NAACP LA speaks out on UCSD Injustice

NAACP NEWS




Leon Jenkins Contact : Vacie Thomas

President, Los Angeles NAACP 310-397-1171



PRESS RELEASE
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO

WILL NOT COMMIT TO SANCTIONING, OR PUNISHING THOSE WHO ENGAGED IN RACIST AND DISCRIMINATORY ACTS AGAINST AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS
It has come to the attention of the Southern California community that members of the University of California San Diego’s IFC mostly PIKE Fraternity over the President Day holiday weekend threw a racially incendiary party in dishonor of Black History month, aka “Compton Cookout.” This event was intended and did expose the true feeling of a group of people, who either are racist, who acted out their beliefs, or people who say they are not racist, but engaged in acts that were racist.
However, the acts and actions of these individual students is not as applauding to the broader African-American community than: (1) Where this incident took place, which was at the University of California San Diego, and (2) The response of the University Officials and its faculty. This is so because universities are general places of tolerance, enlightenment, and social acceptance. Further the UCs are public universities supported by taxpayers, and should reflect the melting pot of people, who make up the diverse State of California.

Secondly, when racist acts are tolerated in our public and private schools, and university by our young students and adults there should be a higher sense of urgency to arrest such acts and actions, because no school or university should be seen as condoning, tolerating, or acquiescing in racist conduct, since these are our learning institutions, and one of the primary tenets of education is the display and teaching of equality for all persons.

The University president and faculty by not expressing that sanctions would be imposed on individuals engaging in these racist acts and actions send a less than clear message that such future reckless or intentional behavior will not be tolerated, which may embolden the perpetrators, and future perpetrators beliefs that they will not suffer any serious consequences concerning acts of discrimination and racism, which may cause such actors to act out their racist tendencies in the future.
This is so frightening because the entire San Diego campus has approximately 450 African-American students out of a student population of 22,500. This makes an already bad campus climate for African-American students even more frightening. Without a stronger stance by the university president and its faculty the University of California San Diego is expressly telling California that African-Americans are not welcome there.

More people speak out on the UCSD "Compton Cook Out"

Assemblymember Isadore Hall, III
Assistant Speaker pro Tempore
52nd Assembly District
State Capitol, Room 6025 ˜ Sacramento, CA 95814
2200 W. Artesia Boulevard, Suite 210 ˜ Compton, CA 90220
www.assembly.ca.gov/hall

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Terry Schanz
February 17, 2010 916-319-2052
MEDIA ADVISORY
Assemblymember Isadore Hall, III Stands with
Fellow Legislators in Condemning Racist and Sexist “Compton Cookout” Event
Hall to join members of the Asian Pacific Islander, Black, Latino, LGBT and Women’s Caucuses in calling for action against intolerance

SACRAMENTO – Assistant Speaker pro Tempore Isadore Hall, III (D-Compton) will stand unified with fellow legislators to publicly condemn a racially offensive student event hosted this past weekend by students of UC San Diego.

The event called the, ‘Compton Cookout’ was organized by members of various Greek fraternal organizations and encouraged participants to mock Black History Month by promoting negative and offensive racial and gender stereotypes.

Text of the ‘Compton Cookout’ invitation is attached for reference.

Legislators will call upon university officials to investigate the organizers of the event and determine what sanctions; including suspension should be taken against the fraternity or fraternities responsible for the event.

WHO: Assistant Speaker pro Tempore Isadore Hall, III (D- Compton)
Speaker Karen Bass (D- Los Angeles)
Speaker-Elect John A. Pérez (D – Los Angeles)
Members of the Asian Pacific Islander, Black, Latino, LGBT and Women’s
Caucuses

WHAT: Press conference condemning racist and sexist ‘Compton Cookout’ held by students of UC San Diego.

WHERE: South Steps, State Capitol
Sacramento, CA

WHEN: Thursday, February 18, 2010
11:00 AM or upon adjournment of Floor session
# # #

UCR Black Alumni Reunion Rescheduled

UCR Black Alumni Reunion Rescheduled.Beginning June 4th and culminating June 6th with UCR Black Graduation.

Yolanda Moses one of 8 UCR Researchers recognized for American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Eight UCR Faculty Members Recognized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Two alumni honored as 2009 AAAS Fellows
(December 17, 2009)
NEWS MEDIA CONTACT
Name: Iqbal Pittalwala
Tel: (951) 827-6050
E-mail: iqbal@ucr.edu




Enlarge
Top row, left to right: Eric L. Chronister, Timothy Close, Richard J. Debus, and Darleen A. DeMason; bottom row, left to right: Timothy W. Lyons, Yolanda Moses, Walid A. Najjar, and Daniel Schlenk.
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Eight researchers at the University of California, Riverside have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Including this year’s fellows, the total number of UCR faculty members who have been recognized with AAAS Fellow distinction is 180.

