CalSERVE Senator Sevly Snguon authored the bill, SB 17, in response to a Sept. 17 printing of an advertisement in the Daily Cal for Dr. Chase Lay, a Bay Area cosmetic surgeon, that emphasized Lay’s expertise in “Asian eyelid surgery” and “Asian facial plastics.” The ad also included photos of Asian women who had undergone eyelid surgery.

The bill was originally introduced Sept. 25 but was tabled until this week. If it is passed, the Daily Cal will be urged to publish an apology for the advertisement online and in print. ASUC President DeeJay Pepito would also be asked to create a task force to investigate campus climate for students of Asian or Pacific Islander descent.

Snguon said at the senate’s external committee meeting Monday that the advertisement was “defining forms of beauty.”

UC Berkeley is a “community where we should feel comfortable,” he said. ”We’re not here to define what people should look like.”

At the committee meeting, Sarah Burns, the Daily Cal’s editor in chief and president, explained the newspaper’s process of screening potentially controversial advertisements. The Daily Cal’s Senior Editorial Board can review such advertisements prior to publication and determine whether to publish them. Although this particular advertisement was not reviewed before publication, the board decided not to let it print again after receiving criticism from the campus community, Burns said.

“We decided to pull the ad because we were cutting off a portion of our readership,” she said.

Lay said he understood why it was pulled but that he did not intend to offend the community.

“I just thought I’d put my expertise on display in areas where the demand was high,” Lay said in an interview shortly after the bill’s initial introduction. “It was not a chance to take advantage of a demographic or patients that are insecure about themselves.”

The external committee approved SB 17 unanimously Monday, allowing the bill to be considered by the entire senate Wednesday.

Jennie Yoon is the lead student government reporter. Contact her at jyoon@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter @jennieyoon_.

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Buy cheap tapestries. Shopping around online or at typical decorating stores will lead you only to find tapestries that are $40 or more. If you didn’t know this already, we have a variety of cool stores in Berkeley, such as Happy High Herbs on Channing Way (who would have thought they had things other than herbs?) or Tibet Souvenirs on Center Street that sell really cool tapestries. Many of the tapestries you will find are around $20, but if you split the price with several of your roommates, you can end up paying a fraction of the original price! You can use a tapestry as a wall decoration, curtains or couch covers, or you can even put them on your bed. A tapestry will make your apartment hip, and we’re pretty sure that logic says that that makes you hip too! Congratulations!

Use excess materials from clubs you’re in. If you’re a Cal student, we can guarantee you’re involved in something. And whatever club you are involved with probably has a committee or subcommittee that consists of artsy people with artsy materials. If you are not one of them, hit these people up and tell them to make you something cool and artsy with their leftover materials. Or, if they have decorations left over from an event, ask if you can have them. With all these aesthetically gifted and creative Cal students around you, you’ll definitely find some delightfully unexpected decor!

Buy cool wall decorations from local shops. There are a number of local shops on Shattuck and College avenues where you can find neat things to decorate your apartment with. At Therapy on College, you can find inflatable animal heads to put on your walls! These cost about $30, and if split evenly with your roommates, you’ve got yourselves a deal! You can also find products such as frames, posters and clocks at various local stores.

Accept flier attacks on Sproul. For once in your life, don’t try to circumvent the intense individuals handing you fliers on Sproul. Again, with the aesthetically inclined student body you’re surrounded by, you’re bound to get some pretty badass-looking fliers! These may or may not be fliers for events that are completely unrelated to your life, but at least they’ll look cool!

Pick up the Daily Cal. No, we aren’t self-advertising! What are you talking about?! But you should try it! Pick up a copy of The Daily Californian, cut out some cool headlines or pictures and make awesome collages for doors and walls. People will think  you’re cool and cultured because you keep up with the Daily Cal, and they’ll think you’re artsy and resourceful for making pretty things with our newspaper! We’re all winners!

