UCSD administrators sent the following e-mail this afternoon:

SUBJECT: UPDATE -
CAMPUS CLOSURE - UPDATE

Due to the continuing concern of the fires, the UCSD campus
will be cancelling classes Tuesday, October 23.
The air quality continues to threaten the health of all in this general
area. The fires are still uncontained and other nearby entities, such as SD
Unified School District, are closing for tomorrow. All non-essential personnel are asked not to
come to campus.

UCSD Medical Center and Medical Group employees are expected
to report to their jobs as scheduled.
ALL UCSD Healthcare clinics and hospitals are open. All non- essential
appointments have been cancelled.

UPDATE: The traffic to San Diego's Emergency website has been relieved slightly. Here's an image comparing 9am and 1pm, showing the progress of the fire.

Here's a map from the SD County Emergency Website, as the site is bogged down by heavy traffic.

The image shows the fire perimiter as of 11am (map displays 0900 hours, but was labeled "1100" hours) and compares it to the perimeter of the 2003 fire. It's been downsized to 25%.

Blog from Poway:

RAW FOOTAGE, Oct. 22, 2007
Taken @ approx. 11 a.m.

Check back at 3 p.m. for full report.

Authorities have announced an expanded set of evacuation
orders, and are contacting some residents in Solana Beach
to leave voluntarily. Several officials have suggested that continuing Santa Ana winds over the
next few days could drive fires all the way to the coast.

You can find more up-to-date information on the evacuations
on the county's Website.

It was like a scene out of ... well, 2003. Confused students
wondered around campus, as administrators scrambled to get the word out that
campus was closed. Except it was this morning, shortly after 8 a.m.

It wasn't supposed to be that way. In the aftermath of the
2003 Cedar Fire, Acting Chancellor Marsha Chandler was heavily criticized for
the university's incoherent response to the emergency.

Since then, the university has insisted it has fixed things.
After the tragedy at Virginia Tech, the university assured everyone that it's
own house was in order.

"Although this is not the type of event that you can
ever be ready for, I want to assure you that UC San Diego has developed
emergency response plans if we were to face a similar crisis," Chancellor
Marye Anne Fox announced. "Our Business Affairs, Emergency Response, and
Police Services units conduct frequent and detailed exercises to prepare them
to respond effectively to crises and catastrophes."

Last week's emergency response exercise was hailed as a
raging success.

Yet shortly before 8 a.m. this morning, hours after Mayor
Jerry Sanders ordered parts of the city evacuated and asked everyone to keep
the roads clear in case of major evacuations, the university was silent. Its emergency
status Website hadn't been updated since 11 p.m. the night before.
Students on their way to campus learned that the university was closed shortly
after 8 a.m. -- from their shuttle drivers. And those calling the university's
much-trumpeted emergency hotline after 9 a.m. were still told that all was
well, and that campus was open.

"Everything is OK, Marye Anne Fox is still
asleep," a faculty member joked to a group of discombobulated graduate
students waiting around on campus to see if their class was meeting.

In the coming days, much attention will focus on fighting
the raging fires, and providing help for the evacuees. But in the weeks ahead,
the question of how much UCSD really did learn from 2003 will likely be on many
people's minds.

San Diego County Sheriff Bill Kolender predicted that the
current wildfires would be the worst fire disaster in county history, worse
than the 2003 Cedar Fire that devastated parts of the city and shut down campus
for three days.

"It's probably going to get worse," Koldender said
at a televised news conference shortly after 10 a.m.

Kolender asked residents to stay put and off the streets if
they are safe at home, and to abide by evacuation orders when and if they're
issued.

Oct. 22, 2007 9:14 a.m.:

From NBC San Diego:
Earlier this morning, residents east of Espola Road from Lake Poway Road through Valle
Verde Road are being told to evacuate immediately. Included in these
evacuations are the High Valley, Bridlewood Country Estates,
Stoneridge, Heritage, Old Coach and Old Winery neighborhoods. Residents were being notified about the evacuations through the through
the reverse 911 system. They are being told to go to the Poway
Community Center at 13094 Civic Center Drive. Officials said that large
animals can be brought to the Poway Valley Riders Association Arena,
also known as the Poway Rodeo Grounds, at the corner of Tierra Bonita
Road and Poway Valley Road.

Blog from Poway:
Just overnight, the county's blustering winds have pushed the wildfires through acres of brush toward surburban neighborhoods. My house resides on Standish Drive, a family-heavy area within five miles of the Poway Community Center and 10 minutes of Espola Road. My cousin and his family live on a street intersecting Espola Road, and evacuated earlier this morning. My neighbors are packing up their belongings into cars, though no one on my street has left their home yet.

UCSD Medical Center announced early Monday that the university's Thornton Hospital has cancelled all elective admissions and outpatient services Monday in an effort to keep beds open for potential fire victims.

From the Medical Center Website:

8:03 AM UPDATE FOR STAFF:

A Code Orange continues to be in effect
and we are monitoring staff and bed availability in anticipation of
receiving additional patients. UCSD
Medical Center's Regional Burn Center has received 13 patients injured
in the fires currently burning in San Diego County. We expect more
patients to arrive this morning.

Internal Air Quality Control:
Environmental Health and Safety is constantly monitoring the air
quality throughout our hospitals and outpatients facilities. HEPA
filters have been installed in key locations to filter the internal air
of particles. Charcoal filters are also being installed in the units
to reduce odor. Please keep all windows and exterior doors closed.

