VOLUME 49, ISSUE 6
MONDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2015
WWW.UCSDGUARDIAN.ORG
UC SYSTEM
CALIFORNIA
GET READY FOR THE BIG ONE
ILLUSTRATION BY CHRISTINA CARLSON
Congressmen Propose Bill to Subsidize Textbooks Statistics indicate that university textbook prices have increased by almost 1,041 percent since 1977. By Jacky To
Find out the best ways to prepare for the large quake scheduled to rock Southern California. The UCSD Guardian talked to seismologists and Emergency Services to get the full shake down. FEATURES, PAGE 6
A GREEK CRITIQUE
recruitment heats up opinion, Page 4
VOLEYBALL IN TURMOIL Poor hitting streak continues Sports, Page 12
FORECAST
MONDAY H 87 L 72
TUESDAY H 85 L 69
WEDNESDAY THURSDAY H 81 L 67
H 79 L 66
Associate News Editor
Performers showcased folklore dancing at the International Day of the Girl Child reception at the Great Hall on Saturday. Photo by Haocheng Tang/UCSD Guardian.
UCSD
University Surpasses Annual Private Fundraising Record By Simon Yu Staff
U
CSD completed its record-breaking year of private fundraising on Sept. 24, during which it raised $177.5 million. The amount collected came from over 43,000 gifts and grants to the school. This sum exceeded last year’s total of $148.3 million by 20 percent. Other UC campuses such as UCLA raised $643 million in the same year while UC Berkeley raised $395 million during the 2013-14 fiscal year. Vice Chancellor for Advancement Steve Gamer told the UCSD Guardian how fundraising helps supplement the school’s budget in addition to state funding. “Public universities like UCSD receive just a fraction of their total annual budgets from state funding,” Gamer said. “Thus, charitable contributions are critical to ensure excellence, now and in the future.” UCSD Health Services received the majority of the funds with 56 percent of the total amount. Of this allotment, a gift of $20 million went toward the future Jacobs Medical Center, which is expected to open
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- HOW TO GURU
OPINION, PAGE 4
INSIDE TEXTBOOKS .................... 2 DIGNITY IN DYING ........... 4 SEAGER CO..................... 8 CALENDAR.................... 10 CROSS COUNTRY .......... 12
in 2016. This center will serve as the largest hospital project in Southern California and will look to provide care for advanced surgical procedures, cancer and specialized treatment for women and infants. The largest contributors were foundations that donated approximately 37.6 percent of the total funds. Robert and Allison Price, the son and daughter-in-law of Sol Price, the namesake of Price Center, donated $6 million via Price Philanthropies to the Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. This established the Price Philanthropies Ocean Science Education Fund, which provides an outreach program in the ocean and earth sciences. Gamer denoted that donors have discretion over how their contributions are used and spent. “Most donations are designated to a specific area and for a specific purpose; for instance supporting a scholarship in dance,” Gamer said. “Unrestricted gifts are designated by the academic leader in the
See FUNDRAISING, page 3
VERBATIM LOOK IN THE MIRROR AND ANNOUNCE TO YOURSELF, “I AM A SEXY, MOTHER-FLIPPING BEAST!” THEN REPEAT THAT 10 TIMES, WITH EACH SUCCESSIVE CHANT IN A SLIGHTLY LOWER REGISTER OF YOUR VOICE. WHEN YOU FINISH YOUR VOICE SHOULD BE AT A DEEP GROWL. MARVEL AS YOU ASCEND INTO YOUR BUFFEST FORM.”
Writer
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
UCSD Receives $30 Million for DNA Research University will use the funds to open research hubs as part of the 4D Nucleome Program. By Raahima Shoaib
Staff Writer The National Institute of Health announced this week that it will grant UCSD approximately $30 million under its 4D Nucleome Program. These grants will fund research centers that aim to determine how the structure of DNA is organized. The program will also research ways of visualizing and gathering information about the miniscule and dynamic structures inside of the nucleus. Scientists hope that this information will help them understand the roles of gene regulation in order to learn more about human health and diseases. The initiative involves six interrelated groups that involve
granting 29 awards to 24 different institutions in the United States. UCSD will receive one quarter of the total funding for the program and will lead the administrative infrastructure of the program as well as lead two research initiatives of its own. There are two major components of this initiative that UCSD researchers are involved in. The first is the 4D Nucleome Organizational Hub, which covers many of the organizational aspects of the entire program and collaborates with other initiatives to serve as a resource tool. The second initiative that UCSD is participating in is called Nuclear Organization and Function Interdisciplinary Consortium, and this initiative of the NIH program will
work toward developing and testing new technologies and methods. Shu Chien, a bioengineering professor at UCSD, discussed how UCSD’s leading position in multiple disciplinary fields is part of the reason why it was selected to be a large part of this project. “The funding of the organizational hub to UCSD through rigorous peer review is a recognition of the leading position of our university in this multidisciplinary field and our ability to coordinate the team research throughout the country,” Chien said to the UCSD Guardian. “UCSD has a well-established interdisciplinary structure to pursue team research, See NUCLEOME, page 3
Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced the Affordable College Textbook Act to Congress on Oct. 8. If passed, the bill would provide grants to professors who convert to using open textbooks — which are free, electronic and publicly accessible — and would save students hundreds of dollars, if not more, every year. In Durbin’s home state, professors already piloted the program at the University of Illinois. The college used a $150,000 federal grant to design a textbook for an introductory environmental sustainability course and published it electronically for free and open use. According to Durbin, approximately 60,000 students from multiple universities have accessed the textbook. “At least a dozen schools throughout the country have contacted the University of Illinois about the text or are using it today,” Durban stated in an Oct. 8 press release. “The Affordable College Textbook Act can replicate and build on the successes we’ve already seen in Illinois.” Ethan Senack, a Higher Education Advocate at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, argued that though textbook prices are often overlooked, they are an immediate and increasingly large obstacle to affording college. “It’s clear that for students and families that are already struggling to afford a college education, it’s not just an expensive textbook anymore — it’s a serious barrier,” Senack told the UCSD Guardian. According to NBC’s review of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, textbook prices have risen at three times the rate of inflation since 1977, amounting to a 1,041 percent increase. College Board recommends that students budget $1,225 annually to spend on course textbooks. In a survey performed by PIRG, 48 percent of students indicated that they changed their courses because of textbook costs, while 65 percent of students revealed that they had opted not to purchase a textbook at all because it was too expensive. Furthermore, 94 percent of the latter group were concerned that not buying the textbook would negatively impact their grades in the course. Senack explained how the textbook market became set up in favor of publishers and how the Affordable College Textbook Act intends to fix that. “Because students don’t choose See TEXTBOOKS, page 3