Proposition 30 promises to address UC budget deficits
Aug. 6 — Proposed by Governor Jerry Brown, Proposition 30 or The Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act of 2012, aims to collect between $6.8 billion to $9 billion in revenue in 2012-2013. The University of California Board of Regents recently voted to endorse the proposition. If voters choose not to pass the initiative this November, the University of California System will be charged with a $250 million “trigger” cut, which could lead to an approximately 20 percent fee increase at the UCs.
— Originally reported by Gheed Saeed
UC Davis Police Lt. John Pike fired by newly appointed police chief
Aug. 6 — According to documents obtained by the Sacramento Bee, newly appointed UC Davis Police Chief Matt Carmichael fired Lt. John Pike, a former campus police officer who was involved in the Nov. 18 pepper spray incident, rejecting findings by an internal affairs investigation conducted last November. The findings declared that Pike acted reasonably in his decision to employ pepper spray.
“The needs of the department do not justify your continued employment,” the letter from Carmichael to Pike stated.
— Originally reported by Muna Sadek
Case against UC for failing to address alleged anti-Semitism dismissed, Yudof assembles Advisory Council on Campus Climate, Culture and Inclusion
Aug. 6 — UC Berkeley announced that on July 11, alumni Brian Maissy and Jessica Felber dropped their lawsuit accusing UC Berkeley and the UC system of failing to address anti-Semitism on campus during protests in 2010.
UC president Mark Yudof assembled a group of 17 people to comprise the Advisory Council on Campus Climate, Culture and Inclusion in June. The council includes students, faculty and administrators from UC campuses and leaders from various racial and religious groups. The group was tasked with identifying, evaluating and sharing “promising practices” at various institutions across the state and nation, according to a press release from the University of California Office of the President (UCOP). Many of the factors that were evaluated dealt with race and religion.
— Originally reported by Liliana Nava Ochoa
Vice Provost Patricia Turner to leave UC Davis for UCLA
Aug. 6 — After 22 years of working at UC Davis, UC Davis’ Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Patricia Turner, will be leaving for UCLA to begin as Dean and Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education.
Turner first began work at UC Davis as a faculty member in African American and African studies in 1990.
“I’m delighted that the next chapter of my career will be at a UC campus. I’ll be keeping all my Aggie T-shirts, just adding some Bruin shirts to the mix,” she said in a release by UC Davis’ Dateline News for Faculty and Staff.
— Originally reported by Gheed Saeed
New parking payment option for students
Aug. 20 — UC Davis Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) released their new parking permit option in June. The EasyPark Personal Parking Meter (PPM) is a small device that is used like a parking meter; it deducts funds at the rate of $1.50 per hour to a maximum of $7, the cost of a one-day permit. Funds can be added to it with a minimum of $25 to a maximum of $300 at a time. The permit allows people to park in any “C” permit parking space or parking meter.
— Originally reported by Liliana Nava Ochoa
UC submits ‘friend of the court brief’ in support of affirmative action
Aug. 20 — University of California President Mark Yudof and 10 University of California chancellors submitted an amicus curiae brief or “friend of the court brief,” to the Supreme Court in support of the University of Texas in Fisher v. The University of Texas at Austin, Aug.13.
The case, which is to be revisited in October, was filed by Abigail Fisher who graduated at the top 12 percent of her high school class and was denied acceptance to the university, due to its selection of students not admitted under the Top Ten Percent Plan. The plan aims to increase diversity of the student body.
Fisher sued the UT Austin for allegedly violating her 14th Amendment rights by denying her equal protection of the law, as applicants less academically qualified than Fisher were admitted.
— Originally reported by Gheed Saeed
Middle Class Scholarship fails to pass Senate
Sep. 10 — The Middle Class Scholarship Act (AB 1501) died on the Senate floor, Aug. 31, with a final vote of 22-15, five votes less than was required for passage. The scholarship guaranteed a two-thirds deduction in school fees for students of middle-class families (families with a household income of $150,000 or less.)
“We’re not finished yet and we’re going to work together to get it done,” California Governor Jerry Brown stated in a release the following day.
— Originally reported by Muna Sadek
CAMPUS NEWS SUMMER DIGEST was compiled by MUNA SADEK. She can be reached at campus@theaggie.com.