Have any tips on cheap decorating ideas? Let us know in the comments!

Contact Gabrielle Nguyen at gnguyen@dailycal.org.

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Elsa Pearson, Sureya Malkonian and Jacob Brown/File

Over nearly five decades, Eshleman Hall has survived thefts, vandalism, protests and at least five fires. But last week, the building was finally felled by a pair of massive hydraulic metal claws.

The seven-story building, which housed a variety of UC Berkeley student groups — including the ASUC and The Daily Californian — was gradually demolished over the course of about a month as part of the Lower Sproul Plaza renovation project, which aims to rejuvenate the plaza as a hub for student life on campus. The project is expected to continue through 2015 and will replace Eshleman Hall with a larger building, among other improvements.

But the memory of Eshleman Hall will be preserved through its colorful history as both a magnet for crime and protests and a hub for student groups that helped define the UC Berkeley campus experience.

Eshleman Hall was dedicated as a building for student offices on Sept. 18, 1965, after two years and more than $1 million in construction, at a time when the Free Speech Movement on campus was kicking into gear.

Issues surrounding the building’s name initially caused confusion on campus. The building was originally referred to as the Student Office Building — or S.O.B. for short — but university officials hoped to name the building after John Morton Eshleman, an early ASUC president who went on to become lieutenant governor of California.

However, another building on campus was already named after Eshleman. That building was renamed Moses Hall, the name it still uses today, and the newly constructed building was named Eshleman Hall.

Due to discrepancies between campus maps and the names affixed on the buildings, students frequently reported problems navigating between the “old Eshleman” and the “new Eshleman.”

The new Eshleman was beset by theft, vandalism and frequent fires over its 47-year history. Two fires in 1975 were attributed to arson, damaging the ASUC Senate chambers and several bathrooms at a total cost of about $40,000.

In November 1975, a fire ravaged Eshleman Hall, costing the student groups and ASUC about $40,000′s worth of damage.

A 1983 fire gutted the ASUC Senate chambers and critically injured a man inside at the time. The chambers were later remodeled at a cost of $106,000. Another fire struck the basement of Eshleman in 1989.

But arguably, the most grisly incident in Eshleman’s history was the 1992 death of UC Berkeley student Grace Asuncion, who was found dead by a janitor, apparently stabbed to death, in the offices of the Pilipino American Alliance on Eshleman’s fifth floor.

Asuncion’s death prompted improvements in building security, and her parents settled a $1 million lawsuit against the UC Board of Regents in 1996, but her killer was never found.

But although Eshleman was a site of occasional crimes, the building was best known as a hub for a variety of student groups throughout its history, including the Daily Cal from 1965 to 1971 and 1992 to 2012. The building, owned and operated by the ASUC, housed more than 200 student groups.

More recently, a protest occurred in Eshleman on Nov. 27, 2012, after the building was mostly vacant for demolition. About six students occupied the building as part of a campaign regarding the campus’s multicultural retention center and minority enrollment.

The Lower Sproul development plan, green-lighted by student approval of the B.E.A.R.S. Initiative in 2010, will be financed largely by additional student fees. Because of concerns with Eshleman’s “poor” seismic rating, it was decided the building would be demolished rather than go through expensive upgrades.

In addition to building to replace Eshleman, the $223 million project will also include renovations and improvements to the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union and the Cesar Chavez Student Center.

Contact Chris Yoder at cyoder@dailycal.org and follow him on Twitter @christiancyoder.

Clarification(s):
A previous version of this article may have implied that the student murdered in Eshleman Hall was stabbed by the janitor who found her body. In fact, the victim was found by the janitor a few hours after her death, apparently stabbed to death.

The post Eshleman demolition ends colorful chapter of UC Berkeley history appeared first on The Daily Californian.

When I arrived at Berkeley nearly four years ago, I knew I wanted to join The Daily Californian. Having worked on my high school paper for three years, I figured I would continue trying out this journalism thing. It was fun. I liked talking to people. I liked writing.

