Students will finally have a voice

Measure allows students to represent themselves in city

Imagine a student on the City Council, adjudicating and legislating on key issues such as housing, sustainability and development. His or her mandate: Heed students’ voices, bring them to the city government and ensure that students’ needs are finally reflected in city policy. Such a dream may be much closer Read More…

opedillustration.valentina

Student district isn’t good for city

Imagine Berkeley students having one or two strong voices on the Berkeley City Council. Now, let’s reflect on how we could get that to happen. A student-majority district? Wrong. Redistricting has come to the city of Berkeley — and with it comes many issues. Redistricting is basically the redrawing of Read More…

redistricting oped.illustration.nicole lim

Students deserve to be represented on City Council

This year, Californians have a lot on their plate. Zooming in on the map just a bit more, though, highlights a city with a hefty agenda of its own. The release of the 2010 census presents Berkeley with a revolutionary opportunity that comes along only once every ten years: redrawing Read More…

Students should aim for September deadline

With the 2010 census numbers in, redistricting in Berkeley is about to begin, and residents of the city are being asked to submit proposals. Recently, the city council moved back the proposal deadline from mid-August to Sept. 16 in order to give students more time to have their voices heard; Read More…

Fixing politics

CITY AFFAIRS: A student supermajority district would recreate the same type of disenfranchisement that its proponents decry.

Though a majority of UC Berkeley students live in the areas surrounding the campus, there is currently no student super-majority city council district. While many have called for such a district — most notably ASUC External Affairs Vice President Joey Freeman — its creation would simply be gerrymandering. Creating a Read More…

Redistricting measure could appear on November ballot

The Berkeley City Council did not have time to discuss a charter amendment regarding redistricting at its special meeting Tuesday night, though a redistricting measure could still appear on the November ballot this fall. In April, the council asked city staff to create a ballot measure that would amend the Read More…