CAMPUS
A UCSB freshman is suing the university after being indefinitely suspended following his arrest last August, the Independent reports. The student was arrested after he allegedly hit his girlfriend in San Diego. Although all criminal charges have been dropped and the woman has admitted to falsely accusing the student, UCSB Judicial Affairs has begun an investigation of the incident. The student has been suspended and barred from entering campus until the case is adjudicated; therefore, he is still unable to begin his freshman year at UCSB. The student’s attorney took the case to the Santa Barbara County Superior Court, arguing that the university has surpassed the 60-day maximum that Title IX allots for cases such as these.
The UCSB Mental Health Peer Program is hosting its second Mental Health Town Hall this Thursday in Embarcadero Hall to raise awareness of mental health needs in the campus community, according to the event’s Facebook page. Students are encouraged to attend to voice their concerns, evaluate current efforts, and share their ideas about the future of mental health resources on campus.
Solar panels are in the process of being installed on the roof of the San Clemente Villages parking structure, lot 50. This is one of five solar projects underway on campus — Robertson Gym, parking lot 38, and the parking structures at Mesa Rd. and Elings Hall are also part of this solar panel installation project. Together, all five groups of solar panels will be able to generate approximately five megawatts of energy, or 11-12 percent of the campus’s annual electricity use, the UCSB Current reported last September. Parking lot 50 will experience a scheduled electrical outage on Wednesday due to the ongoing work.
UCSB students and county locals participated in a protest against “dirty oil” last Thursday at Storke Tower. “Dirty oil,” the Independent reports, is a term used to represent unclean fossil fuel drilling techniques such as offshore fracking. The protest was hosted by Fossil Free UCSB, the Santa Barbara Student Activist Network, CALPIRG, Food and Water Watch, and the Environmental Affairs Board.
ISLA VISTA
Students will be unveiling a mural at 6696 Del Playa Dr. in Isla Vista this Thursday from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. to celebrate their work from the Urban Art Workshop, a class taught by Gabriel Cardenas last fall. The artist, students, the property owner, and community members will be discussing the mural and its impact on Isla Vista. Food and beverages from local businesses will be provided.
The Catalyst Literary Arts Magazine will be hosting a launch party in celebration of their tenth issue this Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Coffee Collaborative in Isla Vista. The party will showcase local artists with performances of live music and spoken word, poetry and prose readings, displays of original art, and handmade jewelry for sale. Free copies of the tenth issue will also be distributed.
COUNTY
Recent storms have exposed seven old oil wellheads on Summerland Beach, the Independent reports. Last week a team of surveyors assessed the wellheads—including two of which that were visibly leaking thick crude onto the shore—coinciding with ongoing efforts to properly cap the “legacy wells,” nearshore oil wells dating back 100 years that have since been abandoned.
NATIONAL
Last week, the U.S. Peace Corps included three UC campuses— UC Santa Barbara, UC Los Angeles, and UC Davis—in its list of Top 20 Volunteer-Producing Colleges and Universities. The Peace Corps provides service opportunities for volunteers to “immerse themselves in a community abroad” to tackle the “most pressing challenges of our generation,” according to the organization’s website. The University of California website reports that the public service of University of California, students, faculty, and staff has helped move California to the number one state represented by Peace Corps volunteers.