 Is the University, City and State doing enough to address Cal's housing and food issues? That was the focus of speakers at the ASUC, EAVP's Town Hall on Basic Needs. Elected representatives and experts described Cal's current food and housing circumstance as a crisis. But now we have to fight off all these cuts that this administration is trying to make. And so we're playing defense and offense, but just know that Mark and I at the congressional level are working on each and every issue as it relates to making college affordable and free. Lee added that students should worry about passing classes instead of their basic needs. At UC Berkeley, the University only provides housing for 22% of its undergraduates and just 9% of its graduate students. Nearly half of undergrad students are food insecure. That number is 25% for graduate students. Where the issue is not that students are not being responsible is that if you were in the 1960s or 1970s, if you worked a part-time job during the summer and if you worked a part-time job during the school year, you would pay your total cost of attendance. Today, working the same hours and the wages that are available to you, you can only pay one-third of your total cost of attendance. Sanchez, who majored in ethnic studies and social welfare at Cal, said that we must not forget the community off campus. He noted that the cost of attendance and cost of living continue to rise. We have a booming economy and yet somehow we're all going to beg for scraps. So I want to put this back a little bit on the university and the cities working to go to the state and say this is a shared responsibility, it is not just our responsibility. The panel also touched on efforts locally and statewide to address the crisis. The city council in particular is looking to increase the transfer tax on high value properties. Panelists touched on the issue of apartment rates for students who are constantly on the move. They also discussed fair wages for builders who construct new residential buildings. Sophomore Joya Mandir walks away from the panel more hopeful. I think the panel was really helpful, at least for me, to know what people are doing at the city, state and national levels to help combat student homelessness and student food insecurity. So it's good to hear from politicians who really have their heads in the right place about helping students.