But I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I had no idea the Daily Cal would take over my life.

Needless to say, these past four years have tested me in numerous ways. I’ve dealt with many disagreeable people, been discouraged by failure and uncertainty, lost countless nights of sleep and sacrificed my grades and relationships. But now that I am about to graduate and move away from the Bay Area for the first time in my life, I cannot imagine spending the last four years any other way.

Years from now, I’ll remember the late nights in the office, struggling to make deadline — and missing 8 a.m. class to distribute the paper by hand when we missed deadline — Tuesday nights in the Berkeley City Council chambers, the protests and occupations, the 10-page papers written in 10 hours, the friendships I’ve made on the job and the lessons I’ve learned along the way.

Because of my experiences at the Daily Cal, I know what I want to do for the rest of my life and feel more than prepared to enter the journalism industry despite the challenges all of us face as media outlets struggles to adapt to a new landscape.

Last Friday, I turned over my position as editor in chief and president to my successor, Sarah Burns, one of the most inspiring people I’ve met at the Daily Cal and someone whose strength in vision and unyielding dedication will carry this paper and the staff into a new era for student-run journalism.

I am incredibly proud and honored to have been a part of this outstanding organization for the past four years and thankful for the experiences it has given me and the doors it has opened and will continue to open. I owe it all to the Daily Cal.

**
I owe thanks to:

My family, for always supporting me, no matter how infrequently I visited home.

Emma, for her friendship and for standing by me through the good and the bad.

Kelly, for challenging us all and innovating like no one else.

Alex, for his sarcasm and dedication to style.

Tomer, for Tomering via email, text, Facebook and phone.

Aaida, for keeping me sane and reminding me to take care of myself.

Nick, for beer and the rides home.

John, for his morning music and sports talk.

Michael, for his dedication and unwavering support.

Lila, for agreeing with me on absolutely everything and forcing me to go to yoga and spin class.

Mihir, for always being a voice of reason.

Springfield, for being a great friend and 10 times the writer I will ever be.

Soumya, Jordan and Claire, for putting up with my nonsense in fall 2011 and helping me get through these last couple years.

Javier, for believing in me and always pushing me to be better.

Raj, Will and Ron, for their guidance and advice.

And every staff member, editor and manager at the Daily Cal for their hard work and dedication.

Stephanie Baer was the 2012-13 editor in chief and president of The Daily Californian.

The post Editor’s note: Thank you appeared first on The Daily Californian.

I promised myself I wouldn’t cry while writing this, but I can feel the saltwater in my eyes, and I haven’t even finished the first sentence.

I know it’s time; I’m just not ready. I guess that’s why I’ve been putting off writing this, even though the words have been piling up in my head. I close the page, put it off for another day, week, month. Maybe if I don’t write it, it won’t end. But I know I don’t have to be ready — saying goodbye is never something you’re ready for, it’s just something you do.

How do I bid farewell to a friend? To a family? To a passion so deep it causes unnerving frustration but also fits of laughter and tears?

The Daily Californian has taken me to Seattle and Tempe, Columbus and Salt Lake City, Las Vegas and up and down California — but I never really needed to go anywhere. In college, I had a place where I slept, and then I had the office (where I also occasionally slept). Eshleman was all I needed. Hearst too, to some extent, because it’s the people who matter, not the place.

Four years I spent at the Daily Cal (and boy is it scary to refer to my time there in the past tense). During the first week of my freshman year, I applied to be a sports reporter, eventually becoming an assistant editor, two-term sports editor, opinion page editor (though I like to pretend that didn’t happen) and two-year beat writer of football and men’s basketball.

I met athletes and coaches, gained experience and contacts. More than anything else, though, the Daily Cal gave me something to care about and people to care about it with.

Colleagues became friends, and those friends became family. They gave me love and support and comfort, yes, but they also called my bluffs and would not accept sufficient work but instead demanded my best. They kept me in line and gave me hope and inspiration. That’s not easy.

