During the ASUC’s general meeting Wednesday, senators and executive officials discussed the data breach, pass/no pass, or P/NP, grading policies and campus fall plans.
During executive officer reports, ASUC President Victoria Vera discussed the UC-wide data breach and noted that the UC community can sign up for free credit monitoring and identity theft protection through Experian.
“Please make sure to protect yourselves,” Vera said during the meeting. “It’s very scary, but there’s ways to mitigate that.”
ASUC Senator Liam Will brought up concerns regarding the data breach and asked Vera if there would be any incoming funds to prevent attacks like this from happening in the future.
Vera said there would probably be action taken on a UC-wide level, but she will follow up with campus administration to see what UC Berkeley specifically will do.
James Weichert, chief of staff for the Academic Affairs Vice President, or AAVP, also noted that in a meeting with campus chief information officer Jenn Stringer, he learned that the data breach was based on how the UC Office of the President, or UCOP, handles insurance information. Weichert added that if a student is or has a dependent, they face the potential danger of their information being stolen.
As a result, UCOP is offering identity theft protection services not only to students but to student relatives as well, Weichert said.
Weichert also noted the decision made by the College of Letters and Science to carry its P/NP policy into the summer. The AAVP’s office will continue to push for these accommodations to extend to other colleges this summer.
“As we saw in the fall, once that first domino falls, every other college wants to be in line with the entire campus,” Weichert said during the meeting. “So hopefully that will result in an even application of accommodations across all colleges for the summer.”
Weichert added that while many students are planning on returning to campus this fall, it is important to remember that the challenges many have faced in the past year will persist next semester.
External Affairs Vice President Derek Imai noted his office’s project, Cal Move Out, a website created to help students move out in a “sustainable” and safe manner. In May, students will have the ability to recycle lightly used household items, according to its website.
The Senate then passed resolutions in support of the tenants at 1921 Walnut St. and a framework agreement for Graduate Assembly separation.
As the end of the school year approaches, several departments are interviewing or onboarding new staff for next year. The senate approved the nomination of Mina Han as chief legal officer, and nominated Ananya Narayanan as Elections Council chair and Oscar Bjorkman as chief technology officer.
