Giving Opportunities 2021

GENup Collegiate at Berkeley leads the collegiate branch of the statewide educational organization GENup, which mobilizes diverse student activists and communities in a “Generation Upward” movement to create legislative reform in education. We strive to mobilize the youth in all manners of educational activism whether that be through social media advocacy, legislative lobbying, or grassroots level field-work of canvassing and phone banking. We advocate in three main areas of statewide advocacy, local advocacy, and community organizing. 

We hit the ground running with our first campaign of Schools and Communities First Bill as our grassroots advocacy to impact statewide policies for all California students. In November 2019, we hosted the first ever March for Education to advocate for Proposition 15, which would have allocated $12 billion annually into schools and communities. To fight for educational funding, we hosted phone banking sessions on Proposition 15, organized marches, and promoted on social media through podcasts! Along this same vein towards statewide advocacy, GENup Collegiate at Berkeley has mobilized passionate students for rallies at the Sacramento State Capitol, for calling in at legislative hearings, and for expressing their support on educational bills with their fellow students to their local representative. 

From there, we have desired change within our own communities by engaging in university policy. GENup Collegiate at Berkeley founded the A-G Ethnic Studies (AGES) campaign to integrate Ethnic Studies as a UC A-G Admissions Requirement, ensuring that all students receive an anti-racist educational curriculum and see themselves represented in their education. Due to our advocacy efforts, the UC Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools has approved the faculty working group’s revised A-G ethnic studies course criteria, which is now moving onto next steps with the Academic Council. Our organization continues to inspire change by working to improve resources for commuter students and addressing campus culture on harassment and discrimination among other campaigns to empower student voice.  

We support our community by implementing campaigns to uplift students. Through our college mentorship program, we help guide high school students along their college application process by giving essay feedback and answering questions, ensuring that all students have equitable access to higher education. We plan to host free FAFSA literacy workshops and distribute FAFSA toolkits because we believe that financial circumstances should not prevent students from their dreams of higher education. Our work centers around our people, our students, and most importantly, our community. 

GENup Collegiate at Berkeley is a family of passionate, dedicated student activists who advocate for the empowerment of all students through educational activism, fostering educational equity and student voices! We seek to expand our network into the collegiate environment to promote higher educational opportunities for all, which is where Berkeley students come in to take the lead. With your support, we can ensure that the students of GENup Collegiate at Berkeley can continue to promote student voices and push for educational equity on campus.

Feel free to reach out and ask questions! Our email is genupco.berkeley@gmail.com, and our Instagram is @genupco.berkeley.