Samantha Rosenbaum/Staff

After six years, Nancy Skinner’s California State Assembly term will expire, leaving at least six candidates lined up to take her place.

Skinner will leave behind a number of accomplishments in issues ranging from higher education to environmental conservation to public safety. With term limits barring her from seeking two more years in the Assembly in 2014, five Democrats and one Republican have already stepped forward.

Skinner was first elected to the state Assembly in 2008 and in 2012 became the Assembly member representing District 15, which stretches along Interstate 80 from Hercules to Oakland and encompasses cities throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

During her term, Skinner was heavily involved with the Middle Class Scholarship program, which will reduce tuition for middle-income students at UC and CSU schools by up to 40 percent beginning in the 2014-15 academic year. Additionally, Skinner said after Proposition 30 passed in 2012, she was proud to be able to give funding to universities.

“I know that we’ll be able to continue to increase the funding to our public schools,” she said.

In an effort to help the environment, Skinner has also authored legislation to increase solar energy use and improve home and business energy efficiency.

In 1984, Skinner, who attended UC Berkeley as both an undergraduate and a graduate student, was elected to Berkeley City Council, becoming the first and only student to serve on it.

“She has a great history of doing legislative projects related to sustainability,” said ASUC Executive Vice President Nolan Pack.

Although six have declared their intent to run for Skinner’s seat, candidates still have until next March to file to run for state Assembly.

Sam Kang, general counsel for the Greenlining Institute, where he writes legislation regarding racial justice, hopes to create a business model for California that would create jobs and provide cleaner energy. He said his previous experience has prepared him for Sacramento.

“Every day is like going to war,” Kang said. “You want someone who has the actual experience from day one.”

Likewise, Andy Katz, a UC Berkeley alumnus and director at the East Bay Municipal Utility District, hopes to bring in his knowledge of environmental sustainability to focus on renewable energy, among other issues.

Creating jobs is also a priority for Elizabeth Echols, who has worked extensively on this issue as former regional administrator for the Small Business Administration under President Barack Obama.

If elected, Tony Thurmond, a former member of Richmond City Council and the West Contra Costa Unified School District School Board, intends to increase funding for public universities and introduce legislation that would improve the system of collecting truancy data in California public schools.

Peggy Moore, a former political director for Obama’s campaign, said she wants to focus on health care reform in the district and issues in the LGBT community.

Rich Kinney, a San Pablo City Council member and the only Republican candidate for District 15 at this time, hopes running for Assembly will help create more of a political balance in California.

According to Skinner, 64 percent of voters in District 15 are registered as Democrats and only 8 percent as Republicans.

“I’m a speck of red in a sea of blue,” Kinney said.

At the June 2014 primary election, the electorate will choose two candidates to move on to run in the fall general election.

Skinner has not endorsed any candidates yet, but she said she might like to see another woman in the Assembly.

“When looking at the other races up and down the state for open seats, I see very few women,” Skinner said. “The U.S. as a whole is pitiful with gender representation.”

But the end of her third and final term in the Assembly is by no means the end of Skinner’s political career. She plans to run for the District 9 state Senate seat in 2016.

Tara Hurley covers city news. Contact her at thurley@dailycal.org.

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Kore Chan/File

Although a recently introduced ASUC Senate bill that asks senators to wear magnetic nametags is intended to increase ASUC transparency, it has been met with skepticism by senators and students alike.

The bill, SB 21, authored by Independent Campaign for Common Sense Senator Solomon Nwoche, asks senators to wear nametags around campus and in class. It also asks ASUC Student Advocate Timofey Semenov to write a letter encouraging campus administrators to do the same.

“The motive behind my bill is for students to be able to identify their elected officials so they can hold them accountable,” Nwoche said. “Theoretically, students can already search us through a search engine and see who we are anyways. All this nametag does is put this search into a more transparent form.”

Nolan Pack, the ASUC executive vice president, said the ASUC has already taken steps to improve its transparency. He said that the ASUC has made its agendas and meeting schedules more accessible online and that it has also begun webcasting senate meetings.

