INDEX 1996

MARCH 8, 1996

 

This index page is for reference only; stories in this issue are not available online. Print editions may be found in the periodicals stacks of the Charles Young Research Library.

 

AROUND CAMPUS – The Asian American Studies Center has published a special 25^th anniversary commemorative issue of "Amerasia Journal," the nation's oldest academic journal on Asian Americans. The 300-page double issue focuses on community research, interracial relations, the history and culture of Asian Americans and affirmative action. … Health Care – UCLA Children's Hospital has received a $12-million gift from Sun Valley businessman Rubin Brown, the largest ever to the School of Medicine. It will be used to expand pediatric neurological programs and research under the direction of pediatric neurologist W. Donald Shields. … Engineering – Professors Mohamed Abdou of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Alfred Wong of the Department of Physics and Astronomy will be interim codirectors of the Institute of Plasma Fusion research until a permanent director is appointed.

 

APPLICATIONS FOR FALL '96 BREAK RECORD – UCLA remains the most popular school in the University of California system among high school seniors, according to recently released admissions data. UCLA received a record-high 28,000 freshman applications for fall 1996 – about 60% of all applications received by the UC. The new data show a 10.7% increase overall in the number of freshmen applying to UCLA.

 

MARDI GRAS FALLS VICTIM TO POOR ATTENDANCE AFTER 53-YEAR RUN – Mardi Gras, a 53-year campus tradition that was once heralded as the largest student-directed fund-raiser in the country, passed quietly into history this year after a student committee canceled the event because of past financial difficulties. The committee plans to stage an alternative fund-raiser this year or next for UniCamp, UCLA's only official charity. UniCamp depended on profits from Mardi Gras to support its summer camp for children from low-income families.

 

COALITION OPENS COMMUNITY CENTER – Westwood was awash in starched midnight blue as top brass and officers from the UCLA and Los Angeles police departments gathered last week to inaugurate the new Westwood Community Center. The 1,200-square-foot center will be the home base for two LAPD foot patrols, a UCPD officer and UCLA community –service officers. It also will serve as a welcome center for visitors to the village and a meeting place for groups of residents and merchants.

 

NEWS IN BRIEF – New Chair – Jack L. Feldman has been appointed chair of the newly formed Department of Neurobiology. Feldman, who also is chair of the Department of Physiological Science, is an international authority on the neural systems that control respiration and circulation. … Night Powell – Night Powell, the extended-hours reading room in the Powell Library Building, will open Monday to give UCLA students a safe and quiet place for late studying. … African Heritage – Les Ballets Africains, the national dance company of the Republic of Guinea and one of Africa's most renowned and accomplished dance companies, will appear in "Heritage," a new production at the Veterans Wadsworth Theater on March 15 at 8 p.m. and March 16 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. … Sigalert – Walkways north and west of the Men's Gym may be restricted as trucks and cranes deliver material for repair of the building's roof; westbound traffic on Circle Drive South is limited to one lane in each direction as work continues on the Cogeneration Plant; flag men are directing traffic at Strathmore and Circle Drive West for trucks involved in construction of the Bradley International Student Center; flag men are controlling pedestrian traffic near Murphy Hall as construction continues at the law library.

 

DID YOU KNOW? – From rock concerts to food fairs, corporate-training seminars to holiday parties and weddings, more than 500 nonacademic events coordinated by UCLA Conference and Events Management were held at UCLA in fiscal year 1994-'95, generating $2.8 million in revenue for the university. In addition to these so-called nonresidential events, groups staying on campus for a variety of summer programs generated another $5.3 million for the residence halls to offset costs that otherwise would have to be charged to students.

 

UC OVERSEES HUNDREDS OF K-12 PROGRAMS – OAKLAND – A new report shows that the University of California plays an important role in the ongoing professional development of more than 65,000 teachers and the academic preparation of hundreds of thousands of kindergarten-through-12 ^th-grade students by working with public schools. The university spends more than $100 million (including funds from federal, private and other sources) on more than 800 programs that provide outreach and strengthen the quality of education for all students in K-12.

 

IS TV DESTROYING THE POLITICAL PARTY? – The question of whether television will make traditional American political parties obsolete – and what that means for efforts to reform presidential politics – provoked sharp debate during a roundtable discussion presented by the UCLA Policy Forum and the Center for Public Integrity.

