Officers’ names can be released in UC Davis incident, judge rules

Siding with the Los Angeles Times and Sacramento Bee, an Alameda County Superior Court judge Tuesday ordered the release of the names of UC Davis police officers that were removed from a critical report on the pepper-spraying of student protesters, reports the L.A. Times.

The newspapers sued the UC Regents last month under the California Public Records Act to compel release of the names –- all but two of which had been withheld under a settlement agreement in a separate case.

In that case, Judge Evelio Grillo had disagreed with the police officers’ union that significant swaths of the report pertaining to officer conduct should be withheld from the public. But he had allowed for the redaction of most names after the union asserted that those officers would probably face harassment. On Tuesday, Grillo said his earlier injunction did not apply to information sought under the California Public Records Act and ordered the policy report –- written by a task force headed by former state Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso –- released in its entirety.…Read More

Watch: Nation’s largest zero net energy community unveiled at UC Davis

On Saturday, UC Davis held a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the opening of West Village — the University’s new student, faculty and staff housing facility that is now the nation’s largest zero net energy community, the Huffington Post reports. Utilizing energy generated by solar panels and a series of green initiatives, West Village will produce the same amount of energy it uses. The center, a $280 million project, features solar panels, smart grids, ventilation systems and high-efficiency electric heat pump heating and cooling systems. And according to UC Davis, they are popular as ever. Student Lauren Levenson said that next year when the apartments become available, most of her friends will be relocating to West Village…

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Some colleges have second thoughts on Gmail

Sixty percent of colleges that outsource eMail services use Gmail, according to a 2009 survey.
Sixty percent of colleges that outsource eMail services use Gmail, according to a 2009 survey.

A small-scale backlash against Google’s free eMail service and applications has included at least three prominent universities this year, after many colleges had begun moving to the outsourced Gmail system to save money and simplify support.

The cloud-based eMail system has appealed to college students since Google launched its campus Gmail pilot in 2004, educators said, and Google officials maintain that colleges continued to adopt Gmail even as negative headlines circulated this spring.

More than 8 million K-12 and college students use Gmail and Google Apps, according to the company.…Read More

Racial insensitivity roils University of California system

A series of racially charged events has rocked University of California campuses, causing many to wonder if racism is alive and well amoung the young and educated.
A series of racially charged events has rocked University of California campuses, causing many to wonder if racism is alive and well among the young and educated.

Swastikas, nooses, a KKK-style hood, and a student-run TV show featuring offensive racial epithets: An ugly spate of racially charged incidents has occurred across several University of California campuses over the past month, causing consternation, outcry, and fear that bigotry is alive and well among the young and educated.

Students have protested and administrators have condemned the actions, but the question remains: What lies behind the sudden parade of prejudice—a growing climate of insensitivity on campuses, or a bunch of immature kids yearning for peer acceptance and attention?

“My guess is some of all of those things,” said interim UC Provost Lawrence H. Pitts. “I’d like to believe it’s really an extreme minority. It does suggest there’s some underlying feeling of intolerance in our community.”…Read More