CAMPUS
The Armenian Student Association and sorority Alpha Gamma Alpha hosted a four-day-long commemoration of the Armenian Genocide from Apr. 24 to 28. The 102nd anniversary of the genocide fell on Apr. 24. Accompanied by a candlelight vigil, movie screenings, and times to share stories, poetry, and dance, the groups organized the events to teach others about Armenian history. Students put a collapsible version of the Armenian Genocide memorial complex located in Yerevan, Armenia, in front of Storke Tower.
Black Lives Matter movement co-founder Alicia Garza spoke at Campbell Hall on Wednesday in a talk titled “Black Liberation: The Rose That Grew From Concrete.” In her talk, Garza not only touched on the facts and misconceptions surrounding the BLM movement, but also addressed the 2012 Black Student Union demands and called for the university to follow up with their promises.
Some changes are coming to the Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District that could affect Isla Vista, the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Santa Barbara City College. According to SBCC’s newspaper, The Channels, bus-lines 12x/24x and 15x will see a decrease and increase in service, respectively. Additionally, student ID cards used to get onto buses may soon come with digital chips as SBMTD switches to new fareboxes. “Eventually, with the student ID’s, you won’t have to get a sticker and you’ll just be able to tap it onto the top [of the farebox],” Hillary Blackerby told The Channels.
COUNTY
Hundreds of Santa Barbara locals participated in the People’s Climate March last Saturday to “support global climate agreements and take a stand against increased oil development in Santa Barbara County,” the event’s website reads. The event began at SBCC at noon, after which attendees marched to Shoreline Park and back. The march coincided with a national event in Washington D.C. as well as numerous similar demonstrations worldwide in which demonstrators demanded clean energy initiatives and climate change action. Many attendees at the Santa Barbara march signed postcards to call on the county Board of Supervisors to deny new oil projects, Noozhawk reports.
The Islamic Society of Santa Barbara hosted a ceremony on Sunday to give thanks to the community and commemorate the construction of their new mosque and community center, which is expected to be completed in Summer 2018, Noozhawk reports. The $4 million project is located adjacent to the Stow House on Los Carneros Rd. in Goleta, where the ceremony occurred last weekend. The Islamic Society originally purchased the land 16 years ago, and it will be the first Islamic center located between San Luis Obispo and Ventura. The new center will be used for prayer, classes, and community and interfaith activities.
STATE
One person died and seven others were injured in a mass shooting near the UC San Diego campus on Sunday, the UCSD Triton reports. The shooter — identified as 49-year-old Peter Solis, a white male — opened fire at the pool area of the La Jolla Crossroads apartment complex, where he was a resident. He pointed his gun at three police officers upon their arrival and was shot dead immediately after, according to the Times of San Diego. Of the eight victims, seven were hit by gunfire, including four African American females, two African American males, and one Hispanic male. The eighth victim, an African American male, broke his arm as he fled the scene, the Triton reports. Whether the shooter knew the victims is currently unknown.
Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson proposed a bill that would prohibit oil drilled in federal waters — just three miles offshore from California, including in the Santa Barbara channel — from being transported to land, the Independent reports. The bill was a response to President Trump’s recent executive order to reverse policies enacted during the Obama administration and “encourage energy exploration and production,” i.e. offshore drilling. “Why should we go back to the dirty, dangerous, and destructive policies of the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s?” Jackson said last Friday. “This is not a step forward but a step backward.”