media FOR SENATE

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Colleges of Chemistry and Engineering

  • Grading Policy Transparency

    • The Colleges of Chemistry and Engineering are notorious for putting out classes and majors with the lowest average grades. The grading in these classes can often feel like a mystery. I will work with administration in CoC and CoE to require that professors and GSIs publish data on exactly how the class was curved and how each section was evaluated against the mean. I will work to open regrade requests for every tests, especially end of semester finals.

  • Fair Unit Accreditation

    • Classes such as CBE 40 and the CHEM 120 series are extremely time demanding but are offered for 2 or 3 units. This devalues the work that students put in and disincentives working hard when one is not properly compensated for their work. I plan to work with the Department of Chemistry to ensure that students’ hard work is respected and rewarded fairly. I will revisit the recommended schedule plan for all majors within the CoC and rearrange suggested classes so class units do not have to be deflated to sum in at the 21 unit cap.

  • Reserved Seats in Necessary Courses

    • Many majors in CoE/CoC require completion of L&S courses, but those courses’ reserved seatings do not reflect this, while they have reserved seats for undeclared L&S. This leaves CoE/CoC students at a disadvantage and a stressful position for completing required courses on time. I will enlist the help of CoE/CoC administration to start a conversation with scheduling admin in L&S to make space for students from different colleges in reserved seating during enrollment.

Student Involvement in Sustainability on Campus

Our Campaign aims to foster a culture of DIRECTLY including students in sustainability projects on campus.

  • Sustainable Projects Competition

    • Many RSO’s are working independently on environmental causes, while University policy moves along without consideration for their ideas.

    • I plan on introducing a pilot interdisciplinary, campus-wide, and year long competition to dream up, design, test, and market a project to bring our campus closer to being truly sustainable. As ASUC Senator, I will work with UCB administration to approve scale-up plans to actually implement the project winner design on campus.

  • Green Campus

    • The City of Berkeley is currently phasing out natural gas heating for heat pumps. Because the City does not have jurisdiction over campus, this is up to us. We should push the university to opt in for East Bay Community Energy “Renewable 100” energy plan, one that is 100% renewable and carbon neutral. Additionally, we must take a stance against fossil fuel industries by divesting and finding alternatives to their monetary contributions to our university. Environmentalism is for everyone and MUST BE MADE ACCESSIBLE TO ALL STUDENTS.

    • I have the necessary connections to work with the City of Berkeley to learn more about what the city is doing and how we can progress as a campus as well. I plan to push the administration to adopt the “Renewable 100” energy plan.

    • I will look into the logistics of installation of solar panels and urban gardens on campus buildings, especially MLK and Eshleman, then start action to install them on campus.

    • I will explore establishing a 1 unit P/NP field course for student-led campus clean up.

    • I will push for an environmental training to be presented to new students during GBO.

Source: EAST BAY COMMUNITY ENERGY “RENEWABLE 100” ENERGY PLAN

Expanding and Destigmatizing Mental Health

Counseling Outreach and Multicultural Support

  • Managing independence, advanced curricula, and personal growth is emotionally draining and demanding. The stress of all these can build up and seeking help in counseling is not an obvious option for many students, especially those from communities where mental health is not easily openly discussed. As an institution, it is our RESPONSIBILITY to ensure that any student from any background, creed, and culture is fully supported. I will advocate for the University hiring more multicultural, cross-faith, and LGBTQIA+ counselors so that conversations are rooted in true understanding.

Expansion of Services and Spaces

  • I will work to open up Tang Satellites on Northside to facilitate counseling for STEM students who frequent that area. I will urge the university to invest in counselors so that students are getting care when they need it, without ridiculous wait times in dire situations.

Qualifications

Since 2016, I have been advocating in the state of Washington for educational reform targeted at less penalty and more support for homeless, truant, and at-risk students from K-12 in the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. I have promoted legislation to mandate sexual education and integrate content on human trafficking and sexual violence into the middle and high school curriculum as an intern in the Office of the Lieutenant Governor. In 2017, I submitted a state senate bill drafted with WA senator Mike Padden on integrating human trafficking education in public schools, which had cross-aisle sponsors.

Since the first semester of my freshman year, I have been part of the ongoing sustainability goals of the Biofuels Technology Club (BTC). The work we do in BTC has actually inspired my Sustainable Projects Competition. Pretty much, BTC takes waste cooking oil from Cal Dining, helping them reduce their waste removal costs. A team of students then gets hands-on experience synthesizing biodiesel from this waste cooking oil. A scale up team can then mass produce this biodiesel, which we then sell back to Cal vehicles that run on biodiesel. This process not only engages students in real-world experiences, but also completes a net-zero carbon cycle within our community.

This year, I joined Our Monologues, the largest production put on by UC Berkeley students to platform the voices of femme, nonbinary, and students of color and their relationships to gender, race, sexuality, and other intersections of their identity. Our mission is to end gender-based violence and promote gender equity on our campus and in the world. Not only is our production vital for our campus culture, the proceeds of our show will directly benefit the Transgender Law Center, Bay Area Women Against Rape, the Homeless Prenatal Program, and Cal’s Black Student Union.

I am a panelist for MENA-RRC’s Gender and Sexuality board, which hosts events such as “the Sex Talk We Never Had”, and discussions about coming out in MENA families.