PHOTO BY ALWIN SZETO /GUARDIAN
See Sports, pg. 12 VOLUME 47, ISSUE 2
W W W. U C S D G U A R D I A N . O R G
M O N D AY, S E P T E M B E R 3 0 , 2 0 1 3
HUMAN RESOURCES
Workers Stage Strike Against New Terms Unionized maintenance workers demonstrated Tuesday against a UC plan that will cut benefits. BY aleksandra konstantinovic PHOTO BY MICHELLE LOUIE /GUARDIAN
all paws on deck UCSD held its sixth annual “Meet the Beach” all-day event on Saturday, Sept. 28 at La Jolla Shores. Freshman and transfer students had the opportunity to take surfing lessons, receive free merchandise and enjoy surfing dogs in the culminating event of Welcome Week.
HOUSING AND DINING
HDH Scrambles to Accommodate Record Number of Residents Housing and Dining administrators were forced to convert many single-occupancy rooms to temporary doubles in residence halls and campus apartments. BY mekala neelakantan news editor & helen hejran staff writer PHOTO BY BRIAN MONROE /GUARDIAN
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pproximately 300 UCSD students were displaced into “temporary double” on-campus housing assignments this fall, due to overcrowding with a record number of 13,000 campus residents. Administrators within UCSD Housing, Dining and Hospitality created the temporary doubles by converting single rooms — located in many residential halls and some on-campus apartments — to double rooms composed of two wardrobes on one side of the room and a bunk bed on the other side. The change follows a 22 percent increase in admissions from See RESIDENTS, page 3
UC SYSTEM
Regents Launch New Online Scholarship Campaign The crowdfunding campaign, which began last month, has already raised nearly $1 million for UC students. BY davis liang
staff writer
The University of California Board of Regents announced their six-week Promise For Education scholarship campaign at their meeting last month; since then, the campaign raised nearly $1 million for the UC system. The money will go
directly toward UC scholarships. Promise for Education allows individuals to make a personal promise — run a marathon, adopt a pet, volunteer, grow a beard — set a crowdfunding goal and share the promise on Facebook or other social media sites. The money raised will go directly toward scholarships and
grants for UC undergraduates with financial need. The aid will be in addition to money students already receive through the University of California’s traditional financial aid programs. Campaigns to increase private support towards student scholarships, like Promise for Education,
have taken on increased importance after years of cuts to the UC budget. According to former chairwoman of the UC Board of Regents Sherry Lansing, the campaign is primarily driven by participation from UC students, faculty and staff. See SCHOLARSHIP, page 3
associate news editor UCSD service workers are protesting low wages and reduced pensions for the second time as the University of California issues its final proposal regarding workers’ contracts. On Tuesday, Sept. 24, maintenance workers from the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees 3299 marched around the UCSD administration complex banging pots and pans in a demonstration against the UC administration’s push for pension reform. An AFSCME worker, who identified herself as Carla, said through a translator that the protest was due to a lack of good-faith bargaining on the university’s part. “What we’re asking for is nothing out of the ordinary,” she said. “It’s well within what the university is capable of. We can’t afford increases to our healthcare and pension contributions.” AFSCME 3299 has protested twice this year for similar reasons. University of California’s Vice President for Systemwide Human Resources and Programs Dwaine Duckett issued a statement regarding the ongoing negotiations. “On Sept. 3, the state’s neutral fact finder sided with [the University of California] on the key issue of pension reform and recommended the university’s approach,” the statement read. “Having completed all stages of the bargaining process, including stateassisted mediation and fact finding, the university is legally entitled to implement its last proposal.” The university system’s proposed changes include raising employee pension contributions from 5 percent to 6.5 percent, while the UC system’s contribution increases from 10 to 12 percent. Employees hired after July 1, 2013, will also receive a modified benefits plan. AFSCME is currently supporting legislation (SCA 15) that would require the UC system to adhere to a pension reform law that currently applies to all other state employees. Among the provisions in the Public Employees Pension Reform Act is a pension cap that would be imposed on the UC executives who retire with six figure salaries. For example, UC President Mark Yudof, whose last day is Monday, Sept. 30, is guaranteed at least $230,000 in pension and benefits after five years in his position.
readers can contact
aleksandra konstantinovic
alkonsta@ucsd.edu