Category Archives: Editorials

Editorials

The Bushmaster connection

UNIVERSITY ISSUES: The university is right to seek distance from the manufacturer of the gun used in the Newtown, Conn., massacre last month.

In a prudent move, Cerberus Capital Management is seeking to sever its financial ties with the manufacturer of the assault weapon used in the Newtown, Conn., massacre. It’s a necessary decision, considering that the private equity firm’s clientele includes public institutions such as the University of California. It is imperative Read More…

Editorials

Progress on homelessness

CITY AFFAIRS: The Compassionate Sidewalks Plan is a good start toward fixing the city’s homelessness problem after the failure of Measure S.

Berkeley’s debate over its failed measure to restrict sitting on commercial sidewalks left many questions unanswered. Though members of both sides agreed that homelessness was a problem, once voters rejected Measure S, the city was left without a solution. Berkeley City Councilmember Jesse Arreguin’s Compassionate Sidewalks Plan, set to be Read More…

Editorials

Reinvesting, strings attached

UNIVERSITY ISSUES: Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed budget rightfully gives more money to the UC system, but seeks too many restrictions.

Sacramento is finally starting to seriously reverse its divestment from higher education. With the state beginning to emerge from a deep slump of deficits and spending cuts, Gov. Jerry Brown earlier this month announced a budget plan for the next fiscal year that proposes sorely needed increased funding to the Read More…

Editorials

Yudof’s complicated legacy

UNIVERSITY ISSUES: UC President Mark Yudof, who will step down at the end of August, led the university through a tough financial climate.

Mark Yudof became president of the University of California at an incredibly difficult time. Just a few months after he took office in June 2008, the nation suffered its worst financial catastrophe since the Great Depression, and, in the years that followed, state funds for higher education were slashed significantly, Read More…

Editorials

Improving online education

UNIVERSITY ISSUES: If UC leaders expand the university’s online education program, they must figure out how to make it drastically better for students.

Online education is an attractive venue for universities to explore, and for good reason. It offers many advantages to higher education institutions, from the prospect of saving costs to expediting students’ time in the classroom and expanding a university’s reach. But if UC officials are going to invest heavily in Read More…

Editorials

Raising concerns for Dirks

CAMPUS ISSUES: UC Berkeley chancellor-designate Nicholas Dirks should not have been given a pay increase above his predecessor’s salary.

The UC Board of Regents has forced UC Berkeley’s next chancellor into an awkward position. Earlier this week, the regents inappropriately awarded Nicholas Dirks, who will replace Robert Birgeneau as chancellor in June, a $50,000 pay increase above his predecessor’s salary. While the extra funding for Dirks’ pay will not Read More…

Editorials

Beyond Measure S

CITY AFFAIRS: Following the failure of Berkeley’s proposed ban on sitting on commercial sidewalks, solutions to homelessness are still needed.

When Berkeley voters were weighing whether to approve Measure S, we hoped the ballot initiative would fail and force the local community to come up with better solutions to combat homelessness. Now, that moment has arrived. The measure, which would have prohibited sitting on commercial sidewalks in Berkeley during certain Read More…

Editorials

A new campus activism

CAMPUS ISSUES: A year after Occupy Cal took UC Berkeley by storm, activism on campus needs to adapt to new political and social realities.

Occupy Cal is dead, but that doesn’t mean student activism should disappear. One year ago, protesters at UC Berkeley used the momentum of Occupy Wall Street to establish a movement that, at least for a short period of time, consumed the campus. However, since Nov. 15 of last year, turnout Read More…

Editorials

Necessary nonresidents

UNIVERSITY ISSUES: Faced with few other short-term options, UC officials should enroll more nonresident students, but larger changes are needed.

For years, the University of California has struggled to ensure that it maintains access for as many state residents as possible while also preserving its academic excellence. And while the university is clearly in need of dramatic structural changes to adapt to the recurring problems it faces, tough short-term decisions Read More…

Editorials

Cal’s Tedford dilemma

CAMPUS ISSUES: UC Berkeley’s football team needs to perform better academically and athletically, which may necessitate a change in head coach.

Since he became head coach of the Cal football team about a decade ago, Jeff Tedford’s legacy has gone steeply downhill. His team’s performance has slipped in recent years — both on the field and in the classroom — calling into question whether the team justifies the campus’s sizable investment. Read More…