After months of sitting and gathering mounds of dust that would make your dryer lint look like a mere speck, the emptied hull formerly known as Eshleman Hall is now ready to be brought down to the ground.

Upon returning for the spring semester in the waning days of January, students — likely irritated at the sight — beheld the gigantic blocked-off section that spanned the lower edge of campus. The building, vacant for a matter of months, was preparing for its own destruction — one that would give rise to a greater entity. Being dangerously inclined to damage and potential collapse by earthquakes in an earthquake-prone state like California was reason enough to clear the entire seven-story behemoth, taking the other facilities in Lower Sproul along with it. Many had looks of fear upon encountering the empty student store, and even more suffered from tired legs as they had to circumvent the forbidden sidewalks and walkways. Naturally, they’ll be glad to know that the rebuilding effort is finally under way … and is projected to be finished within the small time-frame of approximately two and a half years.

Though the buildup to the building’s descent to a pile of rubble has been exceedingly slow and faulty in visual progress, it has been chronicled rather well, as you can see on the plaza’s official website. The entire process is condensed into a mere 48 seconds: a time-lapse video during which you’ll likely doze off. There’s also a webcam view that gives you a good seat to see the action — or lack thereof. If you happen to be interested in the goings-on of the building in any of the last five months, you can navigate a calendar to see how astonishingly similar the building looks to its present form. Alternatively, you can count the number of days it rained on campus or try to see if you can spot a friend on his stroll through Lower Sproul.

A better option is to let your eyes feast upon the slideshow playing at the top of the page, which has futuristic-looking drawings of the facility. Though we won’t have the satisfying boom of explosions that would expedite the project and make it livelier, we can all look forward to reconcentrating all the scattered offices and facilities into the main hub of campus and gazing onto the cool new colors or technology. It’s a tough thought that most of us will have to do it as alumni.

Image source: Alan Cordova under Creative Commons

Contact Uday Mehta at umehta@dailycal.org or follow him on Twitter at @mehtakid.

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Steven Pham/Courtesy

A bill proposed to the ASUC Senate aims to support the dance community on the UC Berkeley campus.

The bill, SB 213, is sponsored by Student Action Senator Rosemary Hua and Student Action Senator-elect Lauren Week and will help dance groups on campus find spaces to practice. Hua, a dancer herself, hopes the bill will raise awareness of the issue.

“Hopefully, with this bill we’re showing the school that there’s a huge need (for practice space),” Hua said. “Our community is suffering.”

According to Hua, there are more than 15 dance groups on campus, encompassing approximately 600 students. Primarily, these groups hold practice on Lower Sproul, in front of Haas Pavilion and in Hearst Gym.

However, scheduling time for the spaces in Hearst Gym is often complicated, said Week, and with Lower Sproul closing this year for construction, available dance spaces will be increasingly difficult to find.

“Currently, dance groups have been forced to dance in the parking structures underneath the RSF and Underhill Field, which is dirty and unsafe, especially at night when most of our groups practice,” said Week in an email. “This is why SB 213 is so crucial.”

Hua negotiated a $33,000 contract with Recreational Sports Director Michael Weinberger to open up Strawberry Canyon Recreational Area for dancers during the current school year.

Weinberger said that working with the ASUC has been a great experience and that Rec Sports would be willing to continue working with the dance community as long as the ASUC can continue to supply funding.

“We’re very much willing to continue (the contract),” Weinberger said. “We just need to cover staffing. That’s where the money is going.”

Despite the addition of Strawberry Canyon, some members of the dance community still expressed concern about finding sufficient practice spaces. Although Strawberry Canyon has been helpful in alleviating the problem of limited space, Berkeley Ballroom member Caitlyn Keith said it can be difficult and inconvenient for larger dance groups to find transportation to Strawberry Canyon, and space is still limited for all dance groups.

Hua said she hopes the bill and the agreement made with Rec Sports will foster a positive relationship between the campus and the dance community.

“I’m hoping that this bill will also show the Rec Center that we’re thankful for what’s happening,” Hua said.

SB 213 will be discussed in the senate’s external committee on Monday then voted on during Wednesday’s senate meeting.