“I’m a strong proponent of making the ASUC more transparent and more accessible, and I want to make sure we’re using our time and resources to achieve that goal in a substantive way,” Pack said in an email. “As far as SB 21, it remains unclear to me whether or not this bill will promote transparency in a meaningful way.”

Some UC Berkeley undergraduates say they are unsure whether the nametags would be useful within the campus community. UC Berkeley sophomore Elena Behar said most students on campus already know who the ASUC executive officials and senators are through general interactions.

“I’m not sure if people would just want to go up to people and talk to (the ASUC senators and executive officials),” Behar said. “I think relationships (between students and senators) could also be altered, because people could feel that they’re potentially influencing senator decisions.”

Although the bill would not require senators to wear nametags, it would strongly encourage them to do so. Members of the senate, however, said the nametags could create obstacles in their everyday lives.

SQUELCH! Senator Grant Fineman said that although the bill might increase the transparency and visibility of the senate, there are many drawbacks to it.

“It could also come off the wrong way, like we’re being arrogant, like we’re showing our position at all times,” Fineman said.

CalSERVE Senator Caitlin Quinn echoed Fineman’s concerns, saying the nametags would “assert our presence too much.”

“In the classroom, we’re there to learn, just like everyone else,” Quinn said.

SB 21 will be debated Monday at the senate finance committee’s meeting.

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Steve Rhodes/Courtesy

The ASUC Senate’s University and External Affairs Committee approved a bill at its meeting Monday that opposes the construction of Keystone XL, an extension of the Keystone Pipeline, which is now pending approval of the entire senate.

The pipeline, which would transfer crude oil from tar sands in Alberta to refineries in Texas, is politically controversial and has raised concern among students due to its potentially detrimental effects on the environment. According to the bill, SB 11, the process of refining oil from tar sands requires more energy and water than refining oil from traditional sources and generates more greenhouse gases.

The bill also reflects concern that the extraction processes will occur near the homes of indigenous populations. Many indigenous communities, particularly those in Alberta, not only have been removed from their lands but also have seen increases in diseases such as cancer, the bill states.

“It is a major issue that is killing people and has the potential to kill even more people,” said CalSERVE Senator Caitlin Quinn, who authored the bill. “Clearly, it doesn’t stretch to California, but it is a major issue we should address.”

ASUC Executive Vice President Nolan Pack authored a similar bill last year that urged the UC system to divest its funds from fossil-fuel companies. He said he applauded Quinn for her work with the environmental community to author this bill.

“Fossil-fuel divestment and defeating Keystone XL are two parts of the same movement to free us from the chains of an outdated and toxic energy infrastructure,” Pack said. “Keystone is of particular importance because if built, it will enable the release of enough CO2 to guarantee catastrophic climate change — it’s been referred to as a ‘game over’ moment.”

Proponents of the Keystone XL pipeline say it will improve the economy by creating jobs while ending the need for overseas energy imports.

“While developing cleaner sources of energy should be a long-term goal, today this country still depends on imported oil,” said Brendan Pinder, president of Berkeley College Republicans. “In addition to creating jobs, this pipeline would help shift our dependence from the volatile Middle East to Canada, a stable country with more responsible environmental regulations.”

If the full senate passes the bill, ASUC President DeeJay Pepito will write a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to oppose the Keystone XL pipeline for the reasons outlined in the bill.

“As a research institution that actually gets a ton of money from BP and Chevron, we should still have the autonomy to take stances on these issues,” Quinn said. “There’s been a lot of activism on (the Keystone Pipeline) recently, and I prefer to address things proactively instead of waiting until after Obama’s decision.”

UC Berkeley professor of energy Daniel Kammen agreed the tar sands represent more of an environmental threat than traditional sources of petroleum.

“The ASUC is correct in wanting to block this, because the pipeline will make the climate worse,” Kammen said. “If the U.S. was starving for energy, maybe I would understand, but the thing is, we’re not starving for fossil fuels.”

