Campus news

Chancellor Birgeneau denounces Arizona immigration bill

By Public Affairs

07 May 2010

BERKELEY — UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau issued the statement below. In addition, campus leaders responded to the hunger strikers with a series of next steps the campus will take.

The UC Berkeley campus community has been deeply affected by the passage of Arizona Bill SB 1070. Some of our Chicano/Latino students and staff are engaged in the desperate measure of putting their health and wellness in jeopardy through a hunger strike to denounce this law. I am personally ready to stand in solidarity with our students and other members of our community in speaking out against SB 1070.

I made it widely known last week to our campus community that I was horrified by this law. I, along with many others on this campus, and others across the nation, am profoundly disturbed by the passage of this bill which so many of us personally believe cannot be implemented without engaging in racial profiling. The drafting of similar bills by other states is truly frightening.

Universities are international communities based on the fundamental principles of academic freedom and freedom of expression. These values cannot exist when members of our community fear being targeted for the color of their skin. The passage of SB 1070 has created a chilling climate for many members of our campus community who feel that the bill will encourage repressive measures against those who are undocumented.

SB 1070, which President Obama has called “misguided,” should be repealed and replaced with comprehensive federal immigration reform that will best serve our country and protect the rights of all who aspire to live in this great nation. As an academic community, we stand ready to use our immense intellectual resources to assist the president in this task.

Robert J. Birgeneau
Chancellor, UC Berkeley

Campus leadership commits to good-faith next steps

George Breslauer, executive vice chancellor and provost, and Harry Le Grande, vice chancellor student affairs, issued the response below to hunger strikers:

May 7, 2010

Based on the informative and constructive dialogue yesterday as well as the University’s concern for the health and safety of the hunger strikers, we hope that these additional good-faith next steps will provide closure to the strike and an opportunity to work collaboratively on the issues of concern to the Chicano/Latino community.  The commitments articulated below build on the May 5, 2010 statement from Chancellor Birgeneau to the UC Berkeley students involved in the hunger strike.

The University commits to:

Denounce Arizona legislation
  • Chancellor Birgeneau has today issued a statement denouncing Arizona SB 1070.  The statement is posted on UC Berkeley’s homepage and has been shared with various media outlets.
  • Upon brief review of HB 2281, campus leaders understand that the legislation is directed to K-12 curriculum and plan to consider the implications of this legislation for UC Berkeley.
Create a Task Force for Undocumented Students
  • Planning for the Chancellor’s Task Force on Undocumented Students is underway and the group will begin work in Fall 2010.  The charge of the Task Force will be to identify and articulate the issues and needs of undocumented students at Cal; assess and evaluate financial resources and gaps, campus climate, services, and policies for undocumented students; and recommend key policy and service changes to the Chancellor. The Task Force will be chaired by the Vice Chancellor-Equity & Inclusion and members will include student representatives from student advocacy groups; faculty members; staff from student service units; and consultants from local community organizations specializing in immigrant rights. The Task Force will submit its recommendations to the Chancellor by January 2011. The Chancellor will issue a response by February 2011.
Support University of California Police Department (UCPD)’s Practice Related To Undocumented Individuals
  • UCPD’s primary mission is maintaining the peace and ensuring public safety by enforcing local, state, and federal laws. There is no legal requirement for UCPD to contact ICE regarding undocumented individuals and it is UCPD practice NOT to pursue enforcement action solely based on the belief of an individual’s undocumented status.  UCPD, as well as other police agencies in the Bay Area, find enforcing immigration status violations contrary to Community Oriented Policing Philosophy and our ability to establish trust, rapport, and relationships with our diverse community. For this reason it is not UCPD’s enforcement priority to address immigration violations.
Ensure Student Representation in the Review of the Code of Student Conduct
  • The Task Force to review the Code of Student Conduct will be charged by Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost (EVCP) Breslauer and will be composed of a representative body of faculty, staff, and students.
  • Furthermore, Vice Chancellor Le Grande has shared the students’ concerns expressed at the meeting yesterday with the Center for Student Conduct and Community Standards. The Center asked us to strongly encourage students to meet with the Center staff so they can share information that may be relevant and taken into consideration during the informal resolution process.  We are eager to have as many of the students go through the informal resolution process as possible.
Create the Advisory Council on Campus Climate, Culture, and Inclusion
  • Starting in September 2010, the campus will formally institute an Advisory Council on Campus Climate, Culture, and Inclusion by holding joint meetings of three standing committees: a) the Campus Climate Team; b) the Undergraduate Campus Climate Group; and c) the E&I Campus Climate Group.   The Advisory Council will be chaired by the Chancellor. The primary purpose of the Advisory Council will be to provide ongoing evaluation of campus climate conditions, practices, and policies and suggest measures that will support the goals of inclusion and community.
Take Action Steps to Create an Inclusive Climate
  • The University is always looking for opportunities for our diverse campus community to feel safe and welcomed and for students to have outlets to connect socially, culturally, intellectually, physically, and spiritually. The recent Lower Sproul revitalization project, a partnership between the university and ASUC, will result in a newly redesigned Multicultural Community Center.  A permanent, full-time coordinator of the Multicultural Community Center has just been hired and funding has been authorized to make further physical enhancements to the lounge and meeting spaces.
  • Moreover, the Vice Chancellor-Equity & Inclusion recently provided funding to the Center for Latino Policy Research (CLPR) to support graduate students working on Latino policy issues, and to the Immigrant Students Issues Coalition (ISIC) to develop the Guide for Students & Advisors of Undocumented Immigrant Students at UC Berkeley. Also, the campus leadership is in active discussions with the Director of the Center for Latino Policy Research to chart a course for financial stability and growth for the Center.
  • The Chancellor and Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost will meet in the coming weeks with the leadership of the Ethnic Studies, African-American Studies, and Gender & Women’s Studies departments, and the leaders of associated academic programs and research centers to ensure their important role within the Berkeley Diversity Research Initiative (BDRI) and to discuss fund-raising strategies for those units.
  • In Fall 2010, the VC-Equity & Inclusion will launch a campus wide competition for Innovation Grants in Equity, Inclusion and Diversity with funding from a recent gift from the Haas Jr. Fund. Innovation Grants may be awarded for innovative approaches to promoting equity and inclusion on campus, including efforts to improve the access and advancement of student populations, advocacy aimed at enhancing equity for emerging or marginalized populations, or institutional research on best practices and policies. These grants are intended for UC Berkeley units, departments, organizations.  All faculty, students, staff will be eligible to apply.
  • Finally, either through mission or practice, the campus and its partners provide a number of programs and spaces that serve and are vital to the Chicano/Latino undergraduate community. Please see attached list of services
Treat Staff as Compassionately as Possible in These Catastrophic Financial Times
  • The campus is undergoing severe budget cuts necessitated by the withdrawal of State support for the University and staff at all levels have been affected by salary reductions and lay-offs.
    We have been able to hire back 8 custodians of 33 who were laid off and we plan to continue this rehiring of custodians as positions open up.
    Continuing the Dialogue
  • Lastly, Chancellor Birgeneau is strongly encouraging the end of the strike for the health and well-being of the students and hopes these additional commitments will encourage the hunger strikers to eat and to put their health as a priority as soon as possible.  We hope that these additional next steps will assure the hunger strikers that the University has been, and will continue to be, committed to the success of Chicano/Latino students.

