CAMPUS
University of California, Santa Barbara chemical engineer Michelle O’Malley has been awarded the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). O’Malley is one of 105 chosen to receive the presidential award, which is the highest national honor given to a scientist or engineer at the beginning of their career.
Associated Students held a Women in Senate Forum at the Pardall Center on Fri., Feb. 26, discussing the role of women in leadership and the work that they’ve done to improve the campus over the last two quarters. First-year political science major Lesly Silva, who attended the forum, said, “It’s important to know how the school runs itself on a shared governance platform and … it’s empowering to stand in solidarity with women.”
UCSB Spoon University hosted the first ever Foodchella on Sun., Feb. 28, in front of Pardall Center. Festivities included live music from local bands The Inflatables and Savage Henry, as well as food vendors hosted by campus organizations, free cupcakes and a photo booth.
ISLA VISTA
The Isla Vista Tenants Union is planning to hire a caseworker in charge of helping I.V. residents handle issues with their living situation. The position requires the caseworker to be bilingual in English and Spanish. The caseworker would not be exclusive to UCSB students. IVTU is expecting to hire someone by the end of the current school year, according to IVTU President and fourth-year English and sociology double major Clara Perez.
The New York nonprofit organization Project for Public Spaces hosted a two-day workshop in I.V. to brainstorm efficient ways to utilize community spaces. The workshop was funded by a $20,000 grant from the Santa Barbara Foundation. UCSB professor Kim Yasuda spearheaded the workshop’s development. The events was part of the Isla Vista Creative Communities feasibility study.
LOCAL & STATE
An estimated 400 San Francisco State University students gathered at an administration-led meeting on Thurs., Feb. 24, to protest proposed budget cuts set to severely impact funds for the College of Ethnic Studies. An already depleted reserve fund coupled with budget cuts (part of a plan implemented in the 2009-2010 school year) will cause the loss of 40 percent of the College of Ethnic Studies faculty.
Five were injured and 13 arrested in a violent fight that broke out Sat., Feb. 27, at a Ku Klux Klan “walking protest” held in Anaheim, Calif. Following an initial pre-meditated attack by counter-protestors, three KKK members were stabbed by counter-protesters and hospitalized, while two others incurred minor injuries. Seven counter-protestors and six KKK members were arrested.