Berkeley, CA, July 24, 2012.
Today the Senate of the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC) held an electronic vote on SB 212, “A Bill in Support of Closing All Accounts at Bank of America”. By passing SB 212, the Senate has officially voted to move all funds out of Bank of America and into Union Bank. This project, started in January by Senator Andrew Albright, comes to a close after a long search and evaluation process of local banks and credit unions.
After a long selection process, the Association has chosen Union Bank. While not a “small bank” in nature, Union Bank is a financial institution that holds social responsibility at the core of its mission. As stated in SB 212, Union Bank has shown outstanding reinvestment into Alameda County; it does not engage in any subprime or ARM services; Union Bank took no TARP funds from the federal government. Furthermore the selection of Union Bank allows for the ASUC complete a number of goals in its realignment under the Division of Student Affairs.
Today, the Associated Students of the University of California takes a stance against big banks that have eroded the public sector and caused a degradation of public education. The ASUC recognizes that the pervasiveness of the subprime mortgage market, created and pushed by large financial institutions such as Bank of America, directly resulted in the financial crisis of 2008 and the recession that followed. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been cut from higher education and a simultaneous skyrocketing of student fees has ensued. Student fees should not be invested into the institutions that caused the recession. Furthermore, the Associations call on the UC Office of the President to begin a formal evaluation of all banking arrangements in which the University of California is currently involved.
The Associated Students of the University of California, is UC Berkeley’s Student Government. Founded in 1887, the ASUC is one of the few truly autonomous student governments in the nation. For more information, visit www.asuc.org.
