Tuesday, 4/8/97
Community Briefs
UC regent faces confirmation difficulties
The Senate will reject Gov. Pete Wilson’s reappointment of
former state Republican Party chairman Tirso del Junco to the
University of California Board of Regents if Wilson refuses to
withdraw the nomination, Senate leader Bill Lockyer said
Monday.
Lockyer also said several other Wilson appointments, including
his selection of former Assemblyman Trice Harvey to sit on the
Agricultural Labor Relations Board, could face tough confirmation
votes.
"Del Junco is the most likely to be turned down and then
probably Trice Harvey,” said Lockyer, D-Hayward.
Lockyer said the Senate’s Democratic majority had decided to
oppose Del Junco, who was GOP state chairman twice, in 1981-82 and
1993-94.
Lockyer described Del Junco, the current chairman of the Board
of Regents, as a highly partisan appointee who has voted to raise
student fees, disregarded positions taken by faculty and students
and "caused much of the dissension within the regents."
Del Junco was part of the board majority that voted in 1995 to
scrap the university’s affirmative action programs, a move that has
been sharply criticized by many Democratic lawmakers.
Lockyer said he had suggested that the governor withdraw the
appointment before the Senate votes, probably later this month or
in May.
Wilson spokesman Sean Walsh called Lockyer’s criticism of del
Junco "pure partisan politics."
"Mr. del Junco has been confirmed in the past as a regent when
Democrats controlled both houses of the Legislature. He has twice
been confirmed nationally by two Democratic Congresses as a postal
commissioner," Walsh said.
"The statements (Lockyer) is making are not held up by the
facts. … How do you explain the fact that the majority of regents
elected (del Junco) as their chair?"
Del Junco, a Cuban-born Los Angeles physician, has served on the
Board of Regents since 1985.
Daily Bruin named best university paper
The UCLA Daily Bruin was named the best overall college daily
newspaper by two separate press associations in the last week.
Calling The Bruin "clearly the best," the Society of
Professional Journalists (SPJ) deemed The Bruin the top college
daily in four states. SPJ also recognized Bruin reporters for best
in-depth reporting in the same region.
UC Berkeley’s Daily Californian took second place in the overall
competition, while the Stanford Daily placed third in the SPJ
competition.
The California Intercollegiate Press Association (CIPA) named
The Bruin the top finisher in its "General Excellence" category.
The Bruin’s Arts & Entertainment section was named the best in
the state, while the Sports and Viewpoint sections both took
third.
"The recognition of our progress is encouraging," said Daily
Bruin Editor in Chief Patrick Kerkstra. "We’ve worked hard this
year to become a more consistent, even-handed and informative
newspaper. This sort of showing tells us we’re moving in the right
direction."
The Santa Barbara Daily Nexus was named the second-best overall
paper by CIPA, while the Daily Californian finished third. CIPA
also awarded the Daily Californian with top honors for overall news
and sports coverage.
"There is some excellent journalism being done at colleges
throughout California," Kerkstra said. "The awards are particularly
gratifying when compared to the quality of work out there."
Individual Bruin staffers were also recognized at CIPA for
excellence in investigative reporting, spot-news reporting, human
interest writing, sports reporting, photography, design and several
other categories.
The Bruin, which was competing with more than 30 other news
organizations, took home more awards then any other
publication.
Compiled from Bruin staff and wire reports