News

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Bel-Air

Byuclafaculty

A news note on the UCLA hotel/conference center issue. The Hotel Bel-Air, just north of campus, is about to reopen, albeit with a labor dispute in progress. And Marilyn Monroe (at left and in the video below from a 1953 visit to the Hotel) won’t be staying there this time around. From the LA Times: When the Hotel Bel-Air reopens next week after a two-year renovation, the resort’s mascot swans — Chloe, Athena and Hercules — will still occupy the lush 12-acre property visited by presidents, movie stars and other dignitaries. But absent will be most of the union workers…

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Governor Vetoes Bill That Sparked UC-Berkeley Bake Sale Controversy

Byuclafaculty

As readers of this blog will know, opponents of a bill that might have (not at all clear) weakened the anti-affirmative action Prop 209 – which applies to public university admissions, organized a bake sale at UC-Berkeley which caused much controversy on that campus. Governor Brown has now vetoed that bill. Jerry Brown vetoes bill to let colleges consider race, gender 10/8/11 Capitol Alert Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed legislation today that would have allowed the University of California and California State University systems to consider race, ethnicity and gender in student admissions. The interpretation of Proposition 209, which prohibits the…

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Governor Signs Dream Act

Byuclafaculty

Jerry Brown signs California Dream Act 10-8-11Capitol Alert Gov. Jerry Brown today signed legislation allowing undocumented immigrant college students to receive public financial aid, marking California’s relatively liberal ground in a bitter row over immigration nationwide. The California Dream Act allows access to public financial aid, including Cal Grants, for undocumented students who came to the country before turning 16 and attended California high schools. Those students already are eligible for in-state tuition, and Brown in July signed a companion measure affording them access to private financial aid… Brown, a Democrat, supported the act during last year’s gubernatorial campaign, and…

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Regents Meeting Audio: Sept. 13-14, 2011 (excerpt of the 13th)

Byuclafaculty

Below you can listen to audio from the first two days of the Sept. 13-15, 2011 Regents meeting. We will post the audio for Sept. 15 later. Note that we have already posted excerpts from the September Regents meetings recorded by Jim Chalfant. The audios below were obtained from the Regents. Tuesday, September 13, 2011: ======================Note: The audio received from the Regents for Sept. 13 runs only 25 minutes and appears to be incomplete. If a fuller version becomes available, it will be posed. ——————-Agenda 1:00 pm Committee on Compliance and Audit (Regents only session) http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/sept11/auditx.pdf 1:15 pm Committee on…

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Mumps

Byuclafaculty

Arthur Ashe Center releases mumps health alert after outbreak at UC Berkeley By KAVITHA SUBRAMANIAN, October 6, 2011, Daily Bruin Off the Press blog UCLA Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center has released a mumps health alert following an outbreak at UC Berkeley this past week. At least 20 Berkeley students have reported potential mumps infections as of this evening, and hundreds of students have been waiting in line at UC Berkeley’s student health center for free vaccinations, according to the Daily Californian. No cases have been reported at UCLA… Full article at: http://www.dailybruin.com/index.php/blog/off_the_press/2011/10/arthur_ashe_center_releases_mumps_health_alert_after_outbreak_at_uc_berkeley ============== One suspects that the…

Bloat

Byuclafaculty

Amid Budget Crisis, UC Debates Management Bloat Bay Area Citizen 10/5/11, Excerpt: Over the past decade, the number of managers and senior staff at the University of California grew at a much faster rate than that of faculty and students, leading some professors and legislators to question the university’s priorities as it looks to close a $2.5 billion budget gap. Last spring, the number of senior professionals and managers — including chancellors and vice presidents — reached 8,821, a 76 percent increase since 2001, according to university figures. By contrast, faculty, visiting professors and lecturers accounted for 15,740 positions, a…

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Backdoor?

Byuclafaculty

Gov. Brown has until Sunday to decide to sign or veto the remaining bills on his desk. Among them is SB 185 – the bill that sparked the anti-affirmative action “bake sale” at UC-Berkeley. It is unclear what the governor will do, although the speculation yours truly has seen so far suggests he will sign it. On the other hand, recent vetoes suggest he is reluctant to fiddle with California’s direct democracy. (He vetoed legislation that would have indirectly impeded use of paid signature gatherers, for example.) And the delay in announcing what he will do suggests the governor is…

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A Political Factoid for Today

Byuclafaculty

Question: Can a UC campus foundation give money to ballot campaigns? If so, has it happened? Answer: The UCLA Foundation has twice given money to campaigns for ballot propositions in the past decade. Both propositions involved money for higher ed, including UC. In 2004, the Foundation gave $57,087 to support Prop 55 – a bond measure for education which narrowly passed. In 2006, it gave $87,550 in support of Prop 1D – also an education bond measure but which passed by a respectable 56.9%. Other UC and CSU foundations have made similar contributions. You can find the contribution information by…

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Back in the Stream

Byuclafaculty

You may recall a brief episode in which classes which used streaming video at UCLA suddenly had the service cut off – and then restored after a brief interval. The practice of making such video course assignments available over a password-protected network to students was challenged in court as a copyright violation. The university restored the service when it concluded there was not a copyright violation. (You can find earlier posts about this matter on this blog.) A court victory was announced by the university yesterday. However, questions remain about how general the victory is. See below: Court dismisses lawsuit…