031016

Page 1

VOLUME 49, ISSUE 40

THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2016

WWW.UCSDGUARDIAN.ORG

UC SYSTEM

A.S. ELECTION

FASHION OR FA-SHUNNED

Slates Face Grievances for Violating Election Code One complaint charges Tritons United with listing false information on its campaign materials. BY Jacky To AND TINA BUTOIU

PHOTO BY KENJI BENNETT /GUARDIAN

AS STUDENTS, WE HAVE A DISTINCT STYLE — AFTER ALL, WE ARE THE ONLY ONES TO ROCK UCSD SWEATSHIRTS. THE GUARDIAN UNCOVERS THE TYPICAL UCSD CLOSET WITH LOOKS MODELED BY OUR EDITOR IN CHIEF. WEEKEND, PAGE 6

JUSTIFIED DIVESTMENT

DENIAL OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE OPINION, PAGE 4

WATER POLO WINS Improve record to 13-6 sports, Page 12

FORECAST

THURSDAY H 68 L 57

SATURDAY H 63 L 55

FRIDAY

H 65 L 56

SUNDAY

University Spent $1 Billion on Hedge Fund Fees By Jacky To

T

he University of California’s largest labor union American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 released a study in which it found that the university paid over $1 billion in fees to hedge fund managers over the last 12 years. In the research paper, titled “Missing the Mark: How Hedge Fund Investments at University of California Shortchange Students, Staff and California Taxpayers,” AFSCME Local 3299 reports that the S&P 500 Index outperformed the university’s hedge fund investments by over 52 percent. Furthermore, the university could have earned approximately $783 million more by investing its hedge fund assets in its UC Retirement Plan and General Endowment Pool portfolios instead. AFSCME Local 3299 spokesman Todd Stenhouse argued to the UCSD Guardian that his organization’s research questions the validity of every call for financial austerity the university has made over the last 12 years, many of which came at the expense of UC students and workers. “Between 2003 and 2015, your tuition tripled, student services were dramatically cut, staff was cut and employees

H 64 L 58

VERBATIM

DON’T FORGET TO CELEBRATE

THE MIDDLE OF FINALS WEEK BY PARTICIPATING IN THE CAMPUSWIDE UNDIE RUN. AS YOU SPRINT ACROSS CAMPUS, IMAGINE THAT EACH ARTICLE OF CLOTHING YOU JOYOUSLY FLING ASIDE, REPRESENTS THE ACADEMIC BAGGAGE OF EACH PAPER AND TEST.”

- Rise Above Finals HOW-TO GURU:

OPINION, PAGE 4

INSIDE STRESS .......................... 2 TURKEY EDITORIAL ......... 4 KNIGHT OF CUPS ............ 9 CROSSWORD/SUDOKU.. 10 BASEBALL SPLIT TWO... 12

News Editor took huge cuts to their retirement,” Stenhouse said. “All that time, we were told by the university, ‘It’s the problem of state divestment, it’s the problem of the recession, our students pay below-market in-state tuition rates.’ Well, this study essentially calls that all into question.” Furthermore, A.S. President Dominick Suvonnasupa disagreed with investing in hedge funds when the university already has employees who were hired to manage its investments. “It doesn’t make sense to me that we’re paying people to overlook [the university’s finances] and also paying a hedge fund on the side, especially if the returns are lagging behind regular indexes,” Suvonnasupa told the Guardian. Though the study’s findings exhibit a trend in UC hedge fund investments, UC Office of the President media specialist Kate Moser called into question the relevance of the information the study is based on, considering that the university is currently looking to shift its investment focus away from hedge funds. “The data used [in the study] predates the tenure of Chief Investment Officer Jagdeep Singh Bachher,” Moser

See HEDGE, page 3

UC DAVIS

State Legislator Calls for Chancellor to Resign The administrator took a Board position at DeVry, a for-profit school under federal investigation. BY Lauren holt

STAFF WRITER Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) called for the resignation of UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi last Friday for serving on the Board of Directors of both DeVry University and textbook publisher John Wiley and Sons. In his press release, McCarty stated that Katehi’s choice to serve on outside boards was inappropriate because DeVry’s and Wiley’s interests both conflict with those of her students. “It is unseemly for the chancellor to be moonlighting side deals to fatten her bank account, especially when it runs contrary to the interests of our students who are strapped with decades of student debt to pay for the high costs of textbooks and other

education expenses,” McCarty said. After receiving criticism for accepting the position on Feb. 22, Katehi resigned from the DeVry board on March 1. The controversy came in part because DeVry is currently facing accusations of publicizing false graduate employment and income statistics. However, it was not until the Sacramento Bee uncovered her involvement with John Wiley and Sons on March 3 that McCarty asked for her resignation as Chancellor. In a press release issued last Friday, Katehi offered no explanation for why she joined either board, but she did apologize for her actions, promising to donate the $200,000 she earned from her Wiley stocks back to UC Davis. “I take my responsibilities as chancellor of UC Davis, and to the entire University of California, very

seriously and sincerely regret having accepted service on boards that create appearances of conflict with my deep commitment to serve UC Davis and its students,” Katehi stated. “I have resigned from the DeVry board and intend to donate all the stock proceeds I made from serving on the John Wiley and Sons board to a scholarship fund for UC Davis students.” According to the Sac Bee, in addition to her annual Chancellor salary of $424,360, Katehi received $420,000 from her seat on the Wiley board in stocks and income between 2012 and 2014. Her Security and Exchange Commission’s filings also indicate that she made $70,000 annually in income and $100,000 in stocks from the DeVry board. See CHANCELLOR, page 3

Tritons United — one of the two A.S. Election slates — currently faces a grievance for allegedly campaigning for Joey Giltner as their presidential candidate despite Giltner not being registered for the election. The bylaw in question is Election Code §4.1.b.2, which states that “Information intended to mislead or deceive voters as to the mechanics of the election shall not be written on any campaign material.” The grievance — which can be found on the A.S. Election website’s “Complaints Listing” — was filed by a student named Eric Ramirez. Attached to the grievance are four screenshots of Facebook posts from Tritons United and Joey Giltner that either imply or explicitly state that he is running for A.S. Council President. Joey Giltner confirmed that he did not end up filing to be a presidential candidate but the slate had already ordered and printed materials with his name on it. He stated that Tritons United is aware of the claims and is currently addressing the alleged violations. In addition, Giltner discussed how Tritons United is willing to work with anyone to resolve any concerns that they have. “I am apologetic if people are confused,” Giltner told the UCSD Guardian. “All of our contact information is up there [on the website] and I wish they would’ve contacted us before [they filed the grievance.] We’re very responsive to any emails or texts that we do get. If they had questions, we would’ve loved to answer them and schedule a meeting.” However, Tritons United is currently in the process of revising its materials to emphasize the slate’s other candidates. “To combat the confusion, we’re highlighting the senators because they are the voting members on A.S. Council,” Giltner said. “They are who the school should be focusing on.” Students Determined, the opposing election slate, declined to comment on the grievance against Tritons United. The slate also faces a grievance for allegedly violating Election Code §3.5.e, which states that “If a slate wishes to reserve space on Library Walk during the campaigning period, the primary representative may reserve space through CSI/OneStop.” However, the complaint does not specifically state how the code was violated. See GRIEVANCE, page 3


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