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Graham Haught/Staff

On Sept. 9, an ASUC-elected official released a scathing note on his website. This note not only criticised a fellow elected official but proceeded to take a stance on legislation that was being introduced in the ASUC Senate. In student politics, this is a common occurrence. However, this note was not posted by an ASUC senator or an executive actively involved in external affairs. The note was posted by Executive Vice President Nolan Pack, whose main role is to facilitate ASUC Senate discussion and maintain respect for all opinions in the chambers. The bill in question was SB 2, which was entitled “A Bill in Support of Undocumented Students and Immigrant Communities.” The bill addressed concerns of the appointment of Janet Napolitano as the new UC president. It calls for a vote of no confidence before she takes office in a few weeks. The content of the bill, however, is beside the point. In a note posted about SB 2 on his website, Pack starts the beginning of his post with this quip:

“Anybody familiar with my history in student government — and my politics more broadly — knows that I am seldom reserved in dispensing criticism. Today, I get the rare — and very meta — opportunity to offer criticism of criticism, or lack thereof.”

As senators who served with Pack while he was an ASUC senator, we would have to agree with his statements about himself. Pack was one of the most polarizing figures while he served as a senator. Not only was he disrespectful to his fellow senators who opposed his opinions, but he was also disrespectful to then-EVP Justin Sayarath who was dealing with the difficult job of moderating a senate that fell into debating some very heated topics (i.e. divestment). Upon his election as EVP, there were many concerns from students about his ability to remain neutral as EVP because of his polarizing nature. Now it seems those concerns have been realized.

In his note, Pack calls out EAVP Safeena Mecklai for her alleged lobbying of ASUC Senators to vote against the bill. However, Mecklai had already voted on the issue in a UCSA vote days prior. She had a right to talk about her decision to vote against the no confidence vote. To say she was lobbying the senators by relaying to the student body why she voted a particular way is naive. Says Pack:

“I refuse to sit idly by as (the Free Speech Movement) legacy is misappropriated by a (student) politician who seems bent on advancing a pro-administration agenda.”

Then, after criticizing another executive for voicing her opinion as the external affairs vice president, Pack hypocritically expresses his own:

“Support Senator Tan’s bill, SB 2, “A Bill in Support of Undocumented Students and Immigrant Communities.”

This is not the only instance where Pack has breached neutrality. Based on his public opposition to a student district plan that was endorsed by the ASUC the previous year, it seems that Pack is trying to be EAVP rather than fulfill the obligations his actual position traditionally requires. If Pack is interested in expressing his opinion consistently on all issues of the ASUC, then it seems as if he should have thought more deeply about which executive position was more of a fit for him.

Having a non-neutral chair of a very politically diverse ASUC Senate is extremely problematic. It has been the history of the EVP position to retain neutrality in order to facilitate a fair discussion of issues. By establishing his views on a senate bill before it is even discussed, senators who oppose Pack’s position are at an inherent disadvantage. Because Pack moderates debates on bills, he has massive control over the direction of a certain issue. The fact that chambers would be biased before senators even enter the floor is inappropriate.

Critics of our stance may believe that Pack has every individual right to say whatever he feels about the bill. We do not deny that Pack has the right to express his opinion on a bill. While Pack may have every individual right to express his opinion on a bill, it simply does not create an effective or fair senate floor, nor does it do service to the position he was elected to serve. Pack can assert his opinions on bills and criticize executives with whom he works a daily basis all he wants. However, the bottom line is that he will be the main catalyst for what looks to be the most ineffective and contentious ASUC that this school has ever seen.

Rosemary Hua and Mihir Deo are former ASUC senators.

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Anthony Bongco/Staff

The ASUC Senate unanimously passed a bill at its meeting Wednesday stating that it will express no confidence in incoming UC president Janet Napolitano if she does not meet a list of nine demands by a deadline set by the senate.

The bill, which was authored by CalSERVE Senator Sean Tan, was amended so the senate would express no confidence only if Napolitano does not meet the nine demands listed in the bill by the third week of October.

“(Napolitano) has something to prove to students, but students have nothing to prove to her,” Tan said. “We are giving her a chance.”