Sincerely,

George Breslauer, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost (EVCP)
Harry Le Grande, Vice Chancellor Student Affairs

cc: Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau

Final letter of agreement with hunger strikers

May 19, 2010
TO: Samuel Banales, Isaac Castro, Carmen Comsti, Ricardo Gomez, Kandy Piper, Kathy Vega
Based on the informative and constructive dialogue we have had with you, we want to reiterate that we share your passion for equity and inclusion and take the issues and concerns that you have raised through the hunger strike very seriously.  We are pleased that we can work collaboratively on issues of concern to the Chicano/Latino community.  The commitments articulated below build on statements that we have already made publicly on May 5th and May 7th and represent our undertstanding of the agreement we reached at our meeting of May 12th to create a common document that outlines the work ahead.

Denounce Arizona Legislation
  • Chancellor Birgeneau has issued a statement denouncing Arizona SB 1070.  The statement is posted on the UC Berkeley website and has been shared with various media outlets.  The Chancellor will look for opportunities to reinforce and continue to disseminate his message.
    Upon brief review of HB 2281, campus leaders understand that the legislation is directed to K-12 curriculum and plan to consider the implications of this legislation for UC Berkeley, and society generally, in order to develop a strategy for how to respond to HB 2281. The Chancellor recognizes the deep concerns that this bill targets ethnic studies and will continue to reaffirm the fundamental importance of ethno-cultural studies to UC Berkeley’s academic mission and express how deeply ethno-cultural studies are valued on this campus.
Create a Task Force for Undocumented Students and Employees
  • Planning for the Chancellor’s Task Force on Undocumented Students and Employees  is underway and the group will begin work in Fall 2010.  The charge of the Task Force will be to identify and articulate the issues and needs of undocumented students and employees at Cal; assess and evaluate financial resources and gaps, campus climate, services, and policies for undocumented students and employees; and recommend key policy and service changes to the Chancellor. The Task Force will be chaired by the Vice Chancellor-Equity & Inclusion and members will include student representatives from student advocacy groups; faculty members; staff from student service units; staff from Human Resources and other relevant units that support employees; and consultants from local community organizations specializing in immigrant rights. The Task Force will submit its recommendations to the Chancellor by January 2011. The Chancellor will issue a response by February 2011.  The Chancellor commits to a good faith effort to implement the recommendations of the Task Force insofar as these recommendations support the best interests of our undocumented students and workers.
    The University has reiterated through a recommendation to the UC Commission on the Future its support for a change in law to make AB540 students eligible for financial aid at UC.
    Support University of California Police Department (UCPD)’s Practice Related to Undocumented Individuals
  • UCPD’s primary mission is maintaining the peace and ensuring public safety by enforcing local, state, and federal laws. There is no legal requirement for UCPD to contact ICE regarding undocumented individuals and it is UCPD practice NOT to pursue enforcement action based on the belief of an individual’s undocumented status.  UCPD, as well as other police agencies in the Bay Area, find enforcing immigration status violations contrary to Community Oriented Policing Philosophy and their ability to establish trust, rapport, and relationships with our diverse community. For this reason it is not UCPD’s enforcement priority to address immigration violations.
Ensure Student Representation in the Review of the Code of Student Conduct and Student Conduct Process
  • The Task Force to review the Code of Student Conduct and Student Conduct Process will be charged by Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost (EVCP) Breslauer and will be composed of a broadly representative body of students, faculty, and staff. The Task Force will be asked to include in its deliberations the findings of the report of the independent investigation conducted by Professor Wayne Brazil on the November 20th protest at Wheeler Hall.
  • Vice Chancellor LeGrande has shared with the Center for Student Conduct and Community Standards the concerns that students expressed, particularly with regard to suspensions. We have made a recommendation that community service be considered as an option among the sanctions that can be imposed; however, the decision as to the appropriate sanction must rest with the Student Conduct process. The Center asked us to encourage strongly that students meet with the Center staff to share information that may be relevant and taken into consideration during the informal resolution process.  We are eager to have as many of the students go through the informal resolution process as possible.
