CAUCUS PACKETBlack Student UnionTHE

April 2013 Vol. I, Issue II

AFRO HOUSE

CSULB students

protest

changes to

their Africa

na

Studies Depart

ment

eDaily 49er

UCI students prot

est

after many r

acist actio

ns

#SOLIDARITY

“While there is Racism, We will not rest”

“No diversity, no peace"

April

2013

Table of Contents:

NEWS AND UPDATES1

Project HONEYCSULB Africana Studies Under Attack

SB-160Student-Worker Solidarity

2

Blackface at UCISenior Weekend 2013

F.I.T.E. CampaignMoving Forward

3

ASUC Election Results

4

Afro House Update

Content by :Gabby Shuman, Spencer Simpson & Marcel Jones

Layout design by:Rajan Hoyle

Project HONEY (Helping to empower Oakland and Neighbor’s Exploited Youth)’s field studies course trains and certifies participants to work with at-risk youth, specifically Commercially Sexually Exploited Children (CSEC). This discussion-based class will expose students to the growing prevalence of the exploitation and trafficking of our community’s young girls and boys, generally of color, while giving them the opportunity to hear professional advo-cates as guest speakers and work in small groups to design a CSEC-targeted workshop curriculum. Participants’ final product will then be presented to a group of CSEC survivors in Oakland at the end of the semester. Project HONEY is a program aimed to raise local awareness and community support for the Oakland-based nonprofit MISSSEY (Motivating, Inspiring, Serving, and Supporting Exploited Youth) and their CSEC-specific clients.If you would like to receive more information on how to become a part of the Project HONEY student group or to take part in the class please email: projectHONEY.cal@gmail.com

Project HONEY

After months of extensive cross-cultural campaigning (of which the BSU was heavily involved in) in support for and many contentious Senate debates, Senate Bill 160 was finally passed at the 4/18 ASUC Senate meeting. The bill, which is concerned with the university’s involvement in the Israeli-Palestine conflict, orders the divestment of funds our student government has invested in three companies that assist in Israel’s unlawful occupation of Pales-tinian land and in its committing of various human rights’ violations against Palestinians within the region. SB-160 also refrains from taking a definitive stand on the conflict, opting to remove the student government’s involve-ment without thrusting the university deeper into this larger complexities of the issue. Furthermore, the bill urges the University as a whole to divest from the companies as a method of better motivating a resolution to the conflict, hoping that our divestment will be an integral part of a statewide movement to trigger serious talks about ending the conflict among American, Israeli and Palestinian political leaders.

SB-160

COLLABORATIVECalSERVEB L A C K S T U D E N T U N I O N

UC workers and support staff are being unfairly treated by the UC administration, unjustly subjected to inadequate budget reform and arbitrary loss of jobs. As a result, this Wednesday (May 1) advocates of immigrants and workers’ rights will be performing a theatrical action and mass rally on Sproul, followed by a march to the Oscar Grant Plaza in Oakland for a large immigrant rights rally. These public displays seek to raise awareness of the plight of those being mistreated by the UC, as well as illustrate various groups’ determined effort to challenge the wanton policies of the UC administration. Some of the organizations facilitating Thursday’s actions include Cal’s Graduate Student Union and clerical workers employed by the university.

Student Worker Solidarity

CSULB Africana Studies Under AttackAt Cal St. Long Beach, College of Liberal Arts Dean David Wallace recently proposed to turn the Department of Af-ricana Studies into a program. With a wide based support the Black community at CSULB has been fighting against this racist proposal. An action protesting the proposal took place Tuesday, April 30, 2013. To learn more about this issue please email marceljones6@gmail.comCSULB’s Daily 49er http://www.daily49er.com/news/africana-studies-students-march-to-brotman-hall-1.2826727#.UYDcNysa-Nl

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NEWS+ UPDATES

Blackface at UCIAfter a series of racist actions on UC Irvine’s campus, including multiple cases of Black face, Irvine’s Black Student Union decided to take direct action by holding a protest on their campus on April 24, 2013. They also released a formal statement demanding punitive measures be taken “WHEN (not if) another incident of organized racism oc-curs.” Berkeley BSU has explored avenues of standing in solidarity and will be taking future actions to ensure that positive concrete changes will be implemented. BSU understands that these incidents are reflective of a systemic issue that exists throughout all the UC’s. To get more information please email marceljones6@gmail.com.UCI BSU Statement - http://thespeakingspook.tumblr.com/post/48941617005

Senior Weekend 2013Every year, the Black Recruitment and Retention Center on campus (BRRC) puts on a four-day, three-night pro-gram called “Black Senior Weekend,” through the bridges Multicultural Resource Center. During Black Senior Weekend, high school seniors who have been newly admitted to Cal are housed by UC Berkeley students on the African-American Theme Program, and have the opportunity to see and experience how college students live. The program is completely free for all seniors who participate, and is designed to recruit Black students to attend Cal. This year, Black Senior Weekend took place from April 18th to the 21st. Over the course of the weekend, the seniors participated in a multitude of activities with the UC Berkeley Black community, including tours of the campus and of San Francisco, a picnic and game day, and a talent show entitled “Apollo Night”.

