Violation grievance filed in Warren Council elections

John Muir College freshman Michael Gollner has filed a violation report with the Earl Warren College Dean of Student Affairs Office on March 9 alleging that Warren sophomore Harry Khanna has not submitted all materials necessary to run for a position on the college’s student council.

The complaint accuses Khanna, a candidate for the Warren College Student Council presidency, of violating a section of the college’s elections bylaws that requires candidates to submit a “signed copy of the Warren College Elections Bylaws and the ASUCSD Elections Bylaws signifying adherence to the stated rules and regulations.”

Twenty of the total 21 candidates running for an elected position at Warren have not submitted the signed bylaws, instead turning in a form included in the college’s election packet signifying that they had read and understood the bylaws, Earl Warren College elections manager Charlene Cheng said. However, all candidate packets were accepted by the elections committee as complete.

The only candidate who did submit a signed copy of the bylaws was Warren freshman Erik Ward, who is running for WCSC president.

Though regulations require that a grievance hearing be held within three academic days, no date has yet been set, according to Cheng.

UCLA employees accused of selling donated cadavers

UCLA has announced that it is temporarily suspending its Willed Body Program on March 9 due to a criminal investigation of allegations that human remains from cadavers donated to the program were being commercialized.

The UC Police Department has made two arrests in the case. One suspect was Henry Reid, director of the program, who is currently being investigated for grand theft. A UCLA nonaffiliate employee was also arrested and is under investigation for receiving known stolen property.

The Willed Body Program makes human bodies available for medical education and research, receiving an average of 175 body donations per year.

Cadavers currently being used to teach UCLA medical students will remain available to them for the remainder of the academic year, UCLA officials said. Other cadavers already endowed to the program but not currently being used will remain at the medical school. No other willed bodies will be accepted, pending further developments.

UC Board of Regents to meet on March 17-18

The UC Board of Regents will convene on March 17 and March 18 for a regular business meeting held at the UC San Francisco-Laurel Heights campus.

The first day of meetings will begin at 8:30 a.m. with public comment, followed by open sessions discussing the university’s 2004-05 budget, student fee policy, sexual harassment policy and reporting procedures, and a presentation by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell on the state of education in California.

The second day of meetings will begin at 9 a.m. with public comment, followed by open sessions considering action on guidelines for UC’s domestic equity investments, the approval of the annual external audit plan, and audit coverage of the national laboratories. There will also be discussion of the search for a new Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory director, on the competition schedule for the U.S. Department of Energy laboratories, an update from the faculty’s special committee on the national laboratories, and on the eligibility and admissions study group.

The full agenda, as well as a link to a report from the meeting’s live audio broadcast, can be viewed at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/ regmeet/mar04.html.

Dynes issues ‘video letter’ to UC community

UC President Robert C. Dynes issued a “video letter” to the University of California community on March 9. The four-minute video, available online at http://www.ucop.edu, is an informal address by Dynes outlining current “things on [his mind].” In the video, he speaks about his inaugural tour of the UC campuses, which he is currently halfway through. He also speaks about budget problems and about working on convincing the Legislature that “UC is not the problem, it is part of the solution.” Dynes also explains that he is currently in the process of three searches — two for chancellors, at UCSD and UC Berkeley, and one for a director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Dynes indicated that he intends to send out “video letters” occasionally throughout his presidency.