Berkeleyan

Letter to the Editor

12 January 2006

In your Dec. 8 issue you published a piece on the possibility of establishing educational-fee discounts for spouses, domestic partners, and children of UC employees. When UC's Office of the President weighs the costs and benefits of providing staff fee discounts, it would be well-advised to consider some intangible and indirect benefits not mentioned in your article.

Such discounts would contribute to the expansion of UC "legacies." Many staff are already UC alumni. Providing all staff with fee discounts for family members would build community and an even more fiercely loyal and appreciative alumni base. Doing so is in the long-term interest of the university, whose alumni are key political supporters as well as donors.

Jessea Greenman
ESPM staff