BUS members and alumni Davíd Maldonado and Clint Terrell helped organize a conference at UCSB to discuss the impacts of incarceration and higher education. Learn more about the conference HERE.
Aminah Elster and the Prison-to-School Pipline in Next City
BUS member Aminah Elster talked the Prison-to-School pipeline and shared her story with Next City. Read about it HERE.
Restore Our Rights co-sponsored by BUS and All of Us or None
Berkeley Underground Scholars co-sponsored Restore Our Rights with All of Us or None on January 17 at Booth Auditorium. Our BUS secretary, Aminah Elster, moderated the event which focused on restoring the right to vote to people on parole. Other panelists included Dauras Cyprian of All of Us or None, Tiana Vargas-Edmond of Initiate Justice, Desmond Meade of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, and Norris Henderson of Voice of the Experienced. Watch a video from the event by clicking HERE.
BUS Receives Community Action Award
BUS was recognized with a Community Action award at the Berkeley community gathering to honor Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, January 21st. Read about the event HERE.
Welcome to new director Azadeh Zohrabi
Azadeh is an activist and strategist with extensive experience in public policy, leadership development, community organizing, and management. As the daughter of two formerly incarcerated parents, Azadeh is deeply familiar with the intergenerational impacts of imprisonment. She has been active in prison reform efforts and advocacy for nearly 20 years. Azadeh previously worked at Legal Services for Prisoners with Children leading the organization’s fundraising and program management. Prior to that she worked in leadership roles as a lawyer, advocate, researcher, and organizer on statewide and national campaigns including the successful effort to end long term solitary confinement in California. Her work has been cited by courts, attorneys, and scholars and has been featured in The New York Times, The Nation, The Guardian, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Ebony, Mother Jones and Al Jazeera. Azadeh earned her BA from UC Riverside where she studied Ethnic Studies and a JD from UC Hastings College of the Law. She is an active alumna of the Women’s Policy Institute, Soros Justice Fellowship, and New Leaders Council Oakland.
Upcoming Talk by Professor Nikki Jones and Clarence Ford
Two BUS Members win HSF Scholarship
Daniela Medina (second from left) and Juan Flores (third from left) were recently awarded the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) Scholarship. Click here to learn more about this opportunity.
New Transfer Students
BUS would like to welcome its new students to UC Berkeley!
Aaron Harvey (San Diego City College)
Aaron Solorio (Santa Rosa Junior College)
Adam Belardes (San Jose City College)
Adam Solorzano (Grossmont Community College)
Aminah Colbert (Feather River College)
AnDrea Crawford (Laney College)
Apollo Rosas Hernandez (Palomar College)
Arlinda Perez (East Los Angeles College)
Corey Glassman (Coastline Community College)
Darcey Clark (Merritt College)
Fernando Rivera (Evergreen Community College)
Fernando Valtierra (East Los Angeles College)
Francisco Galvan (Diablo Valley College)
Gabriela Gutierrez (Merritt College)
Ginah Tran (Orange Coast College)
Irsyad Sjah (Berkeley City College)
Jamie Hein (Ohio University)
Jonah Moon (Glendale Community College)
Joshua Mason (Sacramento City College)
LeiTasika Faumuina (Contra Costa College)
Luis Lopez (Santa Rosa Junior College)
Mykele Javar Marbley (Laney College)
Tina McClain (Merritt College)
Victor Gomez (Los Angeles Trade Technical College)
BUS Welcomes Newly Admitted Students
This year's newly admitted student event on May 5th was a success. We welcomed over 18 new transfer students from various community colleges throughout the state of California.
Congratulations to 2018 Graduates!
