Tuesday, February 21st 2006
Vote!
Don’t forget to vote on the fee increases sometime before Thursday. I voted no on both.
Just for fun, let’s see who can predict the final results most accurately. Winner gets to be full of his/herself.
I’m going to say 60-40 against the Career Center and 85-15 in favor of the Class Pass. I also thought we were going to win the 2005 Special Election, so I’m probably totally wrong here too.
You just about nailed it. I would say 67-33 against Career Center and 80-20 for Class Pass.
Comment by Chris Page — 2/21/2006 @ 6:27 pm
70-30 against Career Center. 70-30 for Class Pass.
Comment by Donald — 2/21/2006 @ 6:28 pm
Your numbers add up to 100. Therefore, they are horrendously wrong.
Comment by Beetle — 2/21/2006 @ 6:52 pm
I’m not sure if that analysis is correct…but I would argue that we should all vote Yes on the Class Pass.
I sat in on some of the meetings last year where this topic was debated and gave my advice as a representative of the Residence Hall Assembly. I was not a big fan of the fee increases, and suggested a number of service cuts, especially on some of the underused Bus lines…that, for a variety of reasons, will not be happening.
So, unfortunatly if we want to keep the class pass we will have to pay the additional fee. For all of us that are students right now…that amounts to $21 more a semester. Is keeping unlimited bus usage worth that to you? It certainly is for me…I use it extremely frequently and would have to shell out a lot more than $58 a semester to use the bus that much.
Anyway…vote Yes on the Class Pass…I know we’re all Republicans and increased fees (read: taxes) make us a little queasy…but don’t vote “no” just to stick it to the liberal beauracrats.
As far as the Career Center goes…I have never and will never use the Career Center so I will be voting no on that fee increase.
Comment by Leverandon — 2/22/2006 @ 2:29 am
“I know we’re all Republicans and increased fees (read: taxes) make us a little queasy…but don’t vote “no” just to stick it to the liberal beauracrats.”
You really think that is true? Tee hee.
Comment by Archangel — 2/22/2006 @ 3:55 pm
“As far as the [Class Pass] goes…I have never and will never use the [Class Pass] so I will be voting no on that fee increase.”
Actually, I used it about ten times in my 6 semesters here at Cal. $60*6/10 = $36 a a ride.
Comment by patr — 2/22/2006 @ 4:15 pm
Good luck. That CPass is the cheapest deal going in the city. I think regular buss passes per month are more than the whole CP semester fee. Who is going to vote against a little-bitty raise?
Comment by what — 2/22/2006 @ 8:41 pm
I use the Class Pass every day. I think it is an important program for UC Berkeley students. However, I think the referendum is flawed in a number of ways. I was involved in the initial negotiations on the pass and the University was discussing increasing the portion students pay to the campus transit system from roughly $ 3.00 currently to close to $ 6.00.
What has not been discussed is why the University is asking for students to pay for an increase. In late 2004 the administration decided to redirect money that had been used to pay for the campus shuttle system to build more parking spaces.
While it is important that the campus has a reasonable supply of parking, it should not come at the expense of students. UC has an obligation to provide different options of transportation for its entire population, not just staff, and it has policies that dictate this.
So some student leaders were upset over this increase to nearly $ 6. Therefore, we advocated for a delay on the vote so we could negotiate. I stepped back from the ASUC, and I was suprised to discover that the Bear Transit contribution is now $ 8.10 per student per semester.
This is a substantial increase from what was initially proposed. Also, the AC Transit fee is higher than before, and it could have been lower. I do think the problem is with UC’s portion of the fee not necessarily AC Transit’s.
While some improvements are being proposed in the referendum such as shared integration of LBNL/UC shuttles, this was in the works for a while and was a policy in the campus Long Range Development Plan.
Overall, its not a good proposal. It could have been better, and if students vote NO we can get a better, more equitable deal and keep this important program.
Comment by Jesse Arreguin — 2/23/2006 @ 2:43 am
I made a mistake, the proposed student contribution to Parking and Transportation is $ 8.70 for the first three years and increases to a little over $ 10.00 towards the end of the program.
Comment by Jesse Arreguin — 2/23/2006 @ 2:57 am
If you know the magic words, any student can ride the LBL Shuttle anyway.
Comment by Donald — 2/23/2006 @ 8:27 am
“UC has an obligation to provide different options of transportation for its entire population, not just staff, and it has policies that dictate this.”
The University has no obligation whatever to provide any form of transportation for anyone connected with it. It’s a university, not a bus company. Most of UC’s problems, in fact, stem from people’s unwillingness to recognize that its mission is *only* to teach and research, and that those activities are the only ones that deserve funding as of right. Everything else (yes, including housing, dining commons, RSF, student life activities) is a luxury, which people can pay for if they want, but which they have no right to expect to be provided, least of all for free.
Comment by Stefano — 2/23/2006 @ 10:02 am
“Your numbers add up to 100. Therefore, they are horrendously wrong.”
Seems not.
Comment by Donald — 2/24/2006 @ 4:31 pm
Nevermind.
Comment by Donald — 2/24/2006 @ 4:33 pm