences Janet Napolitano can bring, she has a lot to learn and a long way to go to convince dissenters that Read More…

Editorials

Trucking to a new home

CITY AFFAIRS: The new Bancroft Way and College Avenue location for three city food trucks unfairly puts the future of the trucks in limbo.

Three food trucks formerly located in front of Bancroft Way and Telegraph Avenue, Healthy Heavenly Foods, Kettle Corn Star and Dojo Dog, were dislocated in December as a result of the Lower Sproul renovation project. Healthy Heavenly Foods recently reopened at the new location, while the latter two are still Read More…

Editorials

Drawing the lines

CITY AFFAIRS: Berkeley City Council’s final decision on a newly redrawn voting district should take into account students who live on Northside.

Berkeley City Council’s decision to support an ASUC-sponsored redistricting map is a promising step toward establishing a student supermajority district in the city. Still, the district should ultimately encompass students living in cooperative housing and dormitory housing on the north side of campus. At its meeting July 2, the council Read More…

Editorials

Mastering California’s ideals

UNIVERSITY ISSUES: The move to make UCLA’s full-time MBA program self-supporting is a step backwards for public higher education in California.

By signing off on a proposal to make UCLA’s full-time graduate MBA program self-supporting, UC President Mark Yudof has given up on the dream for the University of California to remain a public university supported by the state. Last month, Yudof approved the UCLA Anderson School of Management’s proposal to Read More…

Editorials

BARTpocalypse

BAY AREA AFFAIRS: It’s disappointing that after a four day strike, BART unions and administration could not reach a resolution.

The fact that the two sides of the BART battle have not come to an agreement over new employee contracts following a four-day worker strike — two days of which were spent not talking — is evident of a lack of urgency. BART service resumed Friday afternoon following the strike Read More…

Editorials

Maintaining diversity

NATIONAL ISSUES: The U.S. Supreme Court made the right decision in sending Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, back to the lower courts to reexamine.

The U.S. Supreme Court did the right thing in not forcing the University of Texas to change its admission policies in its ruling in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, a case that tested the constitutionality of considering race in university admissions. The Supreme Court sent the case back Read More…