CAMPUS
Students approached the Associated Students Senate at its Wednesday, April 13 meeting to request funding and address the issue of free speech, in conjunction with an April 7 town hall on the controversial chalk messages that appeared on campus at the start of spring quarter. “The way that [free speech] is being enforced is not content-neutral, ” said fourth-year political science major Jason Garshfield.
The Sin Fronteras (Without Borders) 2016 IDEAS Conference, hosted by UCSB IDEAS, was held in Corwin Pavilion on Saturday, April 16, with dozens of high school and college-age participants from the greater Santa Barbara area and the Central Coast. The day-long conference sought to inform participants on a myriad of resources including the California Dream Act, scholarships and community organizing through various workshops and presentations.
The UCSB Engineering Student Council hosted the annual department wide Geek Week event from Monday, April 11 through Friday, April 15. The week-long competition between the five engineering departments included dodgeball tournaments and trivia fights. The mechanical engineering department took home the first place prize this year.
ISLA VISTA
The Isla Vista Recreation and Parks District board members passed a motion on Thursday, April 14 directing General Manager Rodney Gould to collaborate with Adopt-A-Block in implementing a Cigarette Litter Prevention Program, according to their meeting minutes. AAB Supervisor Adam Port and his staff secured a $5,000 grant from the nonprofit organization Keep America Beautiful. The motion passed 4-0. A June 1 deadline was set for the implementation of the program.
Community members opposed the first phases of the Isla Vista Safe Committee’s rebranding effort for the unincorporated community at a meeting held Thursday afternoon to gather feedback from I.V. locals on the project for the first time. Though crime rates have decreased since the start of the county-driven campaign, many stakeholders argued that its singular focus on safety measures could further reinforce negative perceptions of I.V. among the public.
LOCAL/STATE
The University of California Office of the President recently announced plans to reform investigations and punishments for faculty members who commit sexual assault. On April 17, President Janet Napolitano announced plans to implement maintaining permanent personnel records on faculty members accused and confidential advocates specifically for such cases, among others. The move comes in response to multiple recent cases of sexual harassment at UC Berkeley.