Contact Jennie Yoon at jyoon@dailycal.org.

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Alejandra G. Ramirez/Staff

CalSERVE announced Monday night that ASUC Senator Nolan Pack will be its nominee for executive vice president in this year’s ASUC elections.

Pack, a senior studying rhetoric and legal studies, will be running on CalSERVE’s executive slate with Valerie Jameson and Spencer Pritchard, candidates for academic affairs vice president and external affairs vice president, respectively.

As senator, Pack has authored a number of controversial bills, including one requesting that the university divest from fossil fuel companies and another encouraging the removal of all Salvation Army boxes from campus.

Currently, he is the vice chair of the ASUC Constitutional and Procedural Review Committee and co-chair of the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability.

He will be running on a three-part platform that includes overseeing the completion of the Lower Sproul remodel, maintaining transparency in the ASUC and promoting energy efficiency on campus.

CalSERVE released a statement highlighting Pack’s knowledge of ASUC bylaws and his dedication to transparency.

“(Pack) will overhaul and expand public access to ASUC resources and information about Senate proceedings,” the statement reads. “He will oversee continuing progress on the Lower Sproul Redevelopment Project to keep it accountable to the student body, who are the ones paying for it.”

Pack said his time on the SURGE Advisory Committee — the committee overseeing the transition of businesses and student groups out of Lower Sproul — makes him ideal for the position of EVP.

“(The Lower Sproul remodel is) a huge part of what any EVP will be doing for the next several years, so it’s really critical that we have someone who is well versed in those issues and who’s working with the people who are working on SURGE,” Pack said.

Additionally, Pack said he will continue to promote transparency in the ASUC by providing students with a better connection to campus resources. He said he hopes to create a comprehensive online guide for scholarships, campus opportunities and student groups.

Pack said he wants to digitize this information in a Wikipedia-style webpage where students can easily access related articles through links.

“(We should have) information that’s accessible to students in a way that’s realistic for them to access,” Pack said. “The problem now is that those resources are split between the ASUC website and the private blogs of the officers.”

Pack also said he will focus on creating a plan for a regenerative and sustainable campus.

“The EVP is responsible for making the ASUC a proponent for sustainability, and part of what the ASUC can do is initiate and spearhead this dialogue,” Pack said. “We’re UC Berkeley — we have some of the most cutting-edge environmental research going on in this campus, and in a lot of ways, our campus is not embodying that.”

Additionally Pack plans to promote greener labs and help the campus become “grid-neutral.”

CalSERVE, which historically represents underrepresented groups on campus, has not had a candidate win the position of EVP since 2008.

ASUC elections will be held on April 9, 10 and 11.

Ally Rondoni is the lead ASUC reporter. Contact her at arondoni@dailycal.org.

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Even if you’re someone who only escapes the cozy sanctuary of your home to take the mind-numbing beeline walk to class every day, you’ve surely noticed the ubiquitous construction spanning the length of campus. At first glance, it may seem like an inconvenience — a rather huge and irritating one at that—– so we did some scouting on the places you should avoid and some of the pros about the whole ordeal.

Much talk has accompanied the new fortress surrounding Eshleman Hall in Lower Sproul. Besides serving as a temporary home for some homeless people, the desolate hall has been the site of protest activities regarding multicultural retention and minority enrollment. Presumably, like the homeless gentleman who suddenly realized he had a multimillion-dollar mansion waiting for him, these students were given amnesty, as if there aren’t enough do-gooders with loud voices on Upper Sproul already. Regardless of who’s in it, it’s a gigantic pain in the ass to get around — the whole sidewalk on the campus side has been enveloped within the hall, and you have to walk on the crowded side of the street or risk getting run over during morning jog. Make sure to keep an eye out for any new tenants in the near future — or for the announcement of the demolition.

The rebuilding effort at Campbell Hall is something we’ve all grown quite accustomed to — although it’s still rather annoying for the average Berkeley jaywalker to yield to all those construction workers and equipment. If you haven’t gotten a chance to peek inside the fences, there’s a rather banal sky camera that shows you second-by-second updates of how excruciatingly slow the process is.

