ASUCD Vice President Bradley Bottoms presided over the senate meeting on Jan. 30. The meeting was called to order at 6:15 p.m.

The meeting was comprised mainly of discussion about several pieces of legislation, including five bills and three senate resolutions.

Susan Kee-Young Park from the UC Davis Office of the Ombuds made a presentation explaining how Ombuds is a good resource on campus. Ombuds is an independent and impartial resource that helps solve any conflicts between the faculty, staff, administrators or postdocs and the UC Davis administration. Ombuds does not get involved but offers strategies and tips to solve resolutions peacefully.

Senate Bill (SB) #21, which changed the attendance policy for commission interviews, was passed with no objections. SB #23 to implement a Long-Range Plan for Project Compost was passed with no objections. SB #27 to include the chairs of the Internal Affairs Commission (IAC) and Environmental Policy and Planning Commission (EPPC) on the Unit Renovation and Space Allocation Committee (URSAC) was passed with no objections. SB #28 to revise Chapter 17 of the ASUCD Bylaws was passed with no objections. SB #32 to remove the phrase “encouraged to resign” from the Bylaws, in regards to censures, was also passed with no objections.

Senate Resolution (SR) #5, which calls for a new Master Plan for Higher Education for the State of California, was passed without objection. The current Master Plan has not changed in 53 years. It is the responsibility of the California state government of Higher Education to adapt to and fix inequities of the K-12 and higher education systems. A committee will be formed to draft an entirely new plan.

SR #7 to pursue an end to actions that seek to ostracize, harass or disenfranchise segments of the UC Davis community, authored by University Affairs Director Dillan Horton, was debated. Senators Miles Thomas and Jonathan Mitchell were against the resolution because it represented “words without any action.” Senator Mariah Watson wanted to add a clause to urge administration to create forums on the education of diversity. SR #7 was re-referred to the Ethnic and Cultural Affairs Commission.

SR #8 details the problems and barriers to affordable education and offers a solution to make more flexible and affordable course material available to students. The resolution was passed with no objections.

The meeting then moved into public discussion before adjourning for closed discussion at 10:30 p.m.

In mid-December, the UC Davis Health System was hit by a phishing scam, in which 1,800 patients may have been affected.

The system is comprised of the UC Davis School of Medicine, Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, Practice Management Group and UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.

Three clinicians’ email accounts were breached, but no patient Social Security numbers, financial information or health records were compromised. The emails mainly included minimal patient admission information, medical record numbers and names.

The breach hit mid-December and was first realized when the clinicians noticed deleted emails from their accounts. Their email addresses were also being used to send messages outside the system.

The scam artists used malicious software to conduct a phishing scam; however, data security experts are unable to pinpoint the exact nature of the breach. The hackers tried to phish for passwords and financial information, but there is no evidence of identity theft.

“Because of the automated nature of this type of phishing scam, it’s unlikely that any individual email messages were viewed or accessed,” said Senior Public Information Officer Charles Casey. “We have had some calls with concerns and questions, but we’re not aware of any actual patient email problems as a result of this breach into three accounts.”

The Health System’s email program is encrypted to prevent such an event from occurring. The three affected clinicians forgot to encrypt their outgoing emails, allowing access to their accounts.

The exact scam artists responsible have not been identified, but UC Davis has taken immediate measures.

“Our IT department deleted the phishing email and blocked access to the phishing website, as well as alerted UC Davis staff to the scam,” Casey said.

In addition, the Health System notified government agencies, such as the California Department of Public Health and California Attorney General’s office. The UC Davis Police Department is also investigating the breach.

According to Casey, this is the first time, to the best of their knowledge, that a UC Davis Medical Center account has been hit by such a scam.

— Nicole Yi

On Feb. 7, UC Davis Wears Red Day will take place on Hutchison Field at 11:30 a.m. The event will raise awareness for heart disease as a leading killer of both men and women in the U.S. UC Davis Wears Red Day coincides with National Wear Red Day.

The goal of the event is to break the Guinness World Record for the largest human heart formation to spread awareness for heart disease in the U.S. The current record is at 11,116 people. All who attend are encouraged to wear red and participate in the breaking of the record. Pictures will be taken at 12:30 p.m.

According to Andrew Crotto, event manager at UC Davis, planners are expecting at least a 12,000 person turnout at the event.

