Campus News

Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef spoke Thursday in his second-to-last Brown Bag Chat on topics ranging from financial aid to the University of California retirement plan - but like everything lately, all roads led to the state's budget crisis.

Despite a recent comment from California Senate President and UC Davis alumnus Darrell Steinberg that the budget is "close" to being resolved, the financial woes of the University of California will not end soon, Vanderhoef said.

In the Feb. 12 issue of The California Aggie, the article "UC Davis sees large amount of reported sexual assaults," incorrectly reported that Shauna works for the Women's Resource and Research Center when in fact she is the outreach and education coordinator on sexual assault for the Campus Violence Prevention Program. The Aggie regrets the error.

The Verizon Foundation awarded the Family Protection and Legal Assistance Clinic at UC Davis' King Hall School of Law with a $35,000 grant to further its work in the family law field last month.

The Woodland-based clinic facilitates free services for low-income spouses and their children, handling cases involving restraining orders, child custody, visitation, child and spousal support and property division.

As the state budget deadlock remains unresolved, UC President Mark Yudof plans to advance University of California funds for Cal Grants to cover spring quarter.

After numerous efforts in a month-long campaign to save the Gender Education program, things are finally looking up.

UC Davis has a higher number of reported sexual assaults than all other UC campuses combined, according to the annual Clery report.

However the large amount of reports may actually be a positive reflection of the student services on campus, said Jeanne Wilson, director of Student Judicial Affairs.

Two years ago, UC Davis students voted to increase their student fees to bolster Unitrans service. Next week, they will decide if they should do so again to establish a "Green Initiative Fund."

If approved, The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) would increase student fees by $4 per quarter.

Students are waiting out the economy's storm - in school. Overall, graduate school application numbers are up this year nationally. During times of economic decline, people are reluctant to venture into the workforce with only a traditional bachelor's degree.

In possession

A senior student was referred for a second time to SJA, this time for possession of marijuana. Police found the student sleeping in his car on campus after he had been drinking. The student agreed to let the police search him, and they found him in possession of marijuana. The student admitted to violating the university's drug policy and accepted a censure. A similar violation in the future would result in a more serious sanction such as disciplinary probation, suspension or dismissal.

Outside Science Lecture Hall 123, a wooden plaque with the figure of a skier performing a back flip sways from a branch. The token is intended to remind the campus of the deceased 21-year-old Randy Davis.

Friends of Davis, juniors Jane Libershteyn and Shayna Fogleman, created and hung the plaque in his memory.

The inauguration festivities are over, but students can still celebrate this year's historical presidential election with a visit to Memorial Union's Art Lounge.

In honor of Black History Month, the Art Lounge is currently showcasing a photo biography of the life of President Barack Obama as part of its Obama! Exhibit, running until the end of February.

UC Davis professor Charles Goldman was recently named chair of the Tahoe-Baikal Institute's Board of Directors. Goldman, whose career at UC Davis spans over 50 years, founded the nonprofit organization in 1991.

The UC Davis Graduate School of Management and Medical Center have teamed up to create a program aiming to combat mismanagement of health care funds.

Students within the Graduate School of Management will now have the opportunity to earn an MBA with an emphasis in public health by completing 12 units taught by the Department of Public Health Sciences.

In the Feb. 9 issue of The California Aggie, the graphic accompanying the article " Union, library at odds over workload," incorrectly depicts UC Davis and UC San Diego's library expenditures for the 2006-2007 year. The two campuses' total expenditures should have been shown to be $21,002, 377 and $28, 240, 980, respectively.

The librarians and support staff at Peter J. Shields Library continue to spar with the administration over workload and funding.

Leaders of the librarians' union, UC-AFT Local 2023, point to the decline in the numbers of both librarians and support staff over the last 15 years as evidence of strain. The decline, they note, correlates with UC Davis' drop in the Association of Research Libraries rankings, from 35 in 1993-1994 to 58 in 2006-2007.