 

FOLKTALES UNLOCK WORLD OF AMAZON INDIANS – When he began observing the Matsigenka Indians of the Peruvian Amazon more than 20 years ago, Professor of Anthropology Allen Johnson's goal was to document how the people of a society so different from his own lived, worked and interacted with their rain-forest environment.

 

DEATH-ROW NUN INSPIRES ANALYST'S FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL – "She and other nuns in her order has such a finely honed concept of what they were doing, and they believed with all their hearts that it was the right thing. While I'm not a particularly religious person, that has a great influence on me, how they found within their church the energy and motivation to be so involved. It impressed me a great deal," Antonio Serrata said. It is that motivation, that determination that today serves Serrata as he goes through the most difficult struggle of his life, battling a third recurrence of cancer.

 

NAMES AND FACES – Notables- David Lefkowitz, Carol Petersen and Jose de la Torre. … Honors – Barton Myers, H. Wesley Kenney, Myrl A. Schreibman, Arthur Friedman, Jeremy M.G. Taylor and Young Whang. … In Memoriam – Robert L. Benson.

 

WHO'S NEW – Annie Oken, Staff R.N., Iris Cantor-UCLA Women's Health Center.

 

CHANGING DIRECTION OF SCIENCE EDUCATION – UCLA is in the process of dramatically transforming undergraduate science education, breaking down the traditional departmental barriers, tailoring core courses to the special needs of particular majors and incorporating information technology.

 

FRESHMEN EXPLORE NEW REALMS IN CHEMISTRY – It began as an effort by the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry to meet the needs of a vast constituency – the life-science students who take lower-division chemistry as a prerequisite to their major. A year later, the new course that is being offered on a pilot basis this year is viewed as a cornerstone of the new breed of science education at UCLA. Chemistry 10 was developed by a curriculum committee in response to the desires of life-science faculty, who had revised their curriculum and wanted students to be able to take courses in their major by the beginning of the second year.

 

 

$2.4 MILLION GRANT WILL PUT SCIENCE CURRICULUM ON INTERNET – A UCLA-based initiative is at the vanguard of a dramatic shift, one that eliminates time as an educational constraint and moves to an active, discovery-based learning form – with an assist from the revolution in information technology. A consortium that includes UCLA, Cal State Fullerton, two dozen community colleges and two high schools recently received a $2.4-million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a molecular-science curriculum that will be available over the Internet.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: BEYOND SOUND BITES – How do college students feel about affirmative action in admissions? Well, it all depends. Our survey of 240,082 freshmen from 473 colleges and universities suggests that a variety of factors drives attitudes toward affirmative action.

 

BULLET RAISES HARD QUESTIONS FOR TEACHER'S FRIEND – On Friday, Feb. 23, I was flying to Oakland to attend a planning meeting for an upcoming conference. Flipping through a newspaper, I began to read the tragic story of a young Los Angeles teacher who, in a gang-related incident, had been shot the day before while teaching his fifth-grade class.

 

U.S. TRADERS FACE BARRIERS IN VIETNAM – Whether Vietnam can make the necessary reforms to achieve future prosperity is uncertain. The country has such a long history of being exploited by foreign powers – from the Chinese to the French to the Americans – that it is reluctant to accommodate foreign interests. As Ho Chi Minh and the war triumph fade from memory, the government must stand on its own merits before a populace that is eager to work hard for a better life.

 

PROS AND CONS OF PROP. 203 – On March 26, California's voters will be asked to approve Proposition 203, a measure that would provide $3 billion to help address the needs of California's schools – K-12 through community colleges and public universities.

 

PROS: PROTECTING THE HEART OF UCLA'S CAMPUS – A yes vote for Proposition 203 will provide $39.26 million to UCLA. Those funds will make it possible to perform necessary seismic upgrading and critical fire- and life-safety improvements and ensure that, where necessary, buildings would be repaired or replaced.

 

CONS: A PUBLIC-WORKS BOONDOGGLE? – We all want good schools, but over half of California's bloated $57-billion budget goes to schools already. Taxpayers already pay income taxes, sales taxes and property taxes to finance schools. California spends an average of $5,200 per student per year. That's $156,000 for a classroom of 30 kids. If the teacher earns $40,000, where does the other $116,000 go?