“To show just how dedicated we are to this important cause, we have set our sights incredibly high,” UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi said in a press release for the event.

The hope for the event is that a variety of UC Davis organizations on campus and in the community can be involved in spreading awareness with their own unique talents and strengths.

Special event T-shirts have been created and sold at the MU since Jan. 21. These red shirts will also be available on the Hutchison field before the event. Short-sleeved shirts will be available for $5 and long-sleeved shirts for $8. One dollar from each T-shirt purchase will be donated to the Women’s Cardiovascular Medicine Program at UC Davis.

The project was spearheaded by the chancellor’s office alongside Dr. Amparo Villablanca, Director of the UC Davis Women’s Cardiovascular Medicine Program, and Adele Zhang, Curator of the UC Davis Design Museum.

Following the heart formation on Hutchison Field, the student-organized Battle Heart Disease Fair will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. in the ARC Pavillion. The fair was organized by Alpha Pi Sigma sorority and will have information tables and health screenings.

Additional event details can be found on the UC Davis website and on the Facebook event titled UC Davis Wears Red Day.

— LAURA FITZGERALD

On Jan. 28, UC President Janet Napolitano hosted the first of a series of live online Google Hangouts. Student representatives from five UC Schools made up a panel that could ask questions and give feedback during the Hangout. There was also a chat for those watching online to comment and ask questions.

During the web talk, Napolitano said that the series was the result of many students asking to learn more about the updates that the UC Office of the President (UCOP) is making to the school system.

“This is part of our ongoing efforts to be in touch with students, both undergraduate and graduate, on issues like tuition, assistance for graduate students and professional school students, diversity and inclusion, sustainability and all the other initiatives that we have under way,” Napolitano said.

The web chat focused on issues such as job training for graduate students, in-state tuition for student veterans, financial aid, textbook prices and aid for undocumented students.

Questions from the chat box were chosen by UCOP representative Sarah Fidelibus and given to Napolitano to address. Many of the questions asked by students in the chat box regarded Napolitano’s previous occupation as Secretary of Homeland Security.

UC Davis University Affairs Director Dillan Horton said there is still a lot of concern surrounding Napolitano’s previous occupation and her opinion regarding AB 540, a law that allows for undocumented students to attend college in California.

“Students still want a response on AB 540 students,” Horton said. “We’re wondering if Napolitano will take accountability.”

A large focus of the web talk went to Napolitano’s initiative to allocate $5 million to undocumented students. The money will go towards financial aid for undocumented students who are enrolled in the UC because of AB 540.

The panel consisted of UC Student Regent and UC Irvine School of Law student Cinthia Flores, UC Riverside graduate student Lewis Luartz, President of the Student Veterans Organization and UC Santa Barbara student Paul Malone, Board Chair for the UC Student Association and UC Berkeley student Safeena Mecklai and Daily Bruin reporter and UCLA student Kristen Taketa.

UC spokesperson Brooke Converse said that UCOP reached out to members of the UC Student Association (UCSA) and students Napolitano had met during her visits to create the panel. The panel will change during the next web talk, as will the discussion topics. Future talks will feature faculty and staff, as well as other students.

Horton said that the student panel was put together quickly, which is why it was difficult for UC Davis students to get involved. Another possible reason that UC Davis students were not included in the panel is their limited involvement with UCSA.

“It seems disingenuous that student leaders who often have the opportunity to participate with Napolitano were on the panel,” Horton said. “But we don’t know what kind of panel would show up if students were chosen randomly.”

Aneil Dhillon, president of Davis Regents Scholars Society, does not think representation in future web talks will be an issue.

“UC Davis should get involved and I don’t think we’ll get neglected,” Dhillon said. “There will be significant activism if we do.”

Horton said he is glad that Napolitano is reaching out to students with the web talks. He said that more campus visits will also be a great help in connecting students to the UC President and staff.

ASUCD President Carly Sandstrom also said that visits to campus are important.

“I do appreciate the fact that she is reaching out to students and letting them know what she is working on,” Sandstrom said. “However, I do hope that there continues to be more candid dialogue with students, not just through using social media.”

UCOP recently released a newsletter for students to keep up with policies, initiatives and news. Subscriptions require a name and email, and the newsletters come out monthly. The date for the next Hangout is still undetermined.