VOLUME 49, ISSUE 1
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2014
WWW.UCSDGUARDIAN.ORG
TRANSPORTATION
BANNED BOOKS AT UCSD
UNIVERSITY CENTERS
New Gilman Transit Center Arsonists Begins MTS Bus Service May Pay Triton U-Pass UCSD Universal Transit Pass Program Fall 2014 - Spring 2015: quarterly U-Pass stickers Starting fall 2015: U-Pass incorporated into student ID card technology Provides access to all regional mass transit bus and trolley/light rail routes provided by MTS and NCTD Excludes the NCTD Coaster Train and MTS Rural (891, 892 and 894) and Rapid Express routes (270, 280 and 290) Where to get your U-Pass Sticker: Between Gilman Parking Office and Pepper Canyon Hall or Library Walk outside bookstore, 8am-6pm (through Oct. 3) Gilman Parking Office, 7am-8am and 6pm-7pm (through Oct. 3) Valid through Dec. 31, 2014
PHOTO BY KIM GARCIA
UCSD Library will host a readout event in front of Geisel Library and a screening of “Fahrenheit 451” in the Seuss Room Oct. 1 for Banned Books Week in order to celebrate freedom of information. features, PAGE 8
A TRITON TRADITION
sun god needs to stay
PHOTO BY SIDDHARTHE ARTE/ GUARDIAN
opinion, Page 4
GRIZZLIES COME TO RIMAC nba squad to practice at ucsd sports, page 13
FORECAST
WEDNESDAY THURSDAY H 81 L 64
H 86 L 64
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
H 90 L 65
H 91 L 66
BY andrew huang
A
s the first of several planned transportation projects for the UCSD campus, the Gilman Transit Center became fully operational on Monday, Sept. 15, and features larger bus depots and dedicated bike lanes to better serve commuters in the UCSD area. Replacing the previous stops at Myers Drive and Russell Lane, the center contains four new bus turnouts and several queuing areas. It serves Metropolitan Transit System Routes 30, 41, 150 and 921, as well as MTS SuperLoop Routes 201 and 202 and North County Transit District Route 101. According to a Sept. 12 campuswide email from Associate Vice Chancellor of Strategic Campus Resources Initiatives Brian Gregory, the center will also open service to MTS Rapid 237 on Oct. 13 and all UCSD campus shuttles beginning on Sept. 29. Until then, campus shuttle riders can utilize temporary stops near Mandeville Lane.
senior staff writer Additional features will be added by the 2015 Winter Quarter, including permanent lighting, guardrails and shade canopies. The San Diego Association of Governments first announced the project on May 22, and construction began on June 16. Director of Marketing and Communications Laura Margoni told the UCSD Guardian that the biggest challenge for SANDAG was the accelerated schedule set by UCSD. “UC San Diego requested that [SANDAG] build the project during the summer quarter to minimize construction impacts on campus, which is approximately half the typical construction time for a project of this size,” Margoni said. She added that the operation’s success was due to extensive coordination between the teams involved and its phased construction plan. Its completion coincides with the introduction
See BUSES, page 3
“
VERBATIM
...though some may perceive the Council as little more than a financier of pizza parties, it would be a mistake for anyone to think it ends there.”
- Soren Nelson
POINT OF ORDER OPINION, PAGE 8
INSIDE Lights and Sirens............. 3 Letter from the Editor....... 5 New to the Tube............... 6 Calendar........................ 15 Triton Fall Preview......... 16
FACULTY
VCSA Reconvenes Sun God Task Force Juan Gonzalez replaces previous Vice Chancellor — Student Affairs Alex Houston BY jacky to
staff writer Dr. Juan Gonzalez began performing his duties as the new Vice Chancellor – Student Affairs effective Sept. 1. Chancellor Khosla announced that Gonzalez would fill the position formerly held by Alan Houston on June 18. As VCSA, Gonzalez’s responsibilities at UCSD include the development, assessment and improvement of services that meet and support the needs of students and the university’s mission. Gonzalez reconvened the Sun God Task Force, previously headed by Houston. The task
force was charged with the task of analyzing data such as number of arrests and hospitalizations from previous festivals and making recommendations to improve aspects of the Sun God festival, such as student safety. The task force published their most recent report on August 31. Gonzalez reassembled the task force at a time when the future of the festival is in jeopardy due to increasing safety concerns. Gonzalez told the UCSD Guardian that his primary goals as VCSA are to work with the entire campus on student issues such as health, wellbeing and retention. He also would like to assess UCSD programs and services.
In UCSD’s press release regarding the announcement, Khosla indicated that Gonzalez has a history of developing programs for improving the student experience throughout his career. “As a first-generation college graduate, Juan Gonzalez is committed to expanding college access, opportunity and success for students,” Executive Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Suresh Subramani said. “These core values make Juan uniquely qualified for the position of Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at UC San Diego.” For the past 22 years, Gonzalez had served as the Vice President of Student See VCSA, page 3
Thousands for PC Fire Two UCSD students pled guilty Sept. 1 for a single count of recklessly setting fire to Price Center in 2013. BY zev hurwitz
senior staff Writer Two UCSD students who pled guilty last month to setting a fire in Price Center may have to pay thousands in restitution to university agencies damaged physically and financially by the incident. Hoai Vi Holly Thuy Nguyen and Maya Land had both previously pled not guilty to eight felony charges in April 2014 before changing their plea to guilty to a single count of recklessly setting a fire as part of a plea deal early last month. The change-of-pleas were entered in court in a readiness hearing Sept. 1 as the case looked to be headed for trial. Land and Nguyen were 21 and 22, respectively, when they were arrested in February after a surveillance video linked the two to being in the vicinity of Price Center around the time that two December 2013 fires were set in Price Center restrooms. As a provision of their pleas, the students will serve just under three weeks in jail, will spend three years on probation and will need to pay restitution to UCSD for damage done to the restrooms and Price Center businesses, including the bookstore. San Diego Deputy District Attorney Melissa Vasel told the UCSD Guardian last month that she estimates that restitution dues for this case could range around $10,000. “Most of the damage was not to the restrooms themselves but to the lost business in Price Center when the building was evacuated,” Vasel said. Police estimated that Price Center was closed for nearly an hour and a half during the fires on Dec. 3, 2013. Eugene Iredale, legal counsel for Nguyen, told the Guardian on Sept. 3 that he thought potential restitution figures from the university, including what he said was a reported “$7,000 in lost-earnings damages” from a three-hour closure of the university bookstore, were “grossly inflated.” Iredale noted that the restrooms on the first and second floor of Price Center where the twin fires were set are constructed with largely flame-resistant materials that likely would have survived such a fire with relatively little damage. “The damage to the restrooms themselves is probably only around $1,000, and even that might be slightly exaggerated,” he said. Director of University Centers Sharon van Bruggen declined to speak to the Guardian.
readers can contact zev hurwitz
zhurwitz@ucsd.edu