Ramping up the drama over looming enrollment cuts at UC Berkeley, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday urged the California Supreme Court to stay a lower court order that would force the campus to slash its incoming fall class by one-third, or 3,050 seats.
“We can’t let a lawsuit get in the way of the education and dreams of thousands of students who are our future leaders and innovators,” Newsom said in a statement. “I urge the Supreme Court to step in to ensure we are expanding access to higher education and opportunity, not blocking it.”
Newsom’s amicus letter, submitted by state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, told the Supreme Court that the lives of thousands of deserving students would be “irrevocably altered” if denied the opportunity to attend UC Berkeley.
The high court is weighing the University of California’s appeal to stay an Alameda County Superior Court judge’s order to the campus to roll back enrollment to its 2020-21 level in response to a Berkeley community group’s lawsuit. University officials said that would require them to reduce admission offers by 5,100 for fall 2022 and cut back financial aid due to a loss of $57 million in tuition revenue.
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