I don’t mind that my two seasons covering the football team coincided with Zach Maynard’s as starting quarterback. I’m gratified to have gotten the opportunity at all, to learn from the best and train the future. I got everything I could have ever gotten out of this organization, heartfelt moments but also heartaches, much like Cal football itself.

And like an old blue, I can pine for the good ol’ days, waxing nostalgic of the way it used to be or should be. Or could still be. Not a place where opposing views aren’t heard and ingenuity blurs into complacency but one synonymous with communication, accountability and vision — from the top down and the bottom up. A place bursting with integrity and, yes, innovation. Lots of innovation.

Yet, I think my lament is healthy. It’s good to have something to care that much about.

That’s probably what I’ve learned most over the last few years: acceptance. As much as I tried, I can’t do it all or change everything. I tried my best, but sometimes there’s nothing that can be done. I’ve had to live with that, stomach it, swallow it.

I’ve made mistakes along the way, as we all have. I put too much trust in some people and not enough in others. I worked too hard and unfairly expected the same from others. I agreed to serve as the summer opinion page editor. But I have no regrets, no reservations.

I think of the Mount Rushmore of former editors at the sports desk and hope I’ve made them proud. I think of my two assistants — who put up with me being a perfectionist but unable to decide what to eat for dinner — and hope they know I’m proud of them. I couldn’t have done it without you two.

There is something special about our department, something ingrained in that desk. We don’t eat our young, but rather, we nurture them. The ones that stay with it leave with an enduring bond.

A poet once wrote that “medicine is magical and magical is art.” Well, writing has been my art. It’s had the power to heal and comfort, to empower and inspire.

To the readers, I hope I served you well. I hope I’ve been known for more than the corny endings to my stories and the Paul Simon songs I use for headlines. I won’t get to do that in the real world.

To my parents, I thank you for understanding that writing articles was a higher priority than studying and going to class.

I’ll miss the meetings, unbearable as they often were, and the thrill of just making deadline. I’ll miss the backroom, with its overflowing glasses and people. I’ll miss the smell of the air on a Game Day and the feel of the ink of a Gameday.

Some people, after graduating college, wish they could have done something one last time — maybe lie on Memorial Glade on a sunny afternoon again or hike to the Big C at sunset.

I wish I could go back to the sixth floor of Eshleman, stroll to the back of the newsroom where the sports desk once lay — the best spot — sit down on the comfiest chair in the office and go to work.

Life won’t be the same without you.

Jonathan Kuperberg is looking for work. If you have a job, contact him at jkuperberg@dailycal.org and follow him on Twitter @JonathanKupe. But actually, I’m serious. Hire me. Please.

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For the second year in a row, The Daily Californian has been named the top daily college newspaper and website in the state and was awarded first place in six additional categories by the California College Media Association.

We received a total of 24 awards for excellence in print and online content as well as advertising. The awards were announced Saturday evening at the organization’s annual convention at San Jose State University. Last year, we won 23 CCMA awards, 11 of which were for first place.

Last week, the Daily Cal also won three awards from the Society of Professional Journalists in Region 11 (California, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii): first place, Sports Writing (Large) — “Lights, please” by Jack Wang; second place, Best Affiliated Website (Large) — dailycal.org and third place, Sports Photography (Large) — “Cal leaves Lehigh high and dry” by Michael Tao.

None of this would have been possible without feedback and support from you, our readers. As an independent, student-run newspaper, we pride ourselves on consistently producing award-winning content while serving the student body and surrounding community at large, but we cannot do it without your help.

If you would like to contribute to the student staff of the Daily Cal, we encourage you to make a tax-deductible donation and support independent student journalism.

Thank you for taking the time to engage with our content in print and online and to contribute to our opinion pages. We appreciate your support and encourage you to continue to share your thoughts by emailing me at editor@dailycal.org.