ASUC External Affairs Vice President Safeena Mecklai will present the bill to the UC Student Association board with the list of demands to Napolitano, some of which call for her to ensure the UC system will be a safe place for undocumented students and to prohibit the use of riot police in interfering with student acts of disobedience, protests and rallies on UC campuses. Additionally, ASUC President Deejay Pepito will propose a review of the selection process of the UC president to the UCSA Council of Presidents.

“I think votes of no confidence have proven time and time again on campus and across campuses all over the UC that discussions like this can create productive dialogues and more healthy relationships,” Pepito said at the meeting. “I think that making it known that students are concerned and not happy about the appointment will allow the UC Office of the President to really understand how students feel.”

Some UC Berkeley students have expressed concern over Napolitano’s appointment due to her work as head of the Department of Homeland Security. Of concern is her enforcement of immigration policies such as Secure Communities, which allows police officers to hand over those they arrest to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Some students fear that her prior work will make undocumented students feel unsafe.

At the ASUC meeting, Ivan Villasenor Madriz, a UC Berkeley sophomore who said he was undocumented, asked the senate to support the motion.

“We’re here fighting, and we just want you to fight with us,” Madriz said.

Although the senate passed the bill unanimously, discussion about it did not lack tension. At one point during the meeting, Mecklai called out Executive Vice President Nolan Pack for a blog post he wrote regarding her vote at a recent UCSA meeting. There, Mecklai voted against a bill that stated UC students had no confidence in Napolitano, as did a majority of the board.

In the post, Pack blasted Mecklai for her vote against the bill.

“All of this comes from the same elected official who is attempting to appropriate the narrative of the radical activism of ‘Berkeley in the ’60s’ while simultaneously embracing the lukewarm politics of doublespeak and fear of authority,” Pack wrote in the post.

Mecklai personally addressed Pack at the meeting during her executive report, saying she will not be “bullied” by him.

“The idea that you’re using your blog as an attempt to slander my character because I disagree with you is deplorable,” Mecklai said. “I stand here today to tell you that I am not afraid of you. I have a right to my opinion. I have never fully rejected the idea of a vote of no confidence.”

Although she did not support the UCSA bill, Mecklai said she supports the amended version of the ASUC bill passed Wednesday night.

“It ended up being a good bill,” Mecklai said. “I plan on introducing this resolution to the UCSA board of directors, and I’ll sponsor it, and as the chair of the board, I’m totally comfortable doing that.”

Jane Nho covers student government. Contact her at jnho@dailycal.org.

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Alison Fu/Staff

After extensive discussion Tuesday night, the Berkeley City Council decided to postpone a historic vote on the ASUC-backed redistricting map that would create a student-majority district for the first time in Berkeley.

The City Council was originally slated to take its first formal vote to approve the Berkeley Student District Campaign map at its Tuesday meeting. However, the council decided to delay its decision after listening to almost 20 students voice their concerns about the omission of Northside student cooperatives and dorms on the east side of campus from the map’s proposed student-majority district.

This will provide the city with more time to analyze another proposed map — the United Student District Amendment — which would also create a student-majority district but suggests different boundaries.

“Nine co-ops and three dorms are currently excluded in the BSDC map,” said ASUC Executive Vice President Nolan Pack during the public comment session of the meeting. “The students would really appreciate more time to talk about a more inclusive student district.”

The BSDC map, proposed in 2011, includes the entire UC Berkeley campus as well as the majority of Southside but not the three residence hall complexes in the Foothill area or the Berkeley Student Cooperative on Northside.

USDA, an alternative map introduced in July, is an amended version of the BSDC that incorporates those areas in its student-majority district. The new map, however, does not include a large area where students commonly live south of Dwight Way and significantly shifts the boundaries of neighboring districts, noted Councilmember Susan Wengraf at the meeting.

“This is just trading one group of students for another,” Wengraf said.

Berkeley residents also voiced their concerns at the meeting, unhappy that the proposals could split their longstanding neighborhood communities apart.

“Neither of the student groups have attempted to collaborate with their neighbors,“ said Berkeley resident Jacquelyn McCormick during public comment. “Berkeley neighborhoods have not been considered as a community of interest in this process.”

However, Safeena Mecklai, ASUC external affairs vice president said she has attended public forums where community members spoke, and they have taken their concerns into account while creating the BSDC map.

