Category Archives: Editorials

Editorials

The state of student activism

UNIVERSITY ISSUES: As made clear this week, student activists are right to continue putting pressure on Sacramento, but need to refine their message.

For the most part, student activists got it right on Monday. Unlike last year, the demonstration in support of higher education in Sacramento passed without major incident, allowing focus to remain on students’ lobbying efforts. At the same time, though, the event may indicate that student activism is facing something Read More…

Editorials

Cal Lodge conundrum

CAMPUS ISSUES: In order to become a more valuable asset for the ASUC, Cal Lodge needs to become a location that is widely used in the summertime.

Cal Lodge has struggled for far too long. The ASUC-managed property near Lake Tahoe provides a great retreat location for UC Berkeley students and others, but in recent years, it has lost a considerable amount of money — the ASUC estimates that the lodge lost upward of $27,000 last year. Read More…

Editorials

Time to rebuild on Telegraph

CITY AFFAIRS: Plans to reconstruct the burned-down building on Telegraph Avenue and Haste Street are promising, but must come to fruition.

More than a year since two beloved eateries and dozens of apartment units near campus burned to the ground, feasible plans to rebuild finally seem to be progressing. Recently, the owners of the building that formerly stood on the corner of Haste Street and Telegraph Avenue submitted a proposal that Read More…

Editorials

Symptoms of sequestration

NATIONAL AFFAIRS: If Congress fails to take prompt action, the UC system and the people of California will suffer as a result of sequestration.

Here is a glimpse of the austere world California is plunging into if Congress fails to get its act together soon: The state could lose as much as $795,000 in funding for assistance to domestic violence victims, about $87.6 million for primary and secondary education will be lost, around 9,600 Read More…

Editorials

Heed Cal Corps’ petition

CAMPUS ISSUES: As a public service center that provides integral contributions to campus life at UC Berkeley, Cal Corps deserves more funding.

When UC Berkeley leaders are considering how to dole out student fee money, they must evaluate the campus’s priorities. Included in that consideration should be funding groups that further the university’s mission, part of which is to give back to local communities and pursue public service efforts. Cal Corps fits Read More…

Editorials

Help the food truck owners

CITY AFFAIRS: Food trucks that used to set up in front of Sproul Plaza deserve help from the city and campus to find a new location for business.

The food trucks formerly located in front of Sproul Plaza need the city’s help. The trucks’ owners, who say they signed four-year permits with the city last year, were displaced after being asked to move in December due to construction in Lower Sproul Plaza. Now, one owner estimates losses of Read More…

Editorials

Stadium seating quandary

CAMPUS ISSUES: The campus is taking positive steps toward better financing of Memorial Stadium, but concerns with the project linger on.

UC Berkeley administrators have finally acquiesced to a difficult truth: Financing the renovation of California Memorial Stadium through a heavy reliance on luxury seat sales is not going to work. In order to keep the project on track, the campus will need to maximize all sources of revenue. It has Read More…

Editorials

The SQUELCH! factor

CAMPUS ISSUES: A serious slate for ASUC Senate from the SQUELCH! party will hopefully add a layer of competitiveness to the 2013 election.

Some much-needed competition is being injected into the ASUC general election. With this week’s announcement that the SQUELCH! student political party will run all serious candidates, the 2013 election is, thankfully, shaping up to depart from the predictable cycle of late. Historically, SQUELCH! has ran primarily satirical candidates, though one serious Read More…

Editorials

Shoved into controversy

CAMPUS ISSUES: Cal basketball coach Mike Montgomery should not have shoved Allen Crabbe, but the issue has been blown out of proportion.

In the heat of the moment, Mike Montgomery let his emotions get the best of him. Down by double-digit points to an opponent it should have been besting, the Cal men’s basketball team needed to turn Sunday’s game against USC around. Fast. So Montgomery approached junior guard Allen Crabbe and, Read More…

Editorials

Fossil fuel middle ground

UNIVERSITY ISSUES: In light of the ASUC Senate’s call to divest from the fossil fuel industry, UC officials should consider creating a special fund.

The ASUC Senate took a laudable step toward environmental responsibility by passing a bill to divest any of its funds from the fossil fuel industry. Yet such divestment on a UC systemwide scale, which the bill also recommends, is not the most prudent move for the university. As a matter Read More…