Associated Students of the University of California

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ASUC meeting in 2003.

The Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC) is the student government representing the students of UC Berkeley. It has historically been the most autonomous student government of any university in the United States and arguably the most self-aggrandizing. The ASUC receives most of its funding from a semesterly student fee. In turn, one third of the budget is distributed among student groups and publications on campus.

1 Executives
2 Senate
3 Judicial Council
4 Elections
5 Past Presidents
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Executives

The ASUC is governed by five executives: the President, Executive Vice President, External Affairs Vice President, Academic Affairs Vice President, and a non-partisan Student Advocate. In the Spring 2006 elections, four Student Action executives were elected alongside the neutral Student Advocate, albeit with convictions of campaign violations. The elected executives are: President Oren Gabriel, Executive Vice President Vishal Gupta, External Affairs Vice President Jason Chu, Academic Affairs Vice President Joyce Liou, and Student Advocate Andrew Garvin.

The following are the powers and responsibilities of the executives as provided by the ASUC Constitution:

President

To serve as the chief representative of the Association, and to monitor the health and well-being of the Association and the student body which it represents
To have the power of veto over legislative actions of the ASUC Senate. Such veto may be overridden by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the entire Senate, during the semester in which the action takes place. The President must exercise the option of veto within seven (7) days of action by the Senate.

Executive Vice President

To serve as the second ranking representative of the Association.
To serve as the chairperson of the ASUC Senate.
To vote to break a tie vote of the ASUC Senate.
To appoint members to committees of the ASUC Senate, with approval by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the entire Senate.
To ensure that actions directed by the Senate are performed.
To plan and direct the Senate Leadership Institute.To assume the duties of the President in the event of the resignation, recall, or temporary or permanent disability of the President to perform his/her duties, until such time as a replacement is selected or elected.
To determine the need for and the assignment of office and/or storage space and/or equipment to student groups sponsored by the ASUC, subject to the regulations and guidelines and appeals process outlined in the ASUC By-Laws.

External Affairs Vice President

To present the position of the ASUC in matters involving other campuses, schools, and students from outside the University of California at Berkeley.
To supervise the lobbies and governmental lobbying actions of the Association, including appointment or nomination of students to positions within the lobbies and on U.C. systemwide committees.
To be the ASUC representative to the association of U.C. campuses.

Academic Affairs Vice President

To be generally responsible for ASUC relations with the Academic Senate.
To be responsible for the appointment and/or selection of ASUC-chosen student representatives to Academic Senate committees, other university committees on academic matters, and campus administrative committees; to provide facilities and resources for the use of all student representatives; and to replace or request replacement of representatives not performing their duties.
To supervise ASUC projects and operations involving academic matters on campus, as assigned by the Senate and the ASUC By-Laws, and to serve as a liaison between the ASUC Senate and sponsored activity groups dealing with academic matters, except for those matters falling under the purview of the Student Advocate.

Student Advocate

To aid students charged with violations of university, campus, or Association rules, upon request of such students. In addition, the Student Advocate must assist students with Financial Aid problems, grade disputes, and the filing of grievances against members of the campus community.
To present the position of the Association in discussions with University or campus administrations concerning student rights, campus rules, and other areas of student conduct.
To educate the student body about students’ rights, University and Association policies, laws, regulations, and procedures, and to promote awareness of the availability of advice and representation services offered by the Office of the Student Advocate.

[edit] Senate

The ASUC Senate is the legislative body of the student government and is comprised of 20 student members. The Senate is charged with the authority of the Association to govern for the better welfare of the student population, with their main duties being the allocation of funds to the executive offices, facilities, student organizations, and the Graduate Assembly. Over time the senate is generally well-balanced between the Association's many political parties, including major political parties Student Action and CalSERVE, as well as Bears-UNITED, SQUELCH!, the Defend Affirmative Action Party (DAAP), the Berkeley College Republicans, and generally a small number of independent senators.

The elected ASUC Senators for the 2006-2007 academic year, along with party affiliation, are listed alphabetically:

Taylor Allbright (CalSERVE)
Lisa Ang (CalSERVE)
Ali Ansary (Independent)
Dwight Asuncion (Student Action)
Jennifer Avelino (Student Action)
Samuel Averbach (Student Action)
Brandon Chen (Student Action)
Dimitri Garcia (Defend Affirmative Action Party)
Carolina Jauregui (CalSERVE)
Vincent Law (Student Action)
Curtis Lee (Student Action)
Jeff Mannassero (Student Action)
Victoria Mitchell (Berkeley College Republicans)
Eunice Moon (Student Action)
Ilana Nankin (Student Action)
Van Nguyen (CalSERVE)
Vivienne Nguyen (Student Action)
Jane Park (Student Action)
Donald Rizzo (Student Action)
David Wasserman (Squelch!)

There are also five representatives of other organizations that present themselves to the ASUC Senate, these are:

An Alumni Representative appointed by the Council of the California Alumni Association
The Chancellor's Representative appointed by the Chancellor
The Faculty Representative, a member of the Academic Senate of the University of California at Berkeley and appointed by such
Two Graduate Assembly Representatives appointed by the Graduate Assembly.

[edit] Judicial Council

The third branch of the ASUC is the Judicial Council, which serves as the Association's Supreme Court. Nine justices are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, with each Justice serving a term of two years. A Judicial Council Chair is elected by the members of the Council.

The Judicial Council of the Association is vested with the judicial authority of the Association. The Council's authority extends to all judicial cases arising under the Constitution, the ASUC By-Laws, official actions of ASUC executive officers, employees, and the Senate, and any matters delegated to the council by the ASUC Senate or the Constitution. The functions and powers of the Judicial Council as provided by the ASUC Constitution are as follows:

To exercise the primary judicial powers of the Association, granting such judicial relief as defined by the Constitution and the By-Laws of the Association.
To maintain custody of the current and previous versions of the ASUC Constitution and By-Laws.
To review charges of violation of the Constitution, the By-Laws of the Association, and all other regulations of the Association.
To request the attendance of those holding positions in the Association, when attendance is needed in a case before the Judicial Council.
To revoke the funding of any group found discriminatory under Section 7 of Article VII.
To perform other duties as described in the Constitution or assigned by the Senate.

[edit] Elections

The ASUC holds elections once a year for all senate and executive positions. Additionally students can vote on referenda if the senate allows or if the requiste number of signatures have been collected. Students vote using a variation of instant-runoff voting described in the ASUC constitution. The election is administered by the Elections Council, which is appointed by the senate.