Election as a fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers. This year AAAS gave this honor to 531 of its members “because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.”

The 2009 AAAS Fellows at UCR are:

Eric L. Chronister, a professor of chemistry: “For distinguished contributions to the study of dynamics in molecular solids, particularly ultrafast spectroscopic studies of molecular materials under extreme temperature and pressure conditions.”

Timothy Close, a professor of genetics: “For exemplary pioneering research, and international service and leadership in the field of crop genomics.”

Richard J. Debus, a professor of biochemistry: “For distinguished contributions to our understanding of the photosynthetic oxygen-evolving process and for instruction in all levels of biochemistry curriculum.”

Darleen A. DeMason, a professor of botany: “For pioneering research into germination and development of plants and exemplary leadership in campus administration and professional societies.”

Timothy W. Lyons, a professor of biogeochemistry: “For distinguished contributions to biogeochemistry, particularly for the development of key geochemical redox proxies which track the evolution of Earth's surface chemistry through geologic time.”

Yolanda Moses, a professor of anthropology: “For distinguished contribution to anthropology, especially her work on race and racism, race and gender in higher education, and the leadership she has provided the profession.”

Walid A. Najjar, a professor of computer science and engineering: “For distinguished contributions to the fields of dataflow and reconfigurable computing architectures.”

Daniel Schlenk, a professor of aquatic ecotoxicology: “For distinguished contributions to the field of biochemical mechanistic toxicology.”

Two UC Riverside alumni were honored this year. Besides Moses ('75 M.A., ’76 Ph.D.), Craig Edward Jahr (’73 B.A.), now at Oregon Health & Science University, was named an AAAS fellow: "For opening up a new area in physiology by developing original approaches to study transmitter release, receptor activiation and transmitter clearance from synaptic cleft.”

New fellows will be presented with an official certificate and a gold and blue (representing science and engineering, respectively) rosette pin on Feb. 20 during the annual meeting of the AAAS next year in San Diego.

All the 2009 AAAS Fellows will be announced in the Dec. 18 issue of Science, a weekly magazine published by the AAAS.

The tradition of AAAS Fellows began in 1874. Currently, members can be considered for the rank of fellow if nominated by the steering groups of the AAAS’s sections; by three fellows; or by the association’s chief executive officer.

The AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society. Founded in 1848, the association includes some 262 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals.

Tournament of Roses float honors the Tuskegee Airmen. Uses UCR Archive

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – When the West Covina Rose Float Foundation decided to honor the Tuskegee Airmen with the city’s annual entry in the New Year’s Day parade, float designers turned to archivists at the University of California, Riverside for help.

UCR Libraries house the Western Region Tuskegee Airmen Archive, a growing collection of papers, photographs and oral histories of the pilots and others associated with the Tuskegee experience.

Charisma Floats, which is building the float designed by the award-winning Raul Rodriguez, contacted the UCR archive for information and photographs, including accurate profiles of the planes for painting and for patches and shields on the float, said Frank T, Scalfaro, chairman and president of the West Covina Rose Float Foundation. UCR “was very helpful to help us achieve getting this information,” he said. The float, titled “Tuskegee Airmen – A Cut Above,” pays tribute to the service, bravery and commitment of the Tuskegee Airmen, Scalfaro said.

The Tuskegee Airmen, the group of African American pilots who trained at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama, flew combat missions as bomber escorts in the European theater during World War II with few losses to enemy fighters. A total of 992 pilots graduated from the Tuskegee airfield courses. They flew 1,578 missions and 15,533 sorties, destroyed 261 enemy aircraft and won more than 850 medals.

University Librarian Ruth Jackson said UCR was pleased to assist the float designers and the West Covina foundation with their research.

“The honoring of the Tuskegee Airmen by the West Covina Rose Float Foundation with the beautiful float to be included in the 2010 Tournament of Roses Parade is another extension of national recognition and celebration of the many accomplishments of this distinguished group of African Americans during their World War II service and afterwards,” she said. “The unique role of the airmen and airwomen who broke race barriers in military aviation history and other areas of flight in later years, including commercial aviation and ultimately space flight, will be beneficial for minorities and the fabric of the nation for generations to come.”

