UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ
Email address for Chancellor Christ:
chancellor@berkeley.edu
Remember to make some changes & put this in your own voice! Also be sure to add your name at the end before sending.
Subject: Cal parent very concerned about student safety
Dear Chancellor Christ,
I am writing to you today as a concerned parent of a student at UC Berkeley. As you are aware, there have been recent incidents of violent crime on and around campus, and as a parent, I am deeply troubled by these events.
It is alarming to hear of students being robbed at gunpoint, assaulted, and terrorized by violent intruders entering their dorms. These incidents are not only a threat to the safety and well-being of the students but also undermine the sense of security that families should feel when they send their children to attend college. We were promised a whole series of safety measures as prospective Cal families, and only later realized how few of these actually exist: two night shuttles, a door-to-door safety shuttle, Security Monitors in every dorm, dedicated UCPD officers for each dorm, and more.
I want to emphasize that this is not what families expected when they sent their kids to UC Berkeley. We entrusted our children's education and safety to your institution, and it is your responsibility to ensure that they are protected from harm. It is not enough to simply offer condolences after a violent incident and send your representatives out to manage the PR; more effective measures must be taken to prevent such crimes from happening in the first place.
We’re tired of your administration telling us that our kids simply need to use common sense when living in an urban environment. The violent attacks that are happening are not because students are playing on their iPhones while walking down Telegraph Ave at night. It’s because your administration has failed to commit resources you promised us when we were deciding whether to send our kids to UC Berkeley. We call this “The Dorothy Fallacy,” and we’re tired of it.
Cal parents have started a new advocacy group called SafeBears whose mission is to make UC Berkeley safe for our students.
I urge you to take swift action to enhance campus security and prevent future incidents. This includes filling the massive vacancies at UCPD, stationing Security Monitors at each dorm after dark, getting all 3 night safety shuttles back in service, offering free or discounted Lyft rides to students after dark, and more. You can find these and other measures on our website, safebears.org.
As a parent, I trust that you will take these concerns seriously and do everything in your power to keep students safe on and around the UC Berkeley campus. I appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]