Here are short abstracts from the 2007 winning proposals:
Instilling Service in the Freshman Experience: The Residential Service Community:The Residential Service Community (RSC) aims to instill a value of service in the UC Berkeley residential halls. Although the residence halls represent one of the most influential environments for student development, this resource remains untapped at UC Berkeley. RSC uses the opportunity of the Residence Halls to encourage students to explore their role in shaping the communities that they are part of—their Residence Halls, the UC Berkeley Campus, the City of Berkeley, and even our global community. Unlike any other program at Cal, RSC not only involves living-learning environments, but will also impact students and communities through service-learning.
The Interfaith Action Initiative: Our proposal, the Interfaith Action Initiative (IAI), seeks to increase the opportunities for interaction between students of different faiths at UC Berkeley. We believe that open dialogue and collaboration are increasingly important in order to build a strong campus community around issues central to students of all faiths. We also believe that collaborative projects could plant seeds that have a profound impact on how students perceive religious traditions—their own and others—as they leave campus.
OutLet LGBTQ Online Peer Advising: OutLet lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) online Peer Advising was started as a result of one student’s feelings of isolation and frustration in coming to terms with his sexuality. Coming out can be a very difficult process. Like many other changes, experiences, and events that we face in our day to day lives, coming out affects many people in many different ways. OutLet is an online space created by students for students. We recognize that coming out is not easy for everyone, and in fact is not easy for most. We are here to provide a space in which students feel comfortable discussing those issues that they would never discuss out loud or face-to-face. The goal of OutLet is give students a space for confidential, anonymous discussion in order to bridge the current void between stark isolation and face-to-face counseling.
The Berkeley Project: The purpose of the Berkeley Project is to build a legacy of service and a strong, sustainable partnership between the students of the University of California, Berkeley and the city and residents of Berkeley. To this end, the Berkeley Project’s foremost plan is to hold a yearly event, called Berkeley Project Day, where thousands of Cal students unite on one day to fulfill the pressing needs of the community through a variety of service projects, all of which are within the City of Berkeley. Fully student operated and supported, the Berkeley Project not only provides crucial assistance to the public, but also aims to create a lasting culture of service among its participants. This year, the Berkeley Project will be held on October 27, 2007.
Students for a Safer Southside: Preliminary data for the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation Fall 2006 Safer California Universities Study reports that the greatest number of self-reported alcohol problems occur in Greek Houses followed by off-campus apartments or houses, a majority of which are located in the south campus area. Through funding by the Bears Breaking Boundaries contest, the student group, Students for a Safer Southside (SFSS) will utilize the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association model program, Community Trials Intervention for High Risk Drinking, to continue our two year-plan of reducing high-risk drinking behaviors by at least 5% among students who live, work, or otherwise frequent the south campus area of the University of California, Berkeley.