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Tired of picking up the tab for UC Berkeley social events that go awry, the City Council will consider making the administration financially responsible for school-sponsored events that result in property damage or looting. 

At its Tuesday meeting, the council will likely ask City Manager Weldon Rucker to study the possibility of implementing a city policy that would require the university to reimburse any costs associated with school events that result in police action or clean up.  

The recommendation, put on the agenda by Mayor Shirley Dean, is the result of a widely publicized dance on campus at the Pauley Ballroom in August. The student-sponsored dance ended in looting spree of nearby businesses south of campus. About 200 of the 1,300 that attended the dance participated in the looting and according to organizers, none were UC students. In addition, several people who attended the dance broke into a residence and terrified four young women who lived there. 

The incident was the second time within a year that looting followed a campus dance. In October a large group of people who were unable to get into a Pauley Ballroom dance looted stores on Telegraph Avenue. 

“I am deeply disheartened that yet another incident of lawlessness occurred following a dance at Pauley Ballroom,” Dean wrote in a letter to UC Chancellor Robert Berdahl. “It was only a year ago that university officials assured the city, merchants and residents in the Telegraph area that the rules governing social events on campus would be changed to prevent further disturbances.” 

According to police, 23 officers responded to the area in an attempt to contain the crowd of