Huerta seeks reappointment
Regent Dolores Huerta, an activist who worked for farmers’
rights with Caesar Chavez and continues to defend workers and
unions, will come to the end of her term on the board this
March.
Huerta has written a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asking
to be reappointed, but she said she has not received any response
yet.
Her experience as a teacher, as well as that of guiding her 11
children through the public education system, makes her a good
regent, Huerta said.
“I think I bring a different voice to the regents and the
perspective of organized labor,” she said.
If she remains a regent, Huerta says she hopes to be an asset by
calling attention to the damage budget cuts are doing ““ which
she calls the state’s “crown jewel.”
Huerta has been a consistent advocate for students as well as
workers. Huerta said she might vote against possible student fee
increases.
“Being on the regents entails a lot of work and study,
“¦ but I would be disappointed if this was my last
meeting,” she said.
Students show off research
As the regents of the University of California entered their
meeting Thursday they passed a small group of undergraduates
standing beside colorful and information-laden posters.
UC President Robert Dynes invited these UC students to San
Francisco to share their research projects with the regents.
“A large percent of undergraduates take part in research,
and it adds something special to the UC. It connects undergrads to
the life of a scholar,” Dynes said.
One of those students was Peter Khooslabeh, a fourth-year
cognitive science student at UC Berkeley. His project, which dealt
with virtual training for ecocardiologists, is part of an honors
thesis.
Khooslabeh’s idea is to have virtual training centers for
ecocardiologists so they can get experience before practicing on
humans
“I’m funded by UCSF, and the point of this is for
the regents to see the kind of stellar research that is going on,
so funding for research won’t get cut,” he said.
UC still undecided on labs
UC leaders are keeping their options open on the nuclear weapons
labs they’ve run for years, telling administrators to get
ready to bid on management contracts, but stopping well short of
deciding whether to compete.
The regents voted to allow UC’s president, with the
agreement of the board chairman and the chair of a board committee
on the labs, to agree to contract extensions, respond to government
requests for information and hire outside experts.
The vote doesn’t commit UC to competing, but officials
called it an important first step.
“˜”˜If we compete, we want to compete to win and we
want to sweep the board,” said Robert Foley, UC vice
president for laboratory management.
In recent years, UC’s role as nuclear steward has been
shadowed by a series of management lapses at the labs, mostly
involving sloppy business practices. Last year, the Department of
Energy announced it would require bids when the Los Alamos contract
runs out in 2005.
Money for bid preparation will come from UC’s federal lab
management fees and won’t dip into the system’s state
funds.
Briefs compiled by Adam Foxman, Bruin Staff and Bruin wire
services.