OUR UNIVERSITY

• Fighting for #FundtheUC

  • The University of California system was supposed to be accessible and affordable to ordinary California families — but thanks to decades of state disinvestment, it’s getting harder and harder for students to get accepted to a UC, enroll in the classes they need to graduate, and access critical services like academic advising and mental health counseling.

    Varsha will fight for #FundtheUC by pressuring the Governor and state Legislature to reinvest in the University of California — in classes and student services — in their state budget. She will also pressure the state to place a general obligation bond on the 2020 ballot so that the UC has the resources it needs to renovate and expand its infrastructure for its growing student population.

    To do this, Varsha will organize students to attend budget hearings, phone-bank legislative offices, and lobby elected officials and their staff. She will also leverage her relationships with student leaders across the UC system, as well as administrators, to build a unified coalition and show the Governor and Legislature that they can no longer put UC students at the bottom of their priority lists.

• Securing our basic needs

  • California’s skyrocketing cost of living in California is leaving students behind. Far too many UC students are food insecure, housing insecure, and/or homeless. While existing financial aid covers the cost of tuition and fees for most low-income students, UC students are far less likely to see their non-tuition costs covered — including housing, food, transportation, and textbooks.

    Varsha will work toward securing our basic needs by working with student leaders, administrators, the Governor, and the Legislature to reform and expand Cal Grant to better cover the total cost of attendance — not just tuition and fees. She’ll also demand that UC Berkeley, the UC system, and the state invest in basic needs resources and emergency loans.

    On the federal level, Varsha will mobilize students to support expanding the Pell Grant, which has fallen for inflation over the past few decades. In addition, she will vigorously oppose any cuts to the Supplemental Nutritional Aid Program (SNAP), which provides critical assistance to students across the state.

• Strengthening Title IX

  • TW: sexual harassment, sexual violence

    Thanks to the dedication of student organizers, we have made significant progress on combating sexual harassment and sexual violence on our campuses. But we have a long way to go. Last year, the California State Auditor found that UC’s Title IX process is not in compliance with federal guidelines — and, making matters worse, the Trump Administration is attacking those federal guidelines as we speak.

    Varsha will work with fellow students, UC administrators, the Board of Regents, and the Title IX student advisory board to strengthen the Title IX process on our campuses — and she will not hesitate to hold the UC accountable when it puts perpetrators before survivors.

    Varsha will also mobilize students to continue to push back against attempts to roll back Title IX guidelines in Washington, D.C., and pressure the state to incorporate Title IX guidelines into state law.Strengthening Title IX

THE CITY & COMMUNITY

• Bringing town and gown together

  • Berkeley can feel deeply divided between the students and the surrounding community. In addition, students — who are a third of the city’s population — are still disproportionately underrepresented on City Council, on the Rent Stabilization Board, and on city commissions.

    Varsha will leverage her relationships with City Hall to bring town and gown together. She will work with the Mayor, Councilmember Rigel Robinson, and the rest of the City Council to engage students in city politics, identify and collaborate on joint policy priorities, and ensure that students are properly represented in the share of commission appointments.

    Varsha also recognizes that students and community members — such as low-income homeowners and long-term tenants — have similar needs and concerns before city government. In addition to working with City Hall, Varsha is committed to strengthening relationships with community partners to ensure that student advocacy on city priorities does not come at the expense of other vital community members.

• Building more, affordable housing

  • California is facing a housing crisis, and the Bay Area is the epicenter of it. When it comes to housing, students are paying more and more and getting less and less. The housing crisis forces far too many students to commute to campus, and leaves many of them without secure housing.

    Varsha will pressure university administrators, the city, and the state to build more, affordable housing. She will hold the Chancellor accountable to her housing goals, and pressure the university to minimize its reliance on public-private partnerships. In addition, she will pressure the City to upzone the campus footprint area, and support efforts by state officials to pressure localities to build more housing.

    But Varsha also recognizes that we simply cannot build our way out of the housing crisis. In City Hall, she will push for community benefit agreements and anti-gentrification protections for new developments, and in Sacramento, she will advocate for rent control reform and additional tenant protections.

• Organizing with communities

  • The Associated Students of the University of California serves a vital role in the student community, but far too often, it becomes an echo chamber for the most privileged students.

    Varsha will use her office, platform, and resources to organize with communities. She will work to engage various student communities on campus — including and especially underrepresented students, low-income students, and students of color — in the work of her office.

    To do this, Varsha will ensure that her office reflects the diversity of California students. She’ll be accessible to students who want to meet with her, and keep her work transparent so that communities can hold her accountable.

BEYOND BERKELEY

• Championing progressive values

  • For decades, Berkeley students have been the moral compass of the national conversation. Especially in 2019, as the federal administration attacks progressive values on a day to day basis, it is vital that our actions and our advocacy epitomize progressive values — and not just when it comes to college students.

    On the local level, Varsha will push city officials to back up their rhetoric with action, from unwinding residential segregation to ending contracts with corporations that aid and abet Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. On the state level, she will mobilize students behind private prison abolition, police oversight and accountability, access to reproductive care, and environmental justice. On the federal level, she will ensure that Berkeley students play a loud and prominent role in opposing the reprehensible policies of this federal administration. Varsha will also explore ways to support progressive policies on the international level.

    In line with her pledge to organize with communities, Varsha will solicit feedback from communities regarding what additional progressive priorities her office should mobilize around, and be sure to involve and engage communities when an issue pertaining to them is being discussed.

• Making our voices heard (election 2020)

  • Elected officials won’t serve students unless students play a role in electing them. Next year, the California presidential primary will be held early, on March 3 — giving Berkeley students a uniquely powerful position in selecting our presidential nominees.

    Varsha will take advantage of the earlier primary by improving and expanding upon last year’s Vote Coalition efforts to make our voices heard. This includes working alongside registered student organization non-profits on both voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts, as well as thinking creatively about outreach strategies that get all eligible students motivated about voting.

    Varsha will also pressure the university and the county to make voting accessible for students. She’ll demand that the university make election day an academic and administrative holiday and honor its Memorandum of Understanding with the California Secretary of State by incorporating automatic voter registration into CalCentral. She’ll also ensure that Alameda County sets up a polling place in MLK, Jr. Student Union so that it’s as easy as possible for all eligible students to vote on Election Day.

• Making sure we count (census 2020)

  • The 2020 census determines the political representation of the Berkeley community — and, unsurprisingly, students are systematically undercounted. Census officials lack the know-how to tap into student networks, leaving students with even less weight in the halls of power.

    Varsha will expand Vote Coalition’s staff to task it with making sure we count. Using similar voter registration, get-out-the-vote, and creative outreach strategies, Varsha’s office will ensure that students are aware of the census, and are provided with the resources they need to submit their census information ahead of schedule.

    Varsha will also partner with university administrators, city officials, and county officials to coordinate census outreach efforts, and push back against federal attempts to add a citizenship-related question and exclude sexual orientation/gender identity questions on the census.