A Better Berkeley is Possible… Spring 2010 Executive Candidates

CalSERVE Releases 2010 Executive Slate for the Spring ASUC Elections

BERKELEY, CA- Today, Cal Students for Equal Rights and a Valid Education (CalSERVE) has released its executive slate for the 2010 ASUC elections. CalSERVE, the longest running progressive student political party, was founded in 1984 during the movement to divest university funds from South African apartheid. For a quarter of a century, CalSERVE has fought to make the ASUC a vehicle for creating progressive change on campus, in the local community, and at the state and national levels.

CalSERVE has fought for an accessible, affordable education that is valid to students.  We have successfully helped to register over a third of the campus population to vote in the last Presidential election, coordinated and won the state-wide “Count Me In” campaign for the disaggregation of the “Asian-American” category on UC admissions surveys, and successfully negotiated the Memorandum of Understanding with the University to create the Multi-Cultural Center. Furthermore, we consistently organize students to attend the Regents meetings in order to amplify students’ voice in decisions that affect us all.

This spring, the coalition will run current CalSERVE Senator Eunice Kwon as the Presidential candidate, CalSERVE Senator Lean Deleon for Executive Vice President, EAVP Legislative Liaison and CalSERVE coalition member Ricardo Gomez for External Affairs Vice President, and current CalSERVE Senator Viola Tang for Academic Affairs Vice President.

CalSERVE continues to play a role in creating a socially just and responsible UC system, by supporting campus diversity and accessibility, promoting campus sustainability, and empowering our student organizations.  The coalition is not only committed to fighting fee increases but also to educating current students of about the impacts of the budget cuts and fee hikes.  Academic Affairs candidate Tang aims “to use the various resources and networks of the AAVP position to guarantee a valid education for our students.”

External Affairs candidate Gomez states, “The CalSERVE slate is committed. This slate will bring last semester’s campus organizing for lower fees, greater accessibility, and better transparency to even more students.” As one of the first organizations to begin organizing and educating students on the 32% fee increase, the CalSERVE coalition has proven its commitment to reform public higher education by fighting for affordable and accessible higher education for all. As a senator, Deleon has, “done outreach to a multitude of student organizations and have seen first hand how the budget cuts have affected all of us.” As Governor Schwarzenneger’s Chief of Staff told the New York Times, last semester’s UC protests were the “tipping point” in galvanizing a conversation over the state reinvesting in public education.

Presidential candidate Kwon mentions, “I am excited to be given this opportunity to serve alongside with the rest of the slate. They are some of the sharpest, most passionate people I know. We are all working together to keep our university public, our education affordable, and our campus services student-centered. We plan to use our time in office to further these goals and to make tangible changes in the ASUC to benefit the student body.”

CalSERVE Co-Signatories Mary June Flores and Isaac Miller believe, “the CalSERVE Executive candidates this year have a broad range of experiences and qualifications that allow them to envision and build an ASUC that is accountable to the student body and that will aggressively advocate for students to our campus administration, UC Regents, and political representatives. We are confident that Eunice, Lean, Ricardo, and Viola will be at the forefront of pressing issues, leading and taking critical stances on behalf of the well-being of all students.”

New CalSERVE candidate pages are posted for your viewing pleasure! Learn about each candidate’s platforms, experience, and endorsements. Also, click on the link on the right-hand panel of their pages to download their candidate photos to post on your Facebook! An overview of all candidates is available HERE.

Experience you can trust. Values we share. Making change together! – CalSERVE 2009-10 Executive Slate Released

Berkeley — March 16, 2009: Celebrating its 25th anniversary as the longest running student political party on the UC Berkeley campus, CalSERVE released its executive slate today for the upcoming ASUC elections, to be held on April 7-9. Running for ASUC President is ASUC Senator* Oscar Mairena; for Executive Vice President is ASUC Senator* Kifah Shah; for Academic Affairs Vice President is Director of Academic Services & Programs of AAVP* Isaac Miller; and for External Affairs Vice President is ASUC Representative to the Academic Senate Committee on Student Diversity and Academic Development*, Joan Jones.

Over the past two years, CalSERVE has redefined how the ASUC serves its students by increasing transparency, improving student services, and making the ASUC more accessible by implementing events such as Disability Awareness Week, securing a $750,000 commitment from the university for Lower Sproul Redevelopment, doubling grant applications and allocating over $85,000 in ASUC grants back to students and student groups, and registering over 10,000 students to vote in the historic 2008 Presidential Election.

“What CalSERVE has accomplished really speaks volumes to the change we can create by working together with students,” said current ASUC Senator* and presidential candidate Oscar Mairena.“This year, CalSERVE made some real headway towards creating a student government that is open, engaged, and responsive to student needs and efforts.  We hope to continue this progress by working in collaboration with administration to ensure a safe and equitable campus.”

“CalSERVE is in a unique position.  Instead of starting from scratch, our experience in the ASUC for the last few years has allowed us to identify problems and find solutions,” said current ASUC Senator* and candidate for Executive Vice President Kifah Shah. “I want to ensure that student groups that are not traditionally engaged in student government become more aware of the resources they have. Resources are commonly interpreted as meaning money, but the ASUC is more than that; it means being a space where students’ voices really matter.”

Due to the impact of national and state issues on student fees, admission policies and financial aid for the upcoming year, Joan Jones, candidate for External Affairs Vice President, recognizes the necessity and importance of student organizing and representation during this time: “The UC system has quickly become less accessible and less affordable, and it’s up to us to work to change that. Furthermore, with the economy in crisis, students are feeling strained. Students are finding it harder than ever to afford a quality education in the state of California. Juniors, seniors, and graduate students are having difficulty finding jobs after graduation, and there are fewer internships available to all students.  But by providing the necessary tools to enable students to organize, lobby, and inform our legislators, we will make sure that issues vital to students, such as student fees and re-directing stimulus money towards education and entry-level job creation, are prioritized.”

Isaac Miller, candidate for Academic Affairs Vice President, is committed to maintaining Cal’s academic quality by holding the University accountable. Miller, currently serving as Co-director of Academic Services & Programs in the AAVP* feels strongly that the recent disproportionate cuts to such programs such as Physical Education, Languages, and the Arts, as well as the elimination of the International Area Studies departmental status “not only impact the students in these programs, but also severely limit the academic and potential career opportunities available to all students. At the number one public university in the world, it is unacceptable that students do not have input when these decisions are made.”

CalSERVE’s vision is to build upon our experience, continue to amplify student voice, and enable students with the tools necessary to make change.” As the campus climate continuously changes, new problems and issues will surface, and the face of Cal never stays the same, but our values, vision, and energy will endure,” says Mairena.  “With our 25th year anniversary, we not only want to celebrate our accomplishments for Cal students over the years, but we look forward to another 25 years of change with the campus community.”

* Titles for Identification Purposes Only