Thursday 3 March 2022

CA Supreme Court won't review UC Berkeley enrollment case

BERKELEY, Calif. (KRON) -- Some 3,000 new undergrads UC Berkeley had planned to admit this fall will not be able to attend for in-person instruction.

"It's hard to imagine that anyone would see this enrollment freeze as a positive step, given the thousands of California students who have worked so hard to gain admission into UC Berkeley," said university spokesman Dan Mogulof.

In a 4-to-2 vote, the California Supreme Court refused to lift an enrollment cap issued by a lower court.

That judge not only froze enrollment but halted a university construction project until additional environmental review was completed.

Neighbors put the blame on the university’s doorstep.

"At this point, we just don’t trust the university when they say they are going to build housing because in both of the last long-range development plans they said they would build housing and they didn’t," said Phil Bokovoy, Save Berkeley's Neighborhoods.

In a dissenting opinion, California Supreme Court Justice Goodwin Liu said “the effects of the enrollment cap will reverberate up and down the state.

He called on both sides to meet and reach an agreement saying “it is hard to think of a case where a negotiated settlement seems more imperative.”

Neighbors who sued the university say they are willing to meet but made one thing clear.

"What we want is a binding agreement where the university has the incentive to produce housing before they increase enrollment," Bokovoy said.

UC Berkeley wouldn’t comment on their willingness to settle, saying right now they’re focused on developing a plan to lessen the impact of the ruling on those 3,000 students.

"By offering admission to many students to online-only learning for the fall 2022 semester and or delaying their admission until January 2023," Mogulof said.

Numerous lawmakers in Sacramento also said to be upset about this enrollment cap.

They are now exploring legislative options.



from KRON4 https://ift.tt/F3I51iS


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