Meanwhile, right across the street next to Evans, there’s yet another fenced off area — anyone seeing a trend here? — which serves are the headquarters of the Campbell replacement project. It’s not all that bad of a hindrance, considering that it’s smack in the middle of campus, and if you’re bored, you can always be adventurous and sneak inside the site. Remember to wear a hard hat!

Lastly, the construction that has drawn the ire of some students is the one all the way on eastside — at Haas. Considering that the popular perception of Haas is that it is somewhat elitist, moderately fancy and exceedingly rich — all relative to a public school — the last thing it would need is more renovation. The entire front courtyard has been torn up and blocked off, and it’s rather funny to picture Haas as a Gotham-under-Bane-type dominion, with highly dangerous machines regularly patrolling the streets. And besides, we all get to snicker at the business majors who have to get their clothes dirty by walking there regularly. For the rest of us, it’s an isolated situation we have the fortune of not having to deal with.

Collectively, it’s probably not as bad as USC — which has been given the moniker of the “university of sustained construction” — but then again, nothing here really is. It’s an unfortunate part of having structurally unsound buildings and a school with money to blow. But think about it: Would you rather have that building crash down on you while you’re sitting in it or leave for class a couple of minutes earlier to avoid the unnavigable sea of students at peak hours? We choose the latter too.

Follow Uday on Twitter at @mehtakid

Image source: (left-to-right) aspolo & Derrick Coetzee under Creative Commons

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UCPD responded to reports of gunshots fired at 7:35 p.m. after it was reported that a group of juveniles were arguing when an unidentified person fired three gunshots. The group of youths fled the scene, but UCPD was able to detain many of them and recover a single handgun.

No injuries were reported, and UCPD is still investigating the incident.

The suspect was described as a black male juvenile wearing a two-toned jacket and in possession of a dark handgun.

Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact UCPD at (510) 642-0472.

Sara Grossman is a News Editor. Contact her at sgrossman@dailycal.org.

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Kayla Shapiro/File

UC Berkeley has rehired five Eshleman Hall custodians who were issued layoff notices in August because of the building’s impending demolition.

When it issued the layoff notices, campus labor management offered to rehire the custodians if new positions became available. Though the custodians have now been officially rehired, the initial uncertainty of their employment prompted a protest by a workers’ union in September.

“This was a big moment because these layoffs were totally unnecessary — there were open positions in other custodial departments,” said Sarah Leadem, an organizer of the statewide UC service and patient care workers’ union AFSCME Local 3299, which led the protest. “Their rationale was, ‘We’re getting rid of the building, so get rid of workers.’”

Eshleman Hall is being demolished as a part of the Lower Sproul renovation project, which aims to make the plaza more lively for students by improving the area’s functionality, safety and overall appearance.

Positions have now been provided to all five workers, four of them employed through Physical Plant Campus Services and one hired through Residential Services, according to campus spokesperson Janet Gilmore.

AFSCME intern Devonte Jackson speculated that the decision to rehire the custodians was partly a consequence of the protest.

“The protest definitely brought more attention to the case of these five workers, and management made sure this was a priority because we took direct action,” Jackson said. “This is the power of student-worker unity.”

Gilmore said the decision to rehire was not associated with the protest and that the process for rehire was already under way prior to it. According to Gilmore, employees were given preferential rehire rights to be considered for re-employment based on qualification, though there was no guarantee for reinstatement.

“These are valued employees,” Gilmore said. “We are pleased that they were able to retain employment on campus.”
Maricruz Manzanarez, a senior custodian who works with AFSCME, said to expedite the process of finding the laid-off custodians new positions on campus, union activists scoped out open positions and forwarded them to campus management.

“We wouldn’t have known there were openings or not if it weren’t for the union,” said Leroy Thomas, one of the five custodians. “My only other option would have been to retire.”

Contact Virgie Hoban at vhoban@dailycal.org.

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Watch highlights from Tokimonsta and Teebs’ performance on Lower Sproul. The show was hosted by SUPERB.

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Watch highlights from Father John Misty’s performance on Lower Sproul on September 28. The show was hosted by SUPERB.

