FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ASUC Senate Votes to Oppose Sit/Lie Ordinance

UC Berkeley, October 3rd: The ASUC Senate voted 18-1-1 to pass Senate Bill 64, a bill in opposition to the Berkeley referendum Measure S. Measure S is a sit/lie ordinance which would ban sitting or lying on some city sidewalks during the day. On Monday, the External & University Affairs Committee of the Senate voted unanimously to move the bill forward. Measure S would criminalize sitting or lying on many city sidewalks between the hours of 7:00am and 10:00pm, despite there being an inadequate number of available shelters for homeless youth and adults. The youth shelter is closed six months of the year, offering no help to homeless youth during those months. The adult homeless shelter is only open at night; during the hours when the sit/lie ban would be in force, the people who need its services will have nowhere to go. CalSERVE, along with the ACLU and other civil-rights organizations, opposes the spirit of Sit/Lie, which is to respond to the problem of homelessness simply by making homelessness illegal. Recently, all of the ASUC executive ofcials signed a letter denouncing Measure S, and a previous ASUC Senate (2010-11) voted to oppose a similar city measure. This year, the City Council motion to put Sit/Lie on the ballot was debated during the summer, when students were away and couldnt express their opinions before the Council and at a time when the Senate couldnt act on the students behalf. Writing and promoting Senate Bill 64 was a broad-based community effort spearheaded in the Senate by CalSERVE Senator Nolan Pack. Many thanks are due to all the coauthors and co-sponsors listed here: Co-Authors: Senator Nolan Pack (CalSERVE), Elizabeth Hennes & Caitlin Quinn (Cal Berkeley Democrats) Co-Sponsors: Senator Jorge Pacheco (Cooperative Movement); Senator Jason Bellet (SQUELCH!); Senator George Kadifa (Student Action); Executive Vice President Justin Sayrath and Academic Affairs Vice President Natalie Gavello (Student Action); Senators Klein Lieu, Sidronio Jacobo, Megan Majd, Donna-Jo (DeeJay) Pepito and Daley Vertiz (CalSERVE); Osha Neumann (Consulting Attorney, East Bay Community Law Center); Patricia Wall (Executive Director, Homeless Action Center); Elisa Della-Piana (Director, Neighborhood Justice Clinic, East Bay Community Law Center); Bob Offer-Westort (Civil Rights Organizer, Coalition on Homelessness)

Academic Affairs Vice President Natalie Gavello gave a compassionate perspective on sit/lie laws, and Felipe Flores (Board Director, Queer Alliance and Resource Center) told about Measure Ss disproportionate negative impact on queer youth, during their times to speak in committee Monday. Senator Pack would like to thank the Senate, members of the External Affairs Committee and everyone who helped to draft SB 64 and support it through the legislative process! We would also like to extend a special thanks to the volunteers from the Suitcase Clinic who came out to the Senate meeting to support the bill! For more information, please contact: Nolan Pack Senator, Associated Students of the University of California CalSERVE Cal Students for Equal Rights and a Valid Education npack@asuc.org Matthew Enger CalSERVE Communications Coordinator calserve.communications@gmail.com T: 510 255 1984
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