UC Berkeley Officially Enters Faustian Deal With Oil Giant BP.
See also:
A First Look at the Finalized BP/Berkeley Deal,
and
the University's propaganda about the signing, and (they claim) the full text of the agreement.

Read a summary of the contract for more details.

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See media coverage, pictures and flier from our recent protest

We oppose the BP-Berkeley agreement for three major reasons:

• The undemocratic process by which it is being struck.  So far, this deal has been made "at the top", with most of the UC Berkeley community unaware it was taking place, and no opportunity for concerns or criticisms. A project of this scale will change the course of research on campus, and is explicitly against the recommendations given to UC Berkeley in the wake of the Novartis deal. Read more...  
• The social and environmental consequences of this research.  Biofuel research could be a great force for good. It could also directly promote social inequality and environmental degradation. The research agenda needs to explicitly consider the dimensions of social justice and ecological sustainability, which the current proposal does not. Read more...  
• BP's control over the research agenda.  In the BP-Berkeley proposal, BP will have at least as much power over the direction of the EBI as will Berkeley itself, and up to 50 BP employees working on campus will be allowed to participate in developing and teaching classes, mentoring graduate students, and K-12 outreach.  Corporate research focuses on questions that promise patents and other opportunities for profit, and neglects research areas that benefit only the public. Read more...

• the University not sign the BP deal;
• the University create a policy and procedure for all large funding deals that includes an explicit commitment to sustainability and social justice goals, and protects university researchers' independence;
• the University develop structures of accountability to ensure, in all major research projects where research direction will have long-lasting global implications such as biofuels and the climate crisis, that the input of not only University students, staff, and faculty are heard, but also those communities who will be directly impacted by the results of the research;
• the University make serious, ongoing efforts to create public discussions and debates on the role of this public university in relation to global and local issues like climate change, corporate globalization, and social justice.

• teach-ins, public discussions and debates
• research into the the proposed deal, biofuels research, and alternatives
• providing information about the issues (on this website, for example)
• protests and demonstrations to apply pressure and make the campaign visible
• developing and supporting resolutions in the ASUC and Graduate Assembly
• supporting and working with other social justice and environmental groups on and off-campus
• speaking to the public opinion through the media
• further creative action to come... (more)