:: UCLA TODAY Home

©2004
The Regents of the University of California
 

INDEX 2004

December 14, 2004 (Vol. 25, No. 7)

NEWS

BUREAU BRIEFS
TRANSPORTATION SERVICES: For 20 years, UCLA commuter vans have been taking tens of thousands to work and school, saving more than 15 million gallons of gasoline and keeping 106,769 tons of carbon dioxide from polluting our air.... NEUROPSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTE: A new study released last month examined the arrest rates of drug offenders diverted to treatment during the first six months of the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act, approved by voters in 2000 as Proposition 36.... UCLA COLLEGE: If you’ve ever been tempted to drop a friend who tended to freeload, then you have experienced a key to one of the biggest mysteries facing social scientists, suggests a study by UCLA anthropologists.

EXPERT: 'CIRCUS' TRICKS USED TO BALANCE BUDGET
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature’s first joint effort at setting California’s fiscal house in order resulted in some remarkable feats that included a “triple flip” to pay for a voter-approved bond issue and a “backflip” to make up for lost revenue from vehicle license fees, the UCLA Anderson Forecast’s Michael Bazdarich said in a recently released review

PREVENTING NUCLEAR TERRORISM
A month after the 9/11 attacks, Vice President Dick Cheney and several hundred government officials evacuated Washington, D.C., in response to a CIA report that Al Qaeda had smuggled a small, Hiroshima-style atomic bomb into the country.

NEWS 2

CAMPUS BRIEFS
SUPER SAVERS: More than 5,000 UC employees enrolled in the new 457(b) plan when it took effect Oct. 1.... A TIMELY REMINDER: A reminder from Facilities Management: When you leave for the winter closure, Dec. 24, 2004, through Jan. 2, 2005, don’t forget to help UCLA cut energy costs by turning off lights, equipment and thermostats and closing all windows and exterior doors.... THE NEXT OC?: In a continuing effort to find new talent to support year-round programming, Fox has teamed with the School of Theater, Film and Television in an unprecedented classroom project.... CLARIFICATION: In the Nov. 23, 2004, issue of UCLA Today, a photograph from the movie, “Philadelphia,” appeared on Page 1.

CAMPUS BICYCLISTS WILL BE ABLE TO CLEAN UP 'N' LOCK UP
UCLA isn’t just spinning its wheels when it comes to two-wheel transit. The campus is becoming more bicycle-friendly, with new racks, shower facilities for riders and storage lockers.

DID YOU KNOW?
According to a survey taken last year, 79% of attendees at UCLA Live performances have college degrees. In fact, 46% have postgraduate degrees. UCLA Live concertgoers are also getting younger. The average age has dropped from 48 to 46 since 2000.

YESTERDAY, TODAY & TOMORROW
LABOR UPDATE: The University is working toward ensuring that all eligible employees will be able to participate in the 2004-05 Bonus Leave Program, which was created as one of several ways employees who have not received a general salary increase this year can be recognized and rewarded.... ON PARADE: Analia Quintanar, 19, who received a kidney from her identical twin, Liliana, at UCLA, will ride with her sister on a float in the Tournament of Roses on Jan. 1 to represent the many families who have benefited from the gift of organ and tissue donation.... A PERFECT EVENING: Each year, the Alumni Association sponsors Dinners for 12 Strangers as a way to help personalize the UCLA experience.

PEOPLE

HE JUGGLES TEACHING WITH TRAVEL
Jens Lindemann doesn’t need to blow his own horn. At least not figuratively.
The celebrated trumpet soloist is definitely in demand and has played in practically every major concert venue in the world, from New York and London to Berlin and Tokyo. He has appeared internationally as an orchestral soloist, recorded with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, played lead trumpet with the renowned Canadian Brass and even served as official trumpeter for the National Hockey League Stanley Cup finals.

A LONG, BUT NEVER LONELY, ROAD
In the 20 years that Dan Bethel has been behind the wheel of a UCLA commuter van, he has spent countless hours with passengers who have become like family.

15 SECONDS
MARK ALLEYNE: Associate Director, Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies.

NAMES AND FACES
Honors: Roger Corman ... America's Top Doctors ... Joyce Appleby.
Kudos: Nikki Keddie ... Sylvia Hurtado.
In Memoriam: Yvette Johnson ... Tom Fitzgerald.

CAMPUS

CAMPUSWIDE EVENTS FOCUS ON WORLD AIDS PANDEMIC
Hundreds of students turned out for free HIV tests in Bruin Plaza on Dec. 1 as UCLA marked World AIDS Day with music, marching and educational programs.

EXPERTS EVALUATE HOMELAND SECURITY
When New York City and the Pentagon were attacked on Sept. 11, 2001, many Americans thought back to Pearl Harbor, a day of infamy recalled annually on Dec. 7. It was, therefore, no coincidence that this past Dec. 7, lawmakers in Washington pushed for the passage of a new intelligence bill aimed at drastically overhauling the nation’s security apparatus.

LANGUAGE PARTNERS
Growing up in a household with a Swedish-speaking mother and brother, Orange County native Kris Fricke hoped to pick up the language in college. But he ended up an international relations major at UC Davis, which doesn’t offer Swedish.

'ROUND AND ABOUT
A GREAT START: Start the new year motivated. The 2005 UCLA Women’s Conference, set for Jan. 29 at Covel Commons, will present women leaders from diverse fields and professions who will talk about careers, investment strategies, business ownership, and motivation and inspiration in times of change.... STAR LAUNCH: Actress Diane Keaton recently hosted an evening of tequila-tasting and hors d’oeuvres at her Bel Air home to launch the building of a $50-million endowment for UCLA’s surgeons.... HATS OFF: Winners of the 2005 UCLA Alumni Awards were recently announced by Assistant Vice Chancellor of Alumni Relations Keith Brant.... EXPLORING CHILDHOOD: The UCLA Graduate Division and the Foundation for Psychocultural Research will present “Four Dimensions of Childhood: Brain, Mind, Culture, and Time,” a conference that will explore the interaction of social experiences and neurobiology during childhood and their mutual influence on resilience and mental well-being.

VOICES

STEMMING THE TIDE OF NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION
Since Sept. 11, 2001, Americans have focused on securing our homeland against terrorism. But not all forms of terrorist threats are equal. The gravest by far is that posed by the use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), which comprise nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. And of these, only nuclear weapons threaten the very survival of our nation. Accordingly, highest priority should be given to preventing the further spread of nuclear-weapons capabilities.

WHAT'S ON MY MIND:
WHY MORE DIVERSITY MATTERS AT UCLA
The UCLA College of Arts and Letters faculty are currently deciding whether or not to institute a diversity requirement for undergraduates. For many who remember the debates in the early 1990s, when UCLA chose — alone among the UCs — not to establish a diversity requirement, this will seem oddly familiar. But the requirement now being considered is a substantial improvement over its predecessors, in large part because the groundwork has been much more carefully prepared.