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Watch a video of the band Chairlift performing on Lower Sproul on Monday evening. The band was presented by SUPERB.

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Joe Wright/File

As the upcoming renovation of Eshleman Hall looms closer, several UC Berkeley student groups find themselves struggling with the process of moving into “surge” spaces in Hearst Gym.

Students approved the B.E.A.R.S. Initiative in the 2010 ASUC general election, which created a student fee to fund the revitalization of Lower Sproul. As part of the process, Eshleman will be completely rebuilt, meaning the more than 200 student groups currently housed in the building must relocate in the coming months.

For Open Computing Facility General Manager Dara Adib, the biggest question is dealing with a smaller space and the equipment that cannot be moved.

“We currently have six racks of server equipment and we only have room for two in the new space,” Adib said. “Our current air conditioning unit is also too big, so we have to figure out what we’re going to do with it.”

The facility is a student-run organization that provides computing, web hosting, printing, email and storage services to the campus community.

Adib explained that while the facility currently has 25 available computers in its ground floor laboratory in Eshleman, the new space only has room for 16.

“Problems are to be expected. Our challenge is to fit everything and be ready for the fall semester,” Adib said. “I really don’t know what might happen in terms of server and service problems.”

According to Adib, if everything goes as planned, there will only be one day of server downtime. In comparison, Adib pointed out that the last time the facility had to move, there was a full month of downtime.

When the facility moved from Heller Lounge in the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union to Eshleman three years ago, there was an increase in space and resources and more people began using the facility.

But there were problems with that move as well, according to Adib, who said that facility members had to deal with asbestos, burst pipes and, at one point, a flooded lab.

“With any of these moves, bad things happen,” Adib said.

The surge process is being spearheaded by ASUC Executive Vice President Justin Sayarath and ASUC Student Spaces Deputy Briana Mullen.

“It’s a tough process because it’s not easy to get students together to discuss space,” Sayarath said.

The ASUC had a stakeholder process to get input from students on their space needs, according to Sayarath. The space was then assigned after an application process.

“We’ve had to plan data and phone services as well as locks, tables and trash and composting. It’s really cool because it’s completely student owned,” Sayarath said.

According to Sayarath, the actual move will be even more complicated than assigning the space, as the different groups have different boxes and items that need to be moved.

Sayarath and Mullen worked for two weeks to compile an inventory sheet, to which student groups had until July 3 to make additions or changes. The inventory was then given to the campus movers, who will provide a quote for the cost of moving.

Sayarath said the ASUC will hold a mandatory Hearst Space Orientation on Aug. 20, where ASUC leaders will address trash, recycling, tabling, phone and internet questions. Groups will also be provided with key and lock forms at the orientation.

“I want the new space to not be like Eshleman because students haven’t really taken care of it,” Sayarath said. “People see it as the heart of student life, and it looks bad.”

Sayrath said the space at Hearst Gym will be much more collaborative, with more open cubicles and common space. But Student Advocate Stacy Suh said she had some reservations about the new space.

“Internally, our office is a very tight-knit group,” Suh said. “I think that natural bonding might be lost because the space is smaller so there will be less people in the office.”

Suh’s office offers help to any student or group involved in a dispute with the campus, and she said the smaller space could also make maintaining client privacy a problem.

Adib said though the ASUC has been helpful, the process has been difficult with new elected officers overseeing it every year.

“This has been the most difficult project I’ve had to do with ASUC. If it wasn’t for Briana, I might have quit by now,” Sayarath said. “But I think it’s going to be OK. The student groups are aware of what needs to be done.”

As for the many groups who are moving, the idea of leaving Eshleman Hall elicits many emotional feelings.

“The OCF organization and this lab are one and the same,“ Adib said. “The thought of separating the two is tragic.”

Timofey Semenov is the Chief of Staff of the Student Advocate’s Office, and according to Suh, handled most of the packing of the student advocate’s office.

“I’m sure that I speak for every (SAO member) to have gone through 204 Eshleman when I say that many special memories and important moments were cherished in that office, and that — in many respects — the move out of 204 Eshleman truly feels like losing a great friend,” Semenov said in an email.

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