The council most likely will not be able to adopt any map for a first reading until November, said Anthony Sanchez, legislative aide to Councilmember Jesse Arreguin.

The redistricting deadline is Dec. 31st. Because the final map must be adopted 30 days before the deadline, the council may need to call a special meeting in November.

The timeline of the map may change depending on how quickly city staff members can analyze the USDA map, according to Sanchez. He said the council’s decision last night would give the ASUC more time to discuss the issue at their senate meeting Wednesday night.

“This does a good job of allowing the city and community to weigh in,” Mecklai said. “I’m interested to see what happens next.”

Contact Alison Fu and Gladys Rosario at newsdesk@dailycal.org.

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External Affairs Vice President Safeena Mecklai said voter registration forms had been ordered for every person living in the residence halls in an effort to increase voter registration. She also discussed her plans to bridge the gap between UC Berkeley students and the city of Berkeley by encouraging student involvement in events such as Sundays on Telegraph, a weekly fair that closes off two blocks on Telegraph Avenue.

Executive Vice President Nolan Pack announced that the senate meetings would soon be available via podcast to make them more accessible to students. Pack emphasized the importance of increasing transparency and said the podcasts would allow students and community members to comment online about bills and debates at senate meetings.

Four bills were sent to various senate committees for further review. The first bill, SB 1, authored by Pack, is titled Bill in Support of the Advocacy Agenda. Among other matters, the bill asks the senate to take action on everything from protesting budget cuts and library closures to promoting disaster preparedness on campus. The bill also emphasizes issues related to campus climate, including the development of a new and comprehensive strategy to report hate crimes on campus and increasing resources for LGBT students.

SB 2, titled Bill in Support of Undocumented Students and Immigrant Communities, asks ASUC President DeeJay Pepito to propose a review of incoming UC president Janet Napolitano’s selection, emphasizing the ASUC Senate’s support of undocumented youth and immigrant communities. Napolitano, who is currently the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, was announced as the new UC president in June. However, her appointment was not without controversy, as she has faced significant criticism from students who say her record on security, surveillance and immigration is of serious concern.

The third bill, in support of Northside student residents, is a response to the Berkeley Student District Campaign map, which aims to create a student-majority district in the city of Berkeley. However, as it is currently drawn, the district would exclude certain Northside co-ops as well as International House and three campus residence halls. The proposed bill resolves that the ASUC will not support any student district plan that excludes the Northside co-ops.

A final bill asked that $300 be allocated to the campus organization Conflict Free Campus Initiative at Berkeley, which promotes activism to bring peace to the Congo.

The next ASUC Senate meeting will take place Sept. 11.

Jane Nho covers student government. Contact her at jnho@dailycal.org.

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Jeffrey Joh/File

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano will be appointed as the next president of the University of California system on Friday, pending approval by the UC Board of Regents next week.

Taking over in the wake of President Mark Yudof’s planned August resignation, she will be the first woman to occupy the position of UC president in the system’s 145-year history. She has served as governor of Arizona and was among more than 300 candidates considered for the position. Napolitano also resigned from her position as secretary of Homeland Security on Friday.

Though she lacks previous experience in university administration, Napolitano has served in various public leadership roles. She was the first woman to occupy the position of attorney general of Arizona from 1998 to 2003 and served two terms as governor of Arizona from 2003 to 2009. She was also the first woman to chair the National Governors Association.

“I am both honored and excited by the prospect of serving as president of the University of California,” Napolitano said in a statement Friday. “I recognize that I am a non-traditional candidate … In my experience, whether preparing to govern a state or to lead an agency as critical and complex as Homeland Security, I have found the best way to start is simply to listen.”

According to Tim Bee, associate vice president for state relations at the University of Arizona, “education was a top priority” for Napolitano during her tenure as Arizona governor. He noted Napolitano’s help establishing the University of Arizona’s College of Medicine in Phoenix, securing pay increases for Arizona university employees and allocating about $1 billion of lottery revenues for university infrastructure, among other things.

