ASUC Student Advocate's Office

Hello hello beautiful community! It's time for Big Give: https://give.berkeley.edu/giftdetails?fund1=FU1345000... Here are some office highlights and why donations are important to us In 2020 we had a total of 681 cases - here are how many students each division helped:... Academic: 277 Fin aid: 250 Conduct: 250 Grievance: 102 COVID-19 exacerbated student needs, so the demand for our services is higher than ever. Everything you donate will go towards supporting our caseworkers, and we are working towards obtaining stipends for all caseworkers to recruit more low-income students Our office is rapidly growing, and Big Give donations help us do what we do best: protect student rights! If you want to reach us, please email [email protected] Thank you all so much!

Join us tomorrow at 7PM for a fun time of going over the resources and services SAO can offer you! s/o to the ASUC Mental Health Commission for organizing this week! Zoom: https://berkeley.zoom/us/j/99697856969

The Graduate Assembly SOS Fund is now accepting applications! If you are a graduate or professional student in need of financial support regarding housing, basic needs, and/or COVID-19 related insecurities, please apply! The fund will remain open until April 30th or until funds run out. Reach out to us if you have questions!

Apply to the FAFSA today!! Due next Tuesday on March 2nd, reach out to [email protected] if you have questions!

If you have been accused of academic misconduct and are looking for resources, please reach out to our helpline: [email protected]! Caseworkers will be staffing this semi-regularly over winter break. Check out https://linktr.ee/berkeleysao for more info.

The deadline to apply for Winter Break Housing is TODAY! Please email [email protected] or visit tinyurl.com/saowbh2020.

Don’t have safe and affordable housing or access to food over winter break, and have exhausted all other financial resources? SAO’s Winter Break Housing Program provides housing and support with basic needs to students in need. Apply now at tinyurl.com/SAOWBH2020.

The College of Letters and Sciences has approved P/NP for major and minor requirements for the fall and spring! Students can change their grading basis this semester until December 4th. Major shoutout to the AAVP's Office and to the student leaders who made this possible!

L&S Advising is setting up a focus group for students in EOP to provide input about the impact of L&S's late change of schedule policy. Students receive a $20 gift card for participating! Register at bit.ly/37CLyIW

From October 28th to November 5th, the Financial Aid and Scholarships Team is offering virtual support with filing the FAFSA and CADAA Application! tinyurl.com/faso-support

The College of Letters and Science is currently in the process of selecting a new Executive Dean and this is primary way for students to have a VOICE in the selection process of a MAJOR position in L&S! Please make your thoughts heard! The form is due TOMORROW on OCT. 30th! Please reach out to us or the AAVP if you have any questions! tinyurl.com/lns-dean-search

The #CalDuringCovid account on twitter is run by the AAVP's office and is a place where students are sharing anonymous testimonies on how COVID-19 and Fall 2020 academic policies have been affecting them. Please check it out and feel free to share your concerns as well! https://twitter.com/calduringcovid tinyurl.com/aavp-pnp

We know this season can be a very busy and stressful time for everyone so we wanted to reach out and let you all know that our office is here to support you! There's so much information being disseminated right now and we understand it can be difficult and overwhelming to try and navigate your way through it- that's what our office is here for! Please don't hesitate to submit a case or drop in during our virtual office hours! (M-F 10AM-5PM PST) If you know any fellow students who might find our office helpful, please share this with them!

The FAFSA and Dream Act are open! Apply for aid now. FAFSA: https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa Dream Act: https://dream.csac.ca.gov/

We are so excited to promote the ASUC’s Housing Security Deposit Award for the 2020-21 academic year! Living in the Bay Area and finding an apartment, especiall...y if you don’t have a guardian to help you out, can be a really expensive and stressful process. If you can not afford to pay your security deposit this semester, we recommend you apply to this grant. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and you can apply here at http://tinyurl.com/asucsecuritydeposit . Feel free to DM @asucsenatorcastro on instagram with any questions!!

CW: Anti-Blackness, white supremacy For a readable version with links visit: https://tinyurl.com/SAO-9-2020 The following is a statement from the ASUC Student Advocate’s Office in support of President Vera’s Emergency Order No. 2020/2021-001, issued on September 10th, 2020 in response to the anti-Black actions at the ASUC Senate meeting on September 9th, 2020.

Our last info session is tomorrow night at 6PM! Come through to learn more about the work we do, meet some of our incredible caseworkers, and hear from the Student Advocate!

Our first info session is tomorrow night (9/2) at 8PM! If you're interested in joining SAO, this is a great opportunity to learn more about what we do, ask questions, and get to know our incredible caseworkers!

Happy first full week of Fall 2020, bears! We will be starting our new format for office hours tomorrow! Please feel free to drop in for any question or problem, big or small! We're happy to help and support! Zoom Link: https://berkeley.zoom.us/j/93484328070

You can cancel or withdraw your enrollment in a semester by submitting a Withdrawal Request Form (CalCentral > My Dashboard > Add a Withdrawal Request). Doing so has important financial and academic implications - we encourage you to refer to the following information and talk to an advisor before cancelling or withdrawing!