Sincerely,
Stephanie Baer
Editor in Chief & President

Below is a full list of awards presented to the Daily Cal at the CCMA awards ceremony:

1st place, General Newspaper Excellence
1st place, General Website Excellence (dailycal.org)
1st place, Best Use of Social Media (Elections 2012 coverage)
1st place, Best News Story (non-breaking) (“Tracking UC Berkeley’s former chancellor Chang-Lin Tien” by Soumya Karlamangla)
1st place, Best News Series (Megan Messerly, Gautham Thomas, Alyssa Neumann, Alex Berryhill)
1st place, Best Headline Portfolio (Alex Wolinsky)
1st place, Best Online Promotion (advertise.dailycal.org, Eugenia Ho and George Syrop)
1st place, Best Audio Slideshow (“Moving pictures — Softball” by Anna Vignet)
2nd place, Best Multimedia Presentation
2nd place, Best Sales Promotion Materials (Eugenia Ho and George Syrop)
2nd place, Best Feature Story (“Lights, please” by Jack Wang)
2nd place, Best Headline Portfolio (Rupa Subramaniam)
2nd place, Best Infographic (“California Grown”, Jill Wong)
2nd place, Best News Photograph (Derek Remsburg)
2nd place, Best Photo Illustration (“Eshleman Hall to be demolished months later than projected” by Michael Tao)
3rd place, Best Editorial (“A civics lesson for UCSA” by J.D. Morris)
3rd place, Best Video (“Compiling the Programmers” by Alice Oh)
3rd place, Best Sports Column (“Don’t look back in anger” by Jack Wang)
3rd place, Best News Page Design (“Empty seats, empty coffers” by Emily Smith)
3rd place, Best Overall Design
3rd place, Best Blog (The Daily Clog)
3rd place, Best Group Promotion (Gloria Yen)
3rd place, Best Back to School or Orientation Issue (Freshman Orientation)
3rd place, Best Special Section (Big Game 30-year anniversary)

Stephanie Baer is the editor in chief and president. Contact her at editor@dailycal.org.

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For the second year in a row, The Daily Californian’s website has been ranked among the top student newspaper websites for large campuses in the country, according to results announced Thursday by the Associated Collegiate Press.

The Daily Cal is one of 12 finalists for the ACP’s Online Pacemaker Award for 2013 in the category of campuses with enrollment of more than 20,000. Winners will be announced at the organization’s annual convention in October.

In 2012, the Daily Cal was one of six winners of the Online Pacemaker in its category, also winning first place for Multimedia Feature of the Year for Dream State, a project that examined the role of California’s DREAM Act on the UC Berkeley campus. The Online Pacemaker is the organization’s highest honor for online college student publications.

Since a complete redesign of our website in May 2011, we have continued to make improvements while also expanding our online coverage and social media presence. Development of the site over the last two years — such as the integration of the Daily Cal’s blog, The Daily Clog, into the main site as well as the redesign of our sectional blogs and homepage —  have been spearheaded by online managing editor Kelly Fang, online  manager Roger Chen, former online managing editor Javier Panzar, former online manager Karoun Kasraie and senior Web designer Persia Salehi.

Still, further changes are on the horizon as more of our readers move from print to online. According to a survey conducted last year, about two-thirds of our readership is online. This year, we have seen a 55 percent increase in visits to the site and an 83 percent increase in unique visits as compared to the same time period last year.

If you have any suggestions for improvement to our website, we encourage you to contact us at editor@dailycal.org.

Stephanie Baer is the editor in chief and president. Contact her at editor@dailycal.org. Twitter: @dailycaleditor

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Anthony Martinez/Staff

UC Berkeley students and other community members packed into The Daily Californian’s annual ASUC Candidates Forum Friday to hear this year’s candidates for ASUC executive positions discuss their visions for the campus and student body in the upcoming academic year.

The candidates addressed a number of contentious topics, including the shrinking affordability of higher education and the need to increase diversity of the student body and find new ways to finance student groups and the student government as a whole.

