Welcome to CalSO Postscript
This newsletter features stories for and by Berkeley undergraduates. If you've attended CalSO, you've already learned a bit about the campus. Postscript hopes to expand your knowledge about some of the opportunities and advantages available to you.

Postscript Fall 2006 Stories
Welcome to Cal! | Peer Education: GenEq Resource Center | I "heart" consent | Writer's block: a Berkeley tutor's experience | Campus Politics: the ASUC and me | Community Service: Hurricane Katrina

Postscript Fall 2005 Stories
Dear incoming freshmen | Diversity in Berkeley | Drinking 101 | Research: Expand your undergraduate experience | Paris, France: Fall 2003

Upper Sproul Plaza during elections is a madhouse! Eunice and Oren both won, by the way. Photo by Josh Hattersley.

Marianne Sui. Photo by Jenne Mowry.

Resources mentioned by Marianne include:

ASUC (Associated Students of the University of California)
http://www.asuc.org

YWCA @ UC Berkeley
http://www.ywca-berkeley.org

All throughout high school, I was involved in many school clubs and student government. However, coming to such a big school like Berkeley, I thought it would be hard to join the student government because the competition would be really high. Cal has intelligent students who are ranked among the top of their graduating class and many have been leaders with years of experience. I knew I wanted to continue being a part of the student government because I have an interest in politics, and I want to be able to give back to my college community.

At first, I wasn’t sure how to start looking into Cal’s Associated Students of the University of California (the ASUC). During Welcome Week there was a list of activities for students to take part in, and luckily, the ASUC held multiple orientations. I was nervous to go alone so I dragged along one of my buddies. We made our way to Lower Sproul Plaza and into the jam-packed ASUC Senate. I sat through the presentation and learned how new students could intern for a Senator or for the Executive branch, or become a Judicial Clerk for the Judicial Council.

When I left the orientation, my head was filled with valuable information. The ASUC is unlike many of the typical high school governments. Instead of having class officers, the ASUC is a replica of the United States’ government. It is broken into three different branches that have the power to check and balance the other two branches. I immediately decided that I wanted to be a part of the ASUC. All of the branches seemed interesting, but in the end, I decided to apply for Judicial Clerk because I was interested in how the judicial system would work on campus.

I found out that the ASUC has its own Constitution, and it is the Judicial Council’s responsibility to provide every person or group with an equal opportunity to receive fair and just protection under the Constitution. In October, I became a Judicial Clerk. As a clerk, it is my responsibility to inform parties involved of the case, be a liaison between the council and the parties, assist the Justices with the functions of the Council such as delivering subpoenas, collecting briefs, and charge sheets. The tasks were not too time consuming, but there are certain times of the year when more people file cases against others, usually right before winter break and during spring elections.

The fall semester was relatively quiet for the Judicial Council, which meant that I did not have to invest too much time as a clerk. However, during winter break, three positions with Judicial Council opened up, and I was asked to apply by our Chief of Justice. For anyone interested in applying as a Justice, there has to be an opening in the Council, and then he or she has to submit an application and be granted an interview with the Senate. Then it is up to the Justice Selection Senate Committee to determine if you get an interview in front of all the Senators. I sent in my application and got an interview, but was denied an overall Senate interview. At the time I was a little frustrated, but then I decided that I would still keep my job as a clerk.

Spring semester is when things get busy for the Council, especially during elections, which occur in late April. There is massive campaigning on campus! Flyers in the classroom, students holding posters for their candidate, banners, chalking on the sidewalks- to name only a few ways that students campaign. As a clerk, I decided to not receive any campaigning material because I did not want to appear partisan. Students would file cases claiming a party or student of not following campaign rules, or using ASUC funds in a negative manner. In one night the Council could hear up to five cases!

Besides the ASUC, I also participated in a political internship during my freshman year. Almost every weekend, I would go back to the East and South Bay to walk door to door talking to voters in the Tenth Senate District. Since I am from the East Bay, I found it especially interesting what voters were concerned with. The internship took a lot of time from my social life, and I felt like I limited my freshmen experience because I was always so busy. Yet, it was a good experience to see what politicians can do for constituents and pushed me to consider entering the political world as a career.

In addition to joining political activities, I also took advantage of the many different opportunities at Cal. I volunteered with the YWCA’s English in Action. During the spring semester, I met with another person once a week to help her practice English. I still keep in touch with her even though she and her husband moved back to Japan.

Though I have only been at Cal for a year, I have learned a lot from the different people and opportunities on campus. Part of being at Cal is about learning outside the classroom. And, the campus is so big that it is important to join a variety of organizations so you can find a community. Try joining clubs that fit your interest or even things that you would not normally see yourself doing, because Cal is the best place to explore!

--Marianne Siu, Sophomore
Undeclared Letters and Science
From Hayward, California

Postscript Fall 2006 Stories
Welcome to Cal! | Peer Education: GenEq Resource Center | I "heart" consent | Writer's block: a Berkeley tutor's experience | Campus Politics: the ASUC and me | Community Service: Hurricane Katrina

Postscript Fall 2005 Stories
Dear incoming freshmen | Diversity in Berkeley | Drinking 101 | Research: Expand your undergraduate experience | Paris, France: Fall 2003