“At the time she left office, the university system in Arizona was receiving the largest total general fund appropriations in the history of the state,” Bee said. “Education was a very important focus of her efforts to build a strong workforce and a diversified economy with a focus on science, bioscience and technology.”

But Napolitano still represents an unconventional choice for the university, which only five years ago selected its first president from outside the UC system, Mark Yudof. Yudof had more than two decades of experience in university administration — which included heading the University of Texas and University of Minnesota.

The Board of Regents have set a more political course by selecting Napolitano, at a time when the state government is increasingly involved in its affairs. Last year, Gov. Jerry Brown attended a regents meeting for the first time in his term where he criticized the pace at which the university was pursuing online education. Brown’s 2013-14 proposed budget initially tied higher education funding to performance standards set by the state.

Raquel Morales, president of the University of California Student Association, chaired the student advisory committee that aided in Napolitano’s selection. She said the committee was looking for “someone outside of the system” who was “more of a political figure,” able to address issues with the federal government and the state governor.

“It will be exciting to work with her,” Brown said in a brief statement released Friday morning. “Secretary Napolitano has the strength of character and an outsider’s mind that will well serve the students and faculty.”

Student regent Cinthia Flores also said Napolitano’s political experience will help her in the role but that it might be difficult for her to interface with UC students without educational experience.

“I think her name recognition may assist the UC’s advocacy efforts at the state and federal level,” she said. “(But) Napolitano will have a difficult transition into the role of head university administrator. In particular, I think she may need strong guidance in helping build and nurture working relationships with students.”

As Homeland Security secretary, Napolitano has been involved in debates over immigration reform. She has supported provisions of the DREAM Act, allowing students who meet its criteria to remain in the country despite the act failing to pass in Congress.

However, some have expressed concern over her leadership role in the Obama administration’s deportation of more than 1.4 million undocumented immigrants since 2008.

“The Obama administration has deported a staggering number of people,” said ASUC Executive Vice President Nolan Pack. Napolitano’s support of the DREAM Act is also inconsistent with the policies of Homeland Security, he said.

Pack said he doubts whether Napolitano would gain any support from undocumented students in light of this inconsistency.

“It is important students have someone who can understand and empathize in high positions of administration,” Pack said.

Morales said she hopes Napolitano is willing to fight for student rights, which would include efforts to broaden the types of resources available for undocumented students.

“We hope she will be able to address these issues regardless of her background,” Morales said.

Napolitano was recommended to the UC Regents in a unanimous vote by a selection committee that included former student regent Jonathan Stein, former board chair Sherry Lansing, current chair Bruce Varner and regents Richard Blum and Russell Gould, as well as Brown.

Contact Micah Fry at mfry@dailycal.org.

Correction(s):
A previous version of this article misspelled Janet Napolitano’s last name.

A previous version of this article may have implied that Janet Napolitano was appointed as UC President on Friday. In fact, she will be appointed pending approval by the UC Board of Regents Thursday.

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Kore Chan/File

Last Tuesday, Berkeley City Council became the first city council in the nation to adopt an official policy to divest funds from 200 fossil fuel-producing companies, joining a nationwide movement to try to help curb global climate change.

Inspired by UC Berkeley student groups and the environmental organization 350.org, the city of Berkeley has committed to divest all city funds from direct ownership of publicly traded corporations defined by the city as “fossil fuel companies,” including BP, Chevron Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp. The policy prohibits the city from making any future investments in the listed companies and aims to complete the divestment process within the next five years.

“While fossil fuel companies provide an attractive return on investment, the city of Berkeley will suffer greater economic and financial losses from the impact of unchecked climate change,” reads the new investment policy, which was originally recommended to the City Council by Councilmember Kriss Worthington.

The 200 publicly traded fossil fuel companies were chosen by Berkeley City Council due to their perceived control over the majority of the world’s oil, coal and gas reserves. According to 350.org, nearly 80 percent of these reserves must go unburned in order to maintain global warming below two degrees Celsius, a target that the United States agreed to meet at the Copenhagen climate summit in 2009.

Worthington noted that nine other cities have also made commitments to divest, but Berkeley was the first to formally adopt an official policy solidifying its divestment.