The West Covina float – the city’s 12th consecutive entry in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade – will include 16 of the original Tuskegee Airmen as riders. The riders and their cities of residence are: Harlan Leonard, Riverside; Isham “Rusty” Burns, Palm Desert; Dr. Robert McCoy (Rocky) Higginbotham, Rancho Mirage; Theodore Lumpkin, Los Angeles; Wilbert (Bill) Johnson, Los Angeles; Col. Louis Hill, Los Angeles; Mitchell Higginbotham, Dana Point; Oliver “Ollie” Goodall, Jr., Altadena; Clarence (Red) Finley, Los Angeles; Jerry Hodges, Los Angeles; Larry E. (Boon) Brown, Sacramento ; Dr. Thurston Gaines, Sun City West, Ariz.; Robert Ashby, Sun City West, Ariz.; Dr. Granville (Duke) Coggs, San Antonio, Texas; Col. Charles E. McGee, Bethesda, Md.; and Alexander Jefferson, Detroit, Mich.

The Western Region Tuskegee Airmen Archive includes oral history interviews with various of the airmen who will be riding on the float, including an interview with Goodall that can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/ucrwrtaa. The archive also includes the papers of Mitchell Higginbotham which can be viewed, in part, online at http://library.ucr.edu/content/tuskegee/findingaids/higginbotham.xml.

The archive, established in 2004, gathers the personal papers of pilots, mechanics, bombardiers and others who were part of the Tuskegee experience from their military service through careers as doctors, lawyers, judges, nurses, teachers, musicians and others.

“We’re interested in individual histories, not only from the Tuskegee years but also their contributions to society and their communities,” said Chuck Wilson, university archivist. “This archive is available for the public to get a better understanding of the Tuskegee experience and the people involved in it.”

UK University Offering Ph.D. Studentships & Research Awards

The School of Museum Studies at the University of Leicester, UK, is advertising six Ph.D. scholarships and awards for full- and part-time students to begin in the 2010–2011 academic year. There are two AHRC Studentships, four Museum Studies Studentships, and two Museum Studies Research Awards available. There are also a number of Graduate Teaching Assistantships. More information and details on how to apply are available at www.le.ac.uk/ms/research/PhDStudentships.html. The University of Leicester's School of Museum Studies has the highest proportion of world-leading research in any subject in any UK university, and in 2009 the University was awarded the Times Higher Education University of the Year Award.

UC EXTENDS APPLICATION DEADLINE AFTER COMPUTER GLITCH

UC EXTENDS APPLICATION DEADLINE AFTER COMPUTER GLITCH
BY LARRY GORDON | LA TIMES LA NOW BLOG

December 1, 2009 | 6:13 pm -- University of California officials have extended the admissions application period for panicked students who could not file their online applications in time for Monday night’s deadline because of a computer slowdown. The new deadline is 11:59 p.m. Wednesday (Dec. 2).

Susan Wilbur, UC’s director of undergraduate admissions, said her office was investigating the cause of the computerized malfunction, which at least temporarily blocked some last-minute filers from sending their applications in on Sunday and Monday nights. She said she did not know how many students might have been affected but said that about two-thirds of applicants wait until a week or less -- and many less than a day -- before the traditional deadline to file.

Wilbur said she regretted the slowdown and said she knew it added to the anxiety students already face in applying to UC. Her staff notified high school counselors and posted online notices about the extension and have answered many e-mails and phone calls from worried students and parents. The problem seemed to be solved Tuesday evening, but she also said the deadline could be extended again if anything else goes awry.

The extension was great news for Stephanie Duque, a Long Beach City College student who could not get the online system to accept her transfer application to seven UC campuses by Monday’s original deadline. She said she was crying with frustration and anxiety. "I lost hope and felt that’s the end of it. It was very hard," the Lynwood resident said. Then, after she learned of the extension, she was able to file Tuesday morning and felt "so relieved and happy."

By this evening, about 129,000 UC applications for freshman and transfer students had been received, compared with about 126,700 by last year’s deadline, Wilbur said. About 2,600 were submitted between 6 a.m. and about 5 p.m. today.

A similar situation and extension occurred five years ago, officials said. Wilbur said technicians recently performed "rigorous stress tests on the system" and had planned for a heavy load of applicants in the final days. "Our preliminary analysis indicates that this was not a problem of capacity, but we have not yet found the root of the problem," she said.

UC officials said applicants who experience technical difficulties can call UC's application help desk at (800) 914-8820 in California, or (925) 808-2150 outside California, or e-mail ucpath@ucapplication.net