Month: August 2013

  • |

    Movers and Shakers on the Tuition Bus

    Byuclafaculty

    The original Shakers didn’t have a bus. From Inside Higher Ed: President Obama plans to take on rising tuition prices with speeches later this week that the White House promises will include fresh, serious proposals. But those claims were met largely with skepticism here, even from supporters of the president’s repeated pledge to “shake up” higher education. On Tuesday the White House distributed a message from Obama in which he said would seek to make college more affordable with “real reforms that would bring lasting change.” The president said he would release the plan’s details during a two-day bus tour…

  • | |

    Regents: Have We Got a Deal for You!!

    Byuclafaculty

    The image shown here is from a November 2004 video of a Santa Monica city council meeting, which appears to be the first such meeting the city videoed.  It is still on the web nine years after the event.  In contrast, the stated policy for Regents meetings is that video will be preserved for one year only.    The current policy also seems to mean that audio of the event as a file is not being made available as a public document as it was before the current calendar year.  To obtain the audio to archive under current policy –…

  • |

    UCLA History: Cord

    Byuclafaculty

    During the summer doldrums, we continue to provide scans of pictures from UCLA’s history as shown in the book, “California of the Southland,” published by the alumni in 1937.  You can pick what you like as interesting from the 1936 picture above.  There is the presence of Gov. Frank Merriam who had been Lieutenant Governor and then became governor on the death of the sitting governor.  Merriam was elected in his own right, defeating author Upton Sinclair in 1934 in the great EPIC campaign.  If you don’t know about that, you should.  So start by Googling it. Another item of…

  • See No Evil

    Byuclafaculty

    The caption to this photo from the Bangkok Post reads “Students wear paper blinker ‘anti-cheating’ headgear as they take an examination at Kasetsart University’s agro-industry faculty.”  The article goes on to report that the experiment has been abandoned.  Inside Higher Ed pointed me to this story. See http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/08/19/thai-university-abandons-use-anti-cheating-hats and http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/364942/students-came-up-with-the-idea-themselves-says-course-lecturer. A modest proposal: Instead of hats, how about earphones playing:[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS4LCoh0VGQ?feature=player_detailpage]

  • | |

    Directional Issues

    Byuclafaculty

    Good advice from Horace because of you’re traveling east on Wilshire and want to go north on the 405, you are soon to have problem.  And others will likely have a problem as those who want to go north shift to the Sunset Blvd. on ramp – or just get confused. See below:The eastbound Wilshire Boulevard on-ramp to northbound 405 Freeway will close for 90 days starting Thursday, Aug 22. Once rebuilt, the on-ramp will have nearly 300 percent greater capacity. It is the last extended ramp closure that will be required for the Wilshire Interchange, as well as the…

  • | | |

    UCLA History and Current “Intentions” for UC

    Byuclafaculty

    We have been running some scanned photos from “California of the Southland,” a book published by the UCLA alumni in 1937.  Here we seen registration in 1936.  If you read the caption, you will note that women made up a slightly larger percent of enrollment back then. Let’s move to enrollment nowadays.  When the legislature passes a budget, it includes various statements of “intent” about how money should be used.  UC’s budget – despite constitutional autonomy – does not escape from such quasi-directives.  Technically, UC might not use money as directed, but not doing so could affect next year’s allocation,…

  • | |

    More 405 Night Time Stay Away Periods

    Byuclafaculty

    More difficulties coming for those who spend late hours at UCLA and use the 405 freeway: The I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements contractor will continue removing falsework on the Mulholland Bridge in the Sepulveda Pass on Saturday nights over the next two weekends. Metro says this will require full directional freeway closures from Valley Vista Drive to Skirball Center Drive between the hours of 11 p.m. until 9 a.m.  Saturday, Aug. 17: Full southbound freeway closure, from Valley Vista to Skirball, from 11 p.m. until 9 a.m. Northbound #1,2,3 lanes will be closed as a buffer. Closures start at 11 p.m….

  • |

    Groundbreaking Notes

    Byuclafaculty

    Yesterday, we noted that the groundbreaking for UCLA’s Grand Hotel would be on September 10.  We have also noted that after blocking off the Ackerman bus turnaround and parking structure #6 on July 8, nothing much seems to have happened in the way of actual work on the site.Lest you think no one has been inconvenienced by the no-work blocking off, comes this from the Santa Monica Big Blue Bus on its off-hour service:New transit hub: Ackerman Terminal is closed for construction so BBB will use a new transit hub located on Charles E. Young Dr. and Manning Ave. Weekdays…