Create a Task Force on Spaces that Foster Inclusion for Communities of Color on Campus
  • The campus and its partners provide a number of co-curricular programs and spaces that serve the Chicano/Latino undergraduate community, and the needs of underrepresented minority students more generally (as set out in Additional Campus Services and Groups in Support of Chicano/Latino and Immigrant Students).  The campus will appoint a task force of students from underrepresented groups to examine and evaluate the adequacy and vibrancy of these spaces.  The task force could inform the plans for a redesigned Multicultural Community Center, which is part of the Lower Sproul revitalization project that students approved in a recent referendum.  The task force will be appointed at the start of the Fall 2010 semester and will report early in the Spring 2011 semester.
Treat Staff as Compassionately as Possible in these Catastrophic Financial Times
  • The campus is undergoing severe budget cuts necessitated by the withdrawal of State support for the University and staff at all levels have been affected by salary reductions and lay-offs.
  • We have been able to hire back 12 custodians of 33 who were laid off and we plan to continue this rehiring of custodians as positions open up.
  • Beyond financial constraints, the Chancellor will consult with counsel in Labor Relations about his degrees of freedom in addressing employee issues.

In addition to the above, we are reaffirming a number of initiatives already planned and underway to foster equity and inclusion which should improve the campus climate for our underrepresented minority students and staff, including our Chicano/Latino community.

  • The campus leadership has been in active discussions since December, 2009 with the Director of the Center for Latino Policy Research to chart a course for financial stability in the wake of elimination of the State agency that had provided one-half of its funding, over and above the 30% cut in campus funding that all ORUs suffered as a result of cuts to the University budget.  We have accelerated these discussions and have decided to provide $50,000 per year for five years to make up the loss of all the programmatic funding previously provided by the State.  We expect that some of these funds will be used for students and faculty to conduct empirical research into the impact within Arizona, and nationally, of Arizona legislation SB 1070 and HB 2281.
  • The Chancellor and Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost will meet in the coming weeks with the leadership of the Ethnic Studies, African-American Studies, and Gender & Women’s Studies departments, and the leaders of associated academic programs and research centers to ensure their important role within the Berkeley Diversity Research Initiative (BDRI) and to discuss fund-raising strategies for those units. The results of these discussions will be made public and will be discussed in the Fall Semester with a group of interested students to explore ways in which students can contribute to realization of the goals.
  • In Fall 2010, the Vice Chancellor-Equity & Inclusion will launch a campus wide competition for Innovation Grants in Equity, Inclusion and Diversity with funding from a recent gift from the Haas Jr. Fund. Innovation Grants may be awarded for innovative approaches to promoting equity and inclusion on campus, including efforts to improve the access and advancement of student populations, advocacy aimed at enhancing equity for emerging or marginalized populations, or institutional research on best practices and policies. These grants are intended for UC Berkeley units, departments, organizations.  All faculty, students, staff will be eligible to apply.
  • Starting in September 2010, the campus will formally institute an Advisory Council on Campus Climate, Culture, and Inclusion by holding joint meetings of three standing committees: a) the Campus Climate Team; b) the Undergraduate Campus Climate Group; and c) the E&I Campus Climate Group.   The Advisory Council will be chaired by the Chancellor. The primary purpose of the Advisory Council will be to provide ongoing evaluation of campus climate conditions, practices, and policies and suggest measures that will support the goals of inclusion and community.

We hope that these steps will provide further assurances of our shared commitment to supporting our Chicano/Latino campus community.

Sincerely,

Robert J. Birgeneau
Chancellor

George Breslauer
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost

Harry LeGrande
Vice Chancellor Student Affairs