Prop 13

Proposition 13, a statewide measure that would fund public school, community college and university projects across California, is behind in returns. If passed, Prop 13 would allow the sale of $15 billion in bonds, of which $9 billion would go to projects such as the renovation and construction of K-12 public school facilities.

The UC system now has significant seismic repair needs.Simply put, Prop. 13 recognizes that investing in UC students is key to California’s future.

Venture into the realm of financial voodoo and enigmatic budgetary rules, and you’ll find one particular plague upon the K-14 education system: the once widely beloved Proposition 13.

Earlier this month, a new sorority, Delta Sigma, was created on campus, taking the place of the Alpha Omicron Pi chapter of UC Berkeley after Alpha Omicron Pi nationals pulled the charter for the existing chapter last fall.

Women’s fraternity Alpha Omicron Pi announced last Monday that it would no longer recognize UC Berkeley’s chapter house as of Sept. 3.

If you are concerned about the future of the compact, you need to be politically engaged. Begin by exercising your right to vote. Remember, too, that students constitute a powerful group in any polity — and they did so even when they (we) didn’t have the right to vote. We need to hear your voice in the choices our state makes about our present and future — it is, after all, your future.

The incessant debate over funding for public education in California over the past few years indicates that an adequate solution to the quandary posed by state budget cuts remains elusive. But a student coalition called Fund the UC has put its finger on a practical solution that hasn’t received enough serious consideration from public officials: reforming Proposition 13.

In an effort to increase student leadership, members of the ASUC Senate lobbied the offices of various state representatives Tuesday, fostering a dialogue on important issues between students and local government officials.