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University of California, Berkeley Forced to Reduce Enrollment

时间:2022-03-17 02:21:13

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University of California, Berkeley Forced to Reduce Enrollment1

The University of California, Berkeley called the state's recent Supreme2 Court ruling "devastating3 news" for students who "have earned a seat" in the class for the upcoming school year.

The state's highest court chose not to look at a case first decided4 in the summer of 2021. That is when a lower court said the university must limit the number of students on its campus to about 42,000 for the 2022-2023 school year. Right now, about 45,000 students are at UC Berkeley.

UC Berkeley is one of the top public universities in the United States. The school said it received over 128,000 applications for the upcoming freshman5 class.

In order to meet the lower number, the university said it would bring in more students who live in California. As a result, international students and those from other American states would get fewer seats.

In addition, the university said it would ask some students to take classes from home early in the school year before coming to campus in 2023. Others will have to wait one year to start their college education if they still want to come to Berkeley. The university is also asking students to consider off-campus study programs in Sacramento, the state's capital, or Washington, D.C.

How did this happen?

The legal case was brought by a group of people who live in the city of Berkeley. They formed an organization called Save Berkeley's Neighborhoods, or SBN.

The group said the university had not been truthful6 about the number of students it meant to accept each year. It also said the school did not consider how its increasing enrollment would affect the surrounding neighborhoods.

UC Berkeley — like several California schools — does not have enough housing for its increasing enrollment.

SBN said the university planned in 2005 to increase the number of students on campus by only 1,650 over 15 years. However, as of 2018, the number of students increased by over 8,000 without enough new housing.

The larger amount of students, SBN said, caused an increase in noise and waste. Because they could not live at school, they moved into the neighborhoods around the school, causing higher housing costs. As a result, SBN asked the local court to restrict the school's enrollment.

The situation in Berkeley is similar to other disputes between large California universities and their cities. The cities of Los Angeles, San Diego and Santa Barbara are also dealing7 with increasing numbers of students and universities that do not have enough housing.

Housing vs. education

In recent years, California state leaders have been working to help more students get into college. In 2021, they added $47 billion in education-related spending to increase the number of students going to public colleges.

Groups like SBN say the state has not required universities to build more housing while it has been pushing them to accept more students.

On the other side, universities like UC Berkeley say environmental restrictions8 in California make it difficult for them to build new housing for students.

Save Berkeley's Neighborhoods argued that UC Berkeley's failure to limit the number of students violates9 a state environmental law put in place in 1970. And the school said lengthy10 environmental reviews for new buildings have limited its attempts to build more housing for students. State lawmaker Scott Wiener said he would find a way to permit colleges to build student housing more easily.

When the California Supreme Court said it would not review the lower court's decision, SBN offered to work with UC Berkeley to permit 1,000 more students for the upcoming school year if most of them were from California.

The university declined11 the offer. A spokesperson told the local newspaper that decisions on the number of students are made by elected officials and school leaders and not by a "small group." The university also plans to appeal the decision later this year.

Jesse Livezey recently completed his advanced studies in physics at UC Berkeley. He said he does not believe there is a serious conflict between the university and the city. Everyone is concerned about the high cost of housing in northern California.

"It's a big problem in the Bay Area that goes way beyond UC Berkeley. I don't feel like we've hit some breaking point, or something is now unsustainable."

Livezey said that rejecting qualified12 students is not a way to solve the housing problem.

"I would love for those students to be able to come to Berkeley and I think that's what should happen," Livezey said.

Words in This Story

devastating – adj. causing great damage or harm

campus – n. the area and buildings around a school or college

application – n. the formal written request for something such as a job or place at a school

enrollment – n. the number of people or participants in something; the number of students attending a school

unsustainable – n. not able to last or continue for a long time; not sustainable


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 enrollment itozli     
n.注册或登记的人数;登记
参考例句:
  • You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
  • I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。
2 supreme PHqzc     
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的
参考例句:
  • It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
  • He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
3 devastating muOzlG     
adj.毁灭性的,令人震惊的,强有力的
参考例句:
  • It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
  • Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。
4 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
5 freshman 1siz9r     
n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)
参考例句:
  • Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
  • He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。
6 truthful OmpwN     
adj.真实的,说实话的,诚实的
参考例句:
  • You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心,他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
  • I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。
7 dealing NvjzWP     
n.经商方法,待人态度
参考例句:
  • This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
  • His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
8 restrictions 81e12dac658cfd4c590486dd6f7523cf     
约束( restriction的名词复数 ); 管制; 制约因素; 带限制性的条件(或规则)
参考例句:
  • I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
  • a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制
9 violates 05527bb6855ae7f53cbf1865ce5b4b05     
亵渎( violate的第三人称单数 ); 违反; 侵犯; 强奸
参考例句:
  • Anyone who violates law and discipline must firmly be slapped down. 对于任何违法乱纪的人都必须坚决予以打击。
  • The country violates the international agreements. 那个国家违背了国际协议。
10 lengthy f36yA     
adj.漫长的,冗长的
参考例句:
  • We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
  • The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。
11 declined 59e6b9e272eca41f44360ca9b264e57e     
v.辞谢,谢绝(邀请等)( decline的过去式和过去分词 );(道路、物体等)下倾;(太阳)落下;(在品格、价值上)降低
参考例句:
  • We asked her to come to our party, but she declined. 我们请她来参加我们的晚会,但是她谢绝了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He declined to charge his memory with so many details. 他不愿在脑中记这么多细枝末节。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 qualified DCPyj     
adj.合格的,有资格的,胜任的,有限制的
参考例句:
  • He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
  • We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

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