Graduate students at the University of California-Berkeley are protesting the layoff of the Graduate Student Affairs Officer in the Environmental Sciences and Policy Management Department.  Facing a $100 million budget deficit, Dean Keith Gilless decided to remove graduate student affairs officer Richard Battrick and his position.  Battrick worked at the university for 29 years helping graduate students secure research funding, prepare for dissertations and manage courses. Students said Battrick played an instrumental role in their graduate studies and were angry they were not consulted or more involved with the decision. Several students organized a meeting on July 24 and drafted an online petition where 80 percent of the department’s students signed. More than 50 students also sent personal letters to Gilless to ask him to reconsider, but in an Aug. 7 e-mail Gilless said he would not reverse his decision.

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