As we learn about President Trump’s tax returns, we are reminded once again – as if we need to be reminded– of the arrogance of power. Regent Richard Blum demonstrates the point – claiming he did nothing wrong in directing his letters of recommendation to the Chancellor rather than to the admissions office (see below). Such a blatant assumption of privilege, along with the involvement of University Development in some admissions cases, serve to justify the Auditor General in her exposé of malpractices on our campus.
This is not the first Audit designed to draw public ire. We are, indeed, suffering from decades of bad public relations. It may be that Berkeley’s pursuit of donor and tuition dollars to offset the decline in state support has undermined our flagship status as the finest public university. Slowly we are taking steps to earn back that reputation, finally taking seriously our responsibility to the people of California. The Admissions office has been working hard to increase the recruitment of students of color, especially African Americans. Admissions to the class of 2020-21 was the most diverse since the passage of Prop 209 in 1996.
But there is considerably more work to be done. Berkeley’s record of recruiting and retaining faculty of color is abysmal—the lowest in the UC system. The audit of Admissions reminds us of the $2.35 million fine the campus was recently assessed for violations of the Clery Act by UCPD. These and other scandals only reinforce a public image of a Campanile on the hill, unconcerned with economic and racial injustice, unresponsive to the crucial issues of these crisis times.
We want to bring to your attention, therefore, a Day of Action, organized by faculty across the UC system and beyond, to protest Anti-Black violence by police, including our own, this coming Thursday, October 1.
Michael Burawoy and Celeste Langan for the Board of the Berkeley Faculty Association.