VOLUME 47, ISSUE 33
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2014
www.ucsdguardian.org
UC SYSTEM
athletics
chasing the higgs boson
AFSCME 3299 Votes to Authorize New Strike
photo from ucsdmag.ucsd.edu
UCSD physics professor Vivek Sharma shares the story behind his hunt for the Higgs boson, commonly known as the “God Particle.”
WINNING WAYS The UCSD softball team won its second conference series of the season 3–1 against Chico State last weekend Friday, Feb. 14 and Saturday, Feb. 15.
"Golden" Girl
BIKINI PROFITS GO TO CHARITY FEATURES, PAGE 8
Six Straight Swim wins conference Title sports, Page 12
FORECAST
See Prisons, page 3
See Strike, page 3
photo by austin song / guardian
Tuesday Wednesday H 68 L 48
H 66 L 46
Thursday H 81 L 46
“
Friday
H 79 L 48
VERBATIM
Although thinking of oneself as the underdog can occasionally lead to gloriously inspirational David and Goliath moments, the blow to selfconfidence usually results in less effort and mediocre results. ”
- Kelvin Noronha Thinking Caps Opinion, PAGE 4
INSIDE Lights and Sirens............. 3 Retraction ....................... 5 Project LOVE.................... 7 Crossword..................... 11 Sports............................ 12
San Diego
City Pays Thousands to Settle Filner Lawsuit San Diego is responsible for a $250,000 settlement to the victim of the former mayor’s sexual harassment.
T
BY Aleksandra Konstantinovic
he city of San Diego is set to pay $250,000 to settle a lawsuit with the first woman to publicly accuse former mayor Bob Filner of sexual harassment. Irene McCormack-Jackson served as Filner’s communications director from January to June 2013 before publicizing his inappropriate behavior, which included asking her to go to work without panties, demanding kisses and dragging her in a headlock. She has been represented by attorney Gloria Allred. Filner resigned in August of last year after 17 more women came out to accuse him of harassment and pled guilty to one felony count of false imprisonment and two misdemeanor counts of battery.
Associate News Editor
He will serve three months of home confinement starting Jan. 1; however, he is not responsible for any of the money owed to McCormack. After the allegations became public, the San Diego City Council agreed to pay Filner’s legal fees in exchange for his resignation. The city’s attorney, Jan Goldsmith negotiated the lawsuit, which holds the city responsible as Filner’s employer. “Nothing will come out of [Filner’s] pocket. This is the city’s responsibility under the settlement,” Goldsmith told NBC San Diego. “Both sides won because we resolved it early,, before a year of very expensive litigation plus a trial at the end.” See FILNER, page 3
CALIFORNIA
Deadline Delayed for Prisoner Releases California now has until 2016 to decrease state prison population by 1,000 inmates. BY Karen To
Staff Writer
Three federal judges recently gave Governor Jerry Brown a two-year extension to resolve California’s overcrowding prison crisis — an order originally mandated by the federal court in June 2013 to resolve by 2014. The extension is one of several Gov. Brown has received by the federal court to reduce California’s prison populations. He requested a three-year extension in Sept. 2013, which was rejected, but was granted a four-week extension to reduce prison populations by 8 percent. In Dec. 2013, the prison-reduction order was extended once again to April 18. Under the mandates of the recent extension, he has until February 2016
to meet the requirements set for California to lower its prison population by 1000 inmates. “It is encouraging that the ThreeJudge Court has agreed to a two-year extension,” Brown said in a statement on Feb. 10. “The state now has the time and resources necessary to help inmates become productive members of society and make our communities safer.” The judges demand to see prison populations reduced to 1,000 by the end of June 2014, with eligibility for parole given to elderly prisoners and those who have serious mental health issues first. A lawsuit was also filed against California by 33,000 prisoners, accusing the state of providing inadequate treatments for prisoners with mental
Associate News Editor
illnesses. Director of the nonprofit, Prison Law Office, Don Specter, who represents the prisoners in the lawsuit, is discontented with the failure of the state to cap prison populations by May 2014. “We’re very disappointed,” Specter said in a Feb. 10 ABC news article. “We believe that there are substantial constitutional violations continuing right now which result in prisoners suffering and dying because of prison overcrowding.” Currently, over 117,000 inmates are crowded into facilities built to originally maintain 81,600 residents. An additional 12,200 prisoners are incarcerated in private facilities in
clearing the air
opinion, Page 4
BY Mekala Neelakantan
Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees 3299 union and UC Patient Care Technical workers have once again authorized a UC-wide strike against allegedly unfair wage contracts on Feb. 14. The authorization follows a threeday strike vote Feb. 11 through Feb. 13 by union bargaining members. The announcement — garnering 96 percent in support from the service workers units — marks the third AFSCME union strike to occur in the last 12 months. Workers previously protested in September and May at the UC Office of the President in Oakland after nearly unanimous votes, citing unfair practices in safe staffing standards and demanding wage increases due to an expired contract yet to be renewed by the UC system. The 8,300 Services Workers and 13,000 Patient Care Technical Workers under the AFSCME 3299 banner make up the lowest paid workers — including nurses, sanitation workers and EMT specialists — in the UC system and have been negotiating higher wage settlements with the UC system for over a year. “Our members seek a fair settlement, and this vote makes it clear that UC’s final offer fails to meet that standard,” UC Service worker and AFSCME 3299 Bargaining Team Member Jose Mendez said in a union release on Feb. 14. “The ball is now in UC’s court. We hope they will change course and finally choose to work towards an agreement that addresses our core issues and honors our contributions to the university. If not, our members are prepared to strike.” According to the AFSCME website and union spokesperson Todd Stenhouse, members have also demonstrated concern at unfairness between negotiations and offers provided to other UC unions employees. “The question is going to be, at what point are they going to come to the table with fair offers for our priorities?” Stenhouse said. Many state and union leaders also expressed support for a contract resolution between the UC system and AFSCME 3299 workers, including California Lieutenant Governor and UC Regent Gavin Newsom. “After years of giving huge salaries to executives, it is time for the [University of California] to show its lowest paid workers that they are a valued part of the UC family,” Newsom said in a recent tweet. However, representatives of the
FeATURES, PAGE 6
CVS ends tobacco sales
Over 96 percent of the union’s members support striking for the third time in the last twelve months.