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F.I.T.E. CampaignWednesday, April 3, 2013, the F.I.T.E. campaign (Fighting Incarceration Through Education) successfully pressured the ASUC to divest funds from corporations that invest in the Prison-Industrial Complex and exploit prison labor. That same day Mechxa, BSU, and CalSERVE held an action on Sproul in protest of mass incarceration. With a $100 donation from Afro House, BSU plans on moving the campaign forward by addressing the school to prison pipeline and working with the coalition Human Rights of the Incarcerated (HRI). If you would like more information on the campaign please email marceljones6@gmail.comA video clip of the action https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFXYyWytwkQ.

Moving ForwardWith a newly elected board, BSU plans on learning from the successes and failures of this year to ensure that BSU provides the advocacy and service needed to propel the Black community forward. This means taking proactive and reactive steps and depending upon community input. Next year caucus will serve as a space to determine the agenda of the Black community and provide feedback to the BSU board. A major goal of BSU will be to democratize information and keep all community members informed on the dealings of BSU. Next year’s BSU board will consist of: Chair – Marcel Jones, Co-Chair of Political Affairs – Sabrina Robleh, Co-Chair of Community Affairs – Gabby Shuman, Outreach – Mylo Santifer, Publicity – Rakiah Anderson, Treasurer – Iman Stenson, Secretary – Spencer Simpson

Executive Office: Deejay Pepito won President, Nolan Pack won Executive Vice President, and Valerie

Jameson won Academic Affairs Vice President

Senators: Destiny Iwuoma (who received the most votes of any candidate). Justin Kong, Briana

Mullen, Wendy Pacheco, Caitlin Quinn, Sevly Snguon, and Sean TanFor Student Action:

Executive Office: Safeena Mecklai won External Affairs Vice PresidentSenators: Courtney Chow, Katherine Chung, Karen Lee, Sahil Pandya, Liza Raffi, Quinn

Z Shen, Pavan Upadhyayula, Lauren Week, and Eric Wu

For SQUELCH!:Senators: Grant Fineman, Emily Truax

Independent:Senator: Naweed Mohabbat for the Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian coalition

Independent Campaign for Common Sense:Senator: Solomon Nwoche

ASUC Election Results

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The ASUC is one of the most autonomous student governments in the nation that has a large im-pact on student life. Cal Students for Equal Rights and a Valid Education (CalSERVE) is a multi-cultural coalition founded in 1984 around the successful divestment from South African apartheid. CalSERVE elected the first Black president of the ASUC, Pedro Noguera, who served from 1984-1986. Since then, the Black community has traditionally run a senate candidate with CalSERVE. This year has been a momentous year for the coalition. CalSERVE gained 3 of the 4 executive of-fices and 7 senate seats including one seat won by the Black community endorsed candidate Destiny Iwuoma. This new gained power within the ASUC will allow CalSERVE to shape Berkeley’s campus into a more inclusive and progressive environment. Below are the results from the ASUC elections.

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Since last May a group of Black students, the Afro 6, have dedicated themselves to reclaiming Afro House as a safe space for Black students. These Black Afro members have had to endure countless challenges from a hostile disrespectful climate to moldy showers. The Afro House hasn’t been a majority Black space since around 2003 and the students that occupied the house ever since completely neglected the space. However, thanks to the community’s support, next year at least 15 of the 21 members of Afro will be Black. Black members and allies have been taking steps to ensure that with a majority Black house Afro will be an intentional space.

Below is a report on the progress that has been made.

Activism: Before the heavy colonization, occupation, and gentrification of Afro House, there was a rich culture of activism. The Afro 6 have attempted to reignite this spirit within the house. This past semester Afro has endorsed Divestment from the illegal and immoral occupation of Palestinian territories, endorsed and funded the F.I.T.E. campaign, led a fight to defend workers rights within the Coops, and helped the CalSERVE slate get elected by endorsing the slate and serving as campaign headquarters.

House Improvement:Also due to the heavy colonization, occupation, and gentrification of Afro House, the physical condition of Afro dramatically declined. Over the past year, however, the Afro 6 has dedicated themselves to doing countless house improvement projects. This semester the Afro 6 revamped the newly formed study room, got curtains for the living room, did some front yard landscaping, and solicited donations from Black alumni and administration. Future plans for the house include refinishing the hardwood floors, getting new carpet, intensive kitchen clean, painting, landscaping, and much more. Over the summer the house will be getting a multi-thousand dollar back yard remodeling including a deck and BBQ.

Intentional House:Moving forward the Afro 6 plan on crafting Afro House into an intentional space that’s safe and welcoming to all members of the African diaspora. The services that Afro House provides will go beyond parties and functions. The house will have a textbook library and test bank, provide tutoring services, get produce from Black farmers, have community programs like free breakfasts, foster a cultural renaissance by hosting cultural nights and other events. With 4 of 7 next year’s BSU board members living at Afro, the house will also serve as a hub for community mobilizing and activism.

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