One area of dissention among the presidential candidates was the validity of current ASUC President Connor Landgraf’s recent executive orders to place the Class Pass and Health and Wellness referendums on the ballot.

Without the passage of the Class Pass referendum, students will lose unlimited access to AC Transit buses and campus shuttles.

Student Action presidential candidate Rafi Lurie said that Landgraf’s executive order to place the Class Pass referendum on the ballot was warranted because of an administrative error made by the UC Office of the President.

“(Executive orders) should not be issued unless there is no other way to fix a problem,” Lurie said. He said that Landgraf — who is also a member of Student Action — issued the executive order because access to AC Transit buses is critical to student life on campus.

DeeJay Pepito, the CalSERVE candidate for president, responded in a pointed rebuttal, saying that Landgraf admitted during a senate meeting that he had gotten approval from UCOP weeks before and that the Class Pass delay was not due to UCOP but rather to an error in his office.

SQUELCH! presidential candidate Jason Bellet echoed Pepito, saying that executive orders should only be used in very limited special circumstances.

“I won’t be issuing (an executive order) without reaching out to the students that this will be affecting,” Bellet said. “Vetoes are an extreme situation — not something I take lightly. I would make sure we have student voice and input.”

Defend Affirmative Action Party presidential candidate David Ramirez Douglass said that he would use executive orders to disband UCPD because of alleged discrimination against students of color.

According to the ASUC Constitution, executive orders can only be issued for such actions “urgent and necessary to maintain the functioning of the ASUC until the Senate can again meet.”

The presidential candidates and many audience members visibly reacted when contenders were asked whether UC Berkeley has a campus climate problem. All candidates responded affirmatively that there is a problem with inclusion and equitability, although each described different visions for what should be done to alleviate tensions.

Pepito spoke strongly about the need to improve UC Berkeley’s social, cultural and academic environment, highlighting student safety, mental health and a lack of campus resources as key areas in need of improvement.

Pepito directly attacked Landgraf’s work toward improving the mental health of UC Berkeley students while in office, saying that while an event hosted last night by his office to bring awareness to mental health issues was laudable, it wasn’t enough to make a real impact on the campus community.

“Drawing attention (to mental health) is not the same as doing something about it,” Pepito said.

In a moment that received widespread snaps of approval from audience members, Bellet said that though he was “privileged” as a “white cisgendered male,” his time in the senate has educated him on the diverse cultures that have been affected by problems with campus climate.

“As president, I would look out for the interest of all students regardless of what party I’m part of and what groups I’m part of,” Bellet said. “My door is open.”

Bellet is running partly on a platform of increasing the engagement of the campus by organizing events to bring communities together around common passions.

Candidates further addressed the need to improve equitability and inclusion on campus when asked about the recent passage of SB 130, which states that the ASUC Senate has “no confidence” in the campus’s handling of sexual assault cases.

Pepito, who was an author of the bill, and Bellet, who voted in favor of it, both spoke passionately about the problem of sexual assault on the UC Berkeley campus and the need to reform the current campus policies toward such crimes.

Lurie, however, acknowledged that while he had voted against the bill, the reason for his vote was not that he does not think sexual assault is a problem but rather that he heard from sexual assault victims who said the bill did not adequately represent them.

“It should be something we’re engaging in every year on this campus, and we’re constantly doing everything we can to make sure sexual assault is not prevalent on this campus,” Lurie said.

Other issues facing candidates include the new executive vice president’s management of the Cal Lodge, a Lake Tahoe property owned by the ASUC that has been plagued with financial problems. Last year, the the lodge faced a $27,000 deficit due to these difficulties.

CalSERVE EVP candidate Nolan Pack cited his experience on the SURGE committee, which is overseeing the redevelopment of Lower Sproul, as well as his background in fundraising for students as reasons he would be most competent to manage the ASUC asset.

