ASUC officials announced major progress in the Student Parent Support Fund and Multicultural Initiative Fund, or MIF, and passed a resolution endorsing Measure BB, or the Berkeley Tenant Protection and Right to Organize Act, at Wednesday night’s Senate meeting.
In the public comment section of the meeting, two students expressed frustrations with their Cal1 student ID cards not working to open doors to campus buildings, especially Eshleman Hall. ASUC Executive Vice President Robert Carrillo said he plans to talk to the director of facilities at Eshleman Hall to resolve the issue.
ASUC Academic Affairs Vice President Kenneth Ng announced that he wants to introduce a new resolution to increase transparency with student technology funds. According to Ng, administration used a “loophole” to impose a $350 fee on students for technologies such as bCourses after a previous policy that protected students from this fund did not pass again in 2021.
ASUC Student Advocate Antonio Cáceres announced a “huge update” for the student parent support fund: Chancellor Rich Lyons approved the proposal.This fund, which the ASUC senate voted to support last week, was created to address the concerns of student parents who are struggling with insufficient financial aid from campus. These students have to face additional basic need expenses on top of academic fees, and Cáceres has committed to advocating for them this year.
The next steps for the student parent fund include gathering information on what resources are most important for student parents.According to surveys that Cáceres and the Student Advocate’s Office have been conducting, the most common themes are financial aid and physical and mental wellness.Cáceres also wants to create a liaison role between student student parents and the financial aid center.
ASUC President Shri Gopal also announced that MIF, opened on Monday for applications from cultural community clubs looking for funding.
“The Multicultural Initiative Fund is a $130,000 grant to support community events hosted by campus organizations,” according to the ASUC’s website for the fund.
The senate unanimously passed SR 24/25-009 to endorse Measure BB. The resolution condemns alleged illegal conduct and violence from the Berkeley Property Owners Association and supports Measure BB, which aims to expand rent control and fight gentrification to make Berkeley more affordable to live in, according to the resolution.
If passed, this measure would give tenants the legal right to organize unions to bargain with their landlords. Additionally, the act would reduce the maximum allowable rent raise from 7% to 5%.