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The Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC) is the officially recognized students' association of UC Berkeley. It was founded in 1887,^[1] and is an independent 501(c)3^[2] non-profit unincorporated association. The ASUC controls funding for ASUC-sponsored organizations, advocates on behalf of students to solve issues on campus and in the community, engages with administrators to develop programming, increase student-organizational resources, and increase transparency.^{[citation needed]}

History

The ASUC was founded on March 2, 1887. Prior to this, UC Berkeley had no residence halls, sport teams, or permanent student organizations. The original purpose of the ASUC was "to organize the Student Body in such wise that it might take effective action upon all matter relating to the general welfare of the student body and the University in general."^[3] The organization went on to absorb the Cal Student Store, become the center of student organization oversight, and run all university athletics until the 1960s.^[4]

Various student political parties – popularly known as "slates" – and independent student communities participate in the ASUC.^{[citation needed]}SLATE, a pioneer organization of the New Left and precursor of the Free Speech Movement and formative counterculture era, was a campus political party at Cal from 1958 to 1966, while VOICE (a radical party) and Pact (a liberal party) were campus political parties at Cal in 1967.^[5]

At present, two parties primarily dominate ASUC politics. Student Action, founded 1995, is a coalition of organizations, with key support groups being the Greek life and pre-law community.^[6] CalSERVE (Cal Students for Equal Rights and a Valid Education), founded 1984, is also a coalition, but one centered directly on "access, representation, and social, environmental, and racial justice."^[7]

In addition to these two parties, smaller third parties have been known to run for seats. SQUELCH! is a satirical party which has run and won seats in the past before suffering a major blow in the 2017 elections, when they won no seats in the senate.^[8] The Pirate Party centers their messaging on technology and humor, campaigning in pirate costumes during election season. As of the 2017 elections, they held one seat in the ASUC Senate.^[9] The Defend Affirmative Action Party (DAAP), founded by national activist and left-wing militant group BAMN, campaigns on a platform of radical racial justice and inclusion for students, though has found relatively little support, having won no seats for 9 years as of 2017^[update].^[10] BAMN itself began at Berkeley in 1995 and ran candidates starting in 1996 under its own name, which, at the time, was The Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action By Any Means Necessary.^[11]

Programs and resources

The ASUC's responsibilities include allocating student group funding through a yearly spring budgeting process. The finance officer evaluates each club's funding request, length of time as a sponsored organization, and history of funding in order to determine how much money each registered student organization should be allocated. The ASUC budgets in excess of $1 million each year to campus organizations, including the Bridges multicultural resource & retention center.^[12]

The offices of the president and the external affairs vice president focus much of their time on student advocacy, often relating to issues of sexual assault, campus safety, student voice, mental health, equality, and diversity.^[12]

Governance

The ASUC Constitution establishes a students' association with elected officials modeled after California's separation-of-powers and plural elected executive framework.^[13]

The executive officers and the senate of the ASUC are popularly elected by single transferable vote.^[13] Chief appointed officers are appointed by the senate. These positions include a chief financial officer, a chief legal officer, a chief communications officer, a chief technology officer, a chief personnel officer.^[14]

The five elected executive officers of the ASUC are the president, executive vice president, external affairs vice president, academic affairs vice president, and student advocate.^[13] Political parties that compete in ASUC elections usually run candidates for the first four positions, while the fifth, student advocate, is traditionally won in a nonpartisan race by a member of the staff of the outgoing student advocate.^[12]

List of executive officers

See also

• Associated Students of the University of California, Santa Barbara


• Student governments in the United States


• University of California Student Association

References

External links

• Official ASUC website


• 
  History of the Berkeley Student Government at the UC Berkeley Library's UC History Digital Archives


• CalSERVE website


• Student Action website


• 
  Cooperative Movement Party on Facebook
  


• 
  SDU website^{[permanent dead link]}