Pack said that he would look at all viable options but would renovate and restore the Cal Lodge so that it would stop operating at a deficit. Pack said that he would like to make the lodge viable for use in the summer as well.

Chen-Chen Huo, the Student Action EVP candidate, said he also plans to restore the Cal Lodge but would do so by temporarily closing and renovating it. After reopening the lodge, he said, he hopes that the property would be used by both UC Berkeley students and residents of the city of Berkeley.

Candidates for academic affairs vice president had a range of ideas on how to manage funding for student grants. Student Action AAVP candidate Ryan Kang said he wants to implement an entrepreneurial grant for students interested in opening their own businesses, and DAAP AAVP candidate Christina Hamilton said that grants were tangential to the real issue of tuition and fee hikes.

“We need to increase funding overall,” she said. “(We need to say), ‘Hey, public, we’re your people, fund us.’”

The candidates for external affairs vice president spoke to the need of gaining greater student representation on Berkeley City Council as well as increasing the student voice at the state and national level.

“What we need to do is register every single student on this campus who is eligible to vote,” said Student Action EAVP candidate Safeena Mecklai. “There are 37,000 of us, and D.C. will have no choice but to listen to us.”

The candidates also spoke about the importance of placing a student representative on Berkeley City Council to provide a voice for student interests citywide.

Spencer Pritchard, the EAVP candidate for CalSERVE, said he would like to place students on other councils in addition to the City Council — such as the rent board.

“(I want to) create a comprehensive plan to appoint students to commissions and address the concerns of students in this campus and city, such as the revitalization of Telegraph and promoting safety on Southside,” Pritchard said.

Pedro Hernandez, the DAAP EAVP candidate, raised issue with Berkeley lobbying Sacramento alone.

“We should be lobbying with community colleges and other schools,” Hernandez said. “(We should be) sending students to Sacramento to show that our education is the future and the key to a self-sustaining economy. We need to be the ones who are mobilizing.”

Other issues discussed at the forum included a referendum to encourage the university to divest from fossil fuels, a referendum asking students if they support overturning the controversial Citizens United Supreme Court decision and a referendum that would amend the ASUC Constitution.

Contact Ally Rondoni and Sara Grossman at newsdesk@dailycal.org.

Correction(s):
“A previous version of this article stated that the ASUC SURGE committee is overseeing the redevelopment of Lower Sproul. In fact, this committee only met for one month and was used to help the office of the Executive Vice President understand groups who moved to Hearst Gymnasium and Hearst Field Annex during the Lower Sproul redevelopment process.”

A previous version of this article also misspelled ASUC president Connor Landgraf’s name.

The post ASUC executive slate candidates talk vision, goals at Daily Cal forum appeared first on The Daily Californian.

At the time, the paper was facing a substantial structural deficit. The potential for new revenues was dim, as was the paper’s future.

We decided to turn to our peers and placed a referendum, the V.O.I.C.E. initiative, on the 2012 ASUC general election ballot asking students whether they approve of a $2 semesterly fee to support the newspaper. Students passed the fee, with 5,977 voting in favor and 4,054 voting against, guaranteeing the Daily Cal an estimated $93,800 annually for five years.

In June 2012, the Daily Cal signed an agreement with the campus describing the process for the transfer of V.O.I.C.E. funds for the fall 2012 semester. Recognizing the ASUC’s interest in distributing all student fee funds used by registered student organizations, we signed the agreement with the intention of signing a new one with the ASUC for the remaining four and a half years of the initiative.

Last week, we signed an agreement with the ASUC that fully protects our independence and ensures the student fee money will continue to directly support the newspaper that students have enjoyed for more than 140 years.

Due to the student fee funds and other cost-cutting measures — including the elimination of professional staff, the move to a rent-free office and a deal with our printer that is saving us around $10,000 annually — we are no longer grappling with a sizable structural deficit. Our latest financials from February show an operating deficit of just $8,000.

But our future is still unclear.