“The momentum of getting cities on board is the significance,” Worthington said. “There have been hundreds of universities involved in this movement, and I thought, ‘If the universities can do this, why can’t we?’”

The policy follows on the heels of the ASUC Senate — which passed SB 10, a similar bill, in February — divesting funds and prohibiting future investments from the same 200 fossil fuel companies. These 200 companies were originally decided on by 350.org, whose 2012 Go Fossil Free Campaign helped spark a national movement in fossil fuel divestment.

“The Berkeley City Council’s vote to divest from the fossil fuel industry is really exciting,” said ASUC Executive Vice President Nolan Pack, who co-authored the ASUC bill. “There are divestment campaigns at universities and in cities across the U.S., and the Berkeley City Council’s decision to go fossil-free adds momentum to the movement.”

Ophir Bruck, a UC Berkeley student and fossil free fellow of 350.org, suggests that reinvestment in cleaner energy sources may also be an effective strategy to help achieve this goal.

“It is the logical move to reinvest divested funds in areas of the economy that are productive in climate-change adaptation and mitigation,” Bruck said.

Contact Andrew Dickey at adickey@dailycal.org.

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The first case, United States v. Windsor, overruled the federal Defense of Marriage Act, while the second case, Hollingsworth v. Perry, ruled on California’s ban on same-sex marriage, Proposition 8. The decision for the DOMA case, which allowed same-sex couples to receive federal marriage benefits, was decided 5-4, with the majority opinion written by Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Kennedy, a swing voter in recent years, was supported by the four liberal-leaning justices of the court. They ruled in the decision that the statute violated the Fifth Amendment.

In the Prop. 8 case, the Supreme Court, in effect, legalized same-sex marriage in California on procedural grounds, saying Prop. 8 proponents had no legal standing to appeal the case.

Jason Fauss, an ally of the LGBTQ community and a student participating in UC Berkeley’s Cal in the Capital program, was able to witness the decision announced at the U.S. Supreme Court building.

“It was nerve-wracking being in the courtroom waiting to hear the decision,” Fauss said.

As soon as DOMA was announced as overruled, Fauss said that there was an audible roar outside the courtroom doors.

Celebrations were not limited to the capital. LavenderCal, UC Berkeley’s network for LGBTQ faculty members, held a celebration on the steps of Sproul Hall at about noon. The city of Berkeley also held a celebration Wednesday evening on the steps of Old City Hall. The gathering was small but attracted passionate community members who shared their thoughts and personal stories.

At the celebration, California state Assemblymember Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, fought back tears as she shared a text message from her lesbian daughter: “Mom, we can get married at home. Happy tears when I read the headline.”

Ann Riley, a Berkeley resident and former UC Berkeley student, was also at the event and appreciated both the Prop. 8 and DOMA rulings.

“I plan to get married in 25 days,” Riley said.

Joi Soley, a communications director of Pacific School of Religion, a seminary in Berkeley, said that the school had an extremely positive reaction to the decisions. According to Soley, the school is extremely tolerant of people of all sexual orientations.

Many community members, however, continued to look toward the future, noting that the Prop. 8 ruling only affected same-sex marriage in California. Despite the procedural nature of the decision in the Prop. 8 case, Berkeley City Councilmember Kriss Worthington saw the decision as a sign of a changing social landscape.

“Although the decision was based on a technical standing, it is clear that the momentum is building astronomically,” he said.

ASUC Executive Vice President Nolan Pack, who identifies as queer, is an LGBTQ activist and was excited for the overall outcome of both decisions. However, he said he is concerned for other states that are still struggling to obtain marriage equality.

“If DOMA is a one and Prop. 8 is another one, we are at a 1.5 out of two right now,” Pack said.

Although the decisions are a victory for the LGBTQ community in California, more than 30 states still prohibit gay marriage, a concern to many members of the Berkeley community.

At the city’s celebration, Councilmember Darryl Moore, who is gay, furthered Pack’s sentiments.

“Let’s go out and celebrate today,” Moore said. “But remember, we have work still to do.”

Contact Saachi Makkar smakkar@dailycal.org.

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