Students looking to start organizations at UC Berkeley have to tread carefully when it comes to naming their groups.
A free-speech group is calling attention to university guidelines that prohibit registered student organizations at UC Berkeley from using the words "UC Berkeley," "California," "Cal," "UC" or "UCB" in their names. The word "Berkeley" is only allowed to be used if it's a reference to geographic location, such as "at Berkeley" or "of Berkeley."
The Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights in Education sent a letter recently to UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau urging the university to change its policy, calling the ban unconstitutional.
The letter explained that the naming policy had prevented the campus conservative magazine, the California Patriot, from registering under its longstanding name. The magazine had instead registered as The Patriot Group.
UC Berkeley senior counsel Michael Smith responded to FIRE's letter, saying that the university's policy aimed to avoid the "appearance or impression that individual student organizations are formally affiliated with, associated with, or endorsed by the University."
Smith said that the naming rules are implemented on a case-by-case basis by the Office of Marketing & Business Outreach, and that the name California Patriot is acceptable because it "poses small likelihood of confusion." He said California Patriot would be allowed to register under that name.
A quick search of registered student organizations shows there are plenty of group names that defy the ban, including Berkeley Bahai Club, Berkeley Bhangra Club and Berkeley Christian Fellowship. It's not clear whether these organizations predate the naming rules or got special dispensation.
Still, the explanation of the naming rules on the university's website only allows for one exception: Student organizations that were formed before the rules went into effect. The site doesn't mention the existence of a case-by-case approval process.
FIRE, the organization that criticized Berkeley's naming policy, said the university is still "avoiding the real issue" by attempting to control the use of certain words.
The organization points out several other policies that restrict how people can use the university's trademarks in the media, including online and in domain names.
You can't, for example, combine "Berkeley" with "Bears," or for that matter, to use the phrase "Berkeley Football." The university's marks ("UC Berkeley," or "Cal," for example) should always present a positive image. And they are definitely not allowed to be used in conjunction with certain other trademarks, such as the Playboy bunny.
Even though it wasn't a registered student organization until recently, the California Patriot has been published since 2000. The publication grabbed attention in 2002, when boxes of the magazine were stolen. The issue featured a negative story about MEChA, a Chicano and Latino student group that promotes political involvement, according to SF Weekly.
Then, Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates destroyed more than 1,000 copies of the Patriot after the magazine ran an endorsement of his opponent.
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