During my tenure as editor in chief and president, it has become increasingly apparent that, at the Daily Cal, we can no longer sustain our print and online products in their current form due to a serious decline in print advertising in recent years. It is time to change the way we operate as a news outlet, and thanks to V.O.I.C.E., we have the time to do so.

Since September, the Daily Cal’s board of directors and current student employees have been working together to construct a Strategic Plan to guide the paper over the next three to five years. My hope is that through this process, we will be able to create a sustainable business model in which we will no longer depend on V.O.I.C.E. money, all while continuing to deliver information that the students and our surrounding community deserve.

Feel free to contact me directly at editor@dailycal.org with any questions, concerns and feedback about the agreement or the newspaper. Our door is always open to you.

Sincerely,
Stephanie Baer,
Editor in Chief & President

Stephanie Baer is the editor in chief and president. Contact her at editor@dailycal.org.

The post Daily Cal, ASUC sign agreement for remainder of V.O.I.C.E. fee appeared first on The Daily Californian.

Jacob Wilson/Staff

It hurt my heart to learn about the shooting death of another young man in Oakland. It hurt even more when I realized I knew him: Tyler Jamison. The Feb. 12 Daily Cal article about a “Berkeley teenager shot in Oakland identified by police” deepened the pain.

Instead of learning anything about 17-year-old Tyler, the article re-reports speculations about his death and suggests circumstances leading to his death. We know nothing about the child he was or the man he will never get to be. The lede suggests the shooting was gang-related, but assertion by Oakland police is only speculation at this point.

Citing the Oakland Tribune, the Daily Cal reports that authorities charged Tyler in an attempted murder for an altercation injuring two other juveniles last fall but that the charges were dropped. The Tribune reported prosecutors dropped the charges against Jamison “because witnesses in the case refused to testify,” but the Daily Cal writes “witnesses refused to testify against Jamison.” Untrue to the original source, it could be read that Tyler may have intimidated witnesses. The article concludes suggesting the incidents may have been related, despite no connections being reported.

Following the story laid out by the Daily Cal, a reader, knowing nothing more about Tyler than the allegedly gang-related nature of his shooting, his alleged involvement in a previous shooting and the subsequent refusal of witnesses to testify, might assume this young man met his fate. The only original reporting appears to be a confirmation by Berkeley Unified School District that Tyler transferred to an unknown school. It’s interesting that the district did not know — or maybe didn’t care — where he transferred.

Instead of telling readers about who this young man was, the Daily Cal traps him in his circumstances. At least it did not identify him as a “South Berkeley teenager” or other euphemisms or code words used to criminalize some members of the population. Deadlines aside, it may have been prudent to try to find information about Tyler via social media or even to visit Berkeley Tech to get reactions from his former teachers and classmates.

Two years ago, I met Jamison in those South Berkeley classrooms while working for Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson. I helped facilitate an ancestry project for young black males to learn about their family roots through genealogy. I remember Tyler being a bold, intelligent, absolutely hilarious and critically thinking young man, climbing out of challenging circumstances to find his way in the world.

Supervisor Carson, a South Berkeley native who visited the class to share his story, remembered Tyler, too. After the project, he offered Tyler and another young man internships in his office.

“When Tyler was an intern in our office, he always showed up on time and was polite and respectful,” Carson recalled. “In his interactions with our staff, Tyler was insightful, humorous and genuinely interested in learning about government.”

We watched this young man grow tremendously over just a few short months as he challenged himself to learn more about himself and his ancestry. Sadly, he will never be able to pass down the knowledge he gained to the next generation.

“It is tragic to see a young black man with potential denied the chance to turn his life around,” Carson said. “My thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and teachers.”

For some, Tyler will be remembered as Oakland’s ninth homicide of 2013. For others, contrary to media reports, he will remain a dream denied and a positive spirit in our thoughts for years to come.

Reginald James is a senior at UC Berkeley.

Contact the opinion desk at opinion@dailycal.org.

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