highlandernews.org
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012
SPECIAL EDITION
ELECTIONS GUIDE 2012 ON PAGE 13
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Chancellor White holds final town hall meeting S a n dy V a n
Meet the Ballot: health care panel Cristina Granados
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
On Oct. 24, Chancellor Timothy White hosted his last town hall meeting, which included a campus overview presentation comprised of topics including Governor Jerry Brown’s Proposition 30 tax measure, the UCR Schools of Medical and Public Policy, fundraising campaign strategies, furthering research and economic development, and leadership transitions. With potential slashes of $250 million to the UC system if Proposition 30 does not pass, Chancellor White alluded to several approaches the system may take to account for the cut, including a student tuition increase of roughly 20 percent. With much at stake for the current election season, Chancellor White highlighted a memorial, signed by the UC Academic Senate, which supported funding higher education bills inclusive of Prop 30. A memorial is the highest level of communication between the UCAS and Board of Regents. UC policy prevents all staff and faculty from utilizing campus resources to express political viewpoints, with the exception of the Board of Regents, who have openly
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Chancellor White speaking at his last town hall meeting at UCR.
expressed prior support for Governor Brown’s tax measure. Failure to pass Prop 30 would result in the system’s likely pursuit of refinancing of debt, reduced operating costs, possible changes in tuition to need-based financial aid, funding adjustments for retirement programs, and staggering tuition and fee increases.
“I don’t think the increase will be that much because there will be some savings like I’ve just said, but a big chunk of this will go right on the backs of students,” stated White. In terms of the total undergraduate and graduate population, UCR has surpassed the 21,000 mark in enrollment for the first time in its history. A
goal of the UCR 2020 strategic plan, passed in 2011, includes increasing the total enrollment of graduate and professional students by 18 to 20 percent. The number of international students has doubled and the freshman class has enrolled an additional 400 undergraduates, TOWN HALL CONT’D ON PAGE 4
President Bill Clinton rallies for Democratic candidates at UCI C h r i s L o C a sc i o SENIOR STAFF WRITER
On his cross-country tour to stump for President Barack Obama and Democratic Congressional candidates, President Bill Clinton visited the UC Irvine campus for the “California’s Voice” rally on Tuesday, Oct. 23. Exactly two weeks before election day, President Clinton spoke to the crowd of over 5,000 and issued his public endorsements of candidates Mark Takano (CA-41 Riverside), Julia Brownley (CA-26 Ventura), Scott Peters (CA-52 San Diego), Raul Ruiz (CA-36 Palm Springs) and Alan Lowenthal (CA-47 South Bay). The night began with opening statements from the five Congressional candidates, each espousing their respective platforms, experience and areas of focus if elected. After being introduced by the president of the UC Irvine College Democrats Jose Quintana, Local Congressional candidate Mark Takano of the 41st District took the stage to make his case for the Orange County crowd. He invoked the
line, “Don’t boo, vote!” each time the crowd booed his characterization of the Republican party. When describing his positions against those of his opponent, he said, “It’s the choice between common sense California values, and extreme Washington ideology.” Clinton spoke for over half an hour on a variety of issues prevalent this elections season and how President Obama and the local Congressional candidates on stage would address them. “It’s very important to realize that—particularly in California, because you are the state of the future, because you represent every hope we have for living in a world of shared prosperity and shared responsibilities, a world where we embrace our diversity—we are proud of our identity but we think our common humanity matters more,” said President Clinton. “It’s really important that we get the best Congress we possibly can to make the most of the next four years and turn back the reactionary tide.” Although he spent a large portion of the CLINTON CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
W e s le y N g /HIGHLANDER Bill Clinton waves to the UC Irvine crowd.
Health care reform and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) were the primary topics of part two of the Meet the Ballot Political Speakers Series on Tuesday, Oct. 23. Panelists included Dr. Bradley Gilbert, CEO of Inland Empire Health Plan, Lisa Folberg, Vice President Medical and Regulatory Policy, California Medical Association, Dr. Rebecca Patchin, Chair on the Board of Trustees for the American Medical Association (AMA), and Dr. Michael Nduati Associate Dean of Medical Affairs of the UCR School of Medicine. After a night of discussion, the general consensus suggested needed reform to transform the ACA into a more workable policy, in terms of cost-control and extended coverage. Signed into law on March 23, 2010 by President Barack Obama, the ACA is one of the most extensive regulatory health care laws since the enactment of Medicaid in 1965. According to the moderator, Dr. Emma Simmons, many administrations have tried to do something to change the health care system but nothing has ever been done until now. “Although we have the best medical care in the whole world, we spend double, triple, what other industrialized countries do, but we fair poorly. On a [World Health Organization] list we are ranked 37 despite our spending and technology. We have a major problem for access in the country for the under and uninsured,” continued Dr. Simmons. When asked to simplify the ACA, the general consensus provided that financially-efficient health care coverage improves the overall quality and accessibility for all Americans. Dr. Patchin pointed out that some Americans would be declined coverage through their insurance providers because they forgot to mark that they had acne on their insurance application. As a result, patients would be denied life-saving HEALTH CONT’D ON PAGE 6
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