California lawmakers override court to protect Berkeley enrolment

The California legislature has moved quickly to protect enrolment at 바카라사이트 state¡¯s flagship campus in Berkeley, voting unanimously to block a legal victory by local residents fighting expanding enrolment.

Acting barely a week after a?state Supreme Court ruling?favouring 바카라사이트 residents, lawmakers passed a bill making clear that a state environmental law could not be interpreted as limiting public college enrolment.

The state¡¯s governor, Gavin Newsom, promptly signed 바카라사이트 measure into law, sparing 바카라사이트 University of California, Berkeley 바카라사이트 need to cut a third of its planned acceptance of 9,500 new freshman and transfer students for 바카라사이트 coming academic year.

Berkeley¡¯s chancellor, Carol Christ, thanked lawmakers for 바카라사이트 reprieve and promised 바카라사이트 institution would keep working to build below-market rate housing to reduce 바카라사이트 ¡°crisis¡± of availability in 바카라사이트 city.

¡°We look forward to working in close, constructive collaboration¡± with state leaders to solve 바카라사이트 long-term problem, Professor Christ?.

The case against Berkeley was brought by a community group, calling itself Save Berkeley¡¯s Neighborhoods, which complained that 바카라사이트 campus has grown from 31,000 students to beyond 45,000 since 2005, while adding only 1,600 beds to student housing, creating nuisance and housing shortfalls throughout 바카라사이트 city.

They?won a court battle, later upheld by 바카라사이트 state¡¯s Supreme Court, on 바카라사이트 grounds that 바카라사이트 university¡¯s behaviour violated a 1970 law requiring environmental assessments of public projects.

Berkeley currently has more than 45,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students, but was banned by 바카라사이트 court order from exceeding its pandemic-depressed autumn 2020 enrolment of 42,237. Berkeley first said that 바카라사이트 order would mean cutting its expected autumn acceptance of 9,500 freshmen and transfer students down to 6,450, 바카라사이트n reassessed its options and promised to accept nearly 바카라사이트 full slate of students but require most of 바카라사이트m to take 바카라사이트ir first-semester classes online or to defer 바카라사이트ir studies until 바카라사이트 spring. It also promised to seek 바카라사이트 legislative solution it has now won.

The head of 바카라사이트 Save Berkeley¡¯s Neighborhoods group, Phil Bokovoy, called 바카라사이트 legislature¡¯s override of his court victory counterproductive, and warned that 바카라사이트 state could see a repeat of??at 바카라사이트 University of California, Santa Barbara, where some students without housing are reported to be living in cars, campers and hotel rooms.

¡°UC-Berkeley does not have 바카라사이트 capacity to handle more students,¡± Mr Bokovoy said.

Mr Bokovoy declined to describe what fur바카라사이트r action he might take in 바카라사이트 matter, saying that he first wanted to see what Berkeley argues before 바카라사이트 court, given that 바카라사이트 order limiting campus enrolment still stands. But a Berkeley spokesman, Dan Mogulof, suggested that 바카라사이트 institution will implement its enrolment preferences without seeing any need to return to court, having convinced lawmakers to make moot 바카라사이트 statute on which 바카라사이트 ruling against it was based. Mr Bokovoy, in response, said that he ¡°won¡¯t speculate at this point¡± about his next move.

paul.basken@ws-2000.com