In the coming days, we ask staff to
please adhere to their normal work schedules and report to their
assigned units. If you, or your family, have been evacuated, we ask
that you make every effort to report to your assigned unit once your
family has been safely located in an evacuation center. If you are
dealing with a personal emergency as a result of this fire, please let
your supervisor know of your circumstance. Childcare is available for
children above age 3 at both hospitals for those whose normal
childcare is disrupted by the fires. Call X10742 for reservations.

Due to the number of evacuations, we are asking available employees to remain at work if possible.

We appreciate everyone's efforts as we
work together to care for our patients and their loved ones during
this Countywide emergency.

Road road closures as of 8:10 a.m. Check here for updates.

Check back throughout the day for more breaking news on the San Diego wildfires and the campus

Oct. 22, 2007 7:30 a.m. UCSD campus is closed
due to extremely poor air quality caused by regional wildfires. Classes
are canceled for today. Essential personnel should check with their
supervisor to determine if they should report to campus.

In 1996, Proposition 209’s affirmative action ban in public
institutions left the University
of California struggling
to maintain its diverse population, but while still adhering to state law. UCSD
in particular has dedicated itself to promoting the admission of
underrepresented minorities through outreach programs that encourage black,
Latino and Native American students to apply to the university, and if
accepted, choose to enroll as a student — a roundabout technique that avoids
considering race as a concrete admissions factor within the actual admissions
process.

The legislation makes it illegal to consider race, sex,
color, ethnicity or national origin in decisions such as college admissions,
business contracts and public-sector jobs.

This issue first helicoptered into the UC system in 1995,
when the UC Board of Regents passed a resolution prohibiting admissions
committees from employing affirmative action. That same year a conservative
movement, spearheaded by then-UC Regent Ward Connerly, placed Proposition 209
on the ballot, which passed by 54 percent.

In the past decade UCSD’s undergraduate population has grown
by 46 percent. At the same time, there are fewer black and Native American
students than before the legislation passed. And while the number of Latino
student has nearly doubled, it still constitutes the same percentage as when
Proposition 209 arrived.

Many on campus programs that have developed skirt the
proposition’s language, promoting diversity without falling under the
categorization of affirmative action. These “diversity activities” are programs
and organized outreach plans that specifically target historically
underrepresented minorities. Statistics show that among minority students
admitted to UCSD, the number of those that accept their admissions offer is
relatively low, which in turn contributes to the low numbers of such students
on campus. For these various diversity-minded groups, one key focus is the
increase of “yield” statistics — which is to increase the number of
already-admitted minority students who choose to enroll at UCSD.

Associate Chancellor and Chief Diversity Officer Jorge
Huerta chaired a university-commissioned committee that explored ways to
increase “yield,” and released report in March 2007. The report detailed some
of the diversity activities already in place and proposed others to increase
yield figures.

The African American Studies minor and the Chicano and
Latino Arts and Humanities minor are two such programs. But these are only some
of the many creative solutions that operate within Proposition 209’s
restrictions while contributing to the growth of on-campus diversity.

Such yield-boosting diversity activities are helping to
increase diversity in the context of state laws that prohibit affirmative
action.

“It’s about getting out there and doing what’s legal, [and]
reaching out to the students who wouldn’t otherwise have this opportunity,”
Huerta said.

His office is working on a myriad of programs to increase
outreach and awareness, in an attempt to expand racial diversity at UCSD.

“The numbers are really striking when you look at the
various groups,” Huerta said of UCSD’s admissions rates. “It’s not a reflection
of the population.”

Meanwhile, supporters of Proposition 209 argue against
affirmative action, as a way to increase diversity in higher education.
Connerly, for instance, has remained an ever-vocal critic of affirmative
action, and many believe his efforts to be largely responsible for the advent
of Proposition 209. Since his term as regent, Connerly has helped to bring
about similar measures in public universities in Washington, Michigan and
Florida.

Connerly contends that using affirmative action in college
admissions hurts students of underrepresented ethnicities. He believes that
affirmative action sends a negative message to high-achieving minority students
that they need an extra boost in order to be admitted to college.

According to Huerta, historically underrepresented minority
students are even disadvantaged long
before the admissions process, as they often compete against students from more
affluent high schools that usually sponsor more advanced placement, honors and
college-preparatory classes. This contributes to recent downward admissions and
enrollment trends for underrepresented minority students at UCSD.

“They don’t have the same privileges, they don’t have the
same opportunities,” Huerta said.

However, Huerta remains hopeful that his office can sponsor
programs to increase UCSD’s overall diversity.

“We’re looking for excellence and equity,” he said.

Most students don’t notice, but someone’s eyes follow them
around campus. Whether it’s on their way out of the Cognitive Science building,
during their evening jog through John Muir College Commons or on a stroll
through Mandeville’s concrete hallways, they’re being watched.

Not through the lens of a hidden video camera or the peepers
of a curious wanderer, but by a simple stenciled eye, discreetly tattooed onto
the concrete as a signature image of a graffiti artist.

“[Stencil art] makes things prettier,” said one sophomore
stencil-graffiti artist who wished to remain anonymous. “An interesting stencil
can add something. It’s always repeated and it’s always the same thing, so it’s
sort of like a stamp or pop art. It’s just a question of decorating the campus
in a certain way, and that’s how a lot of people choose to do it.”

Many students contribute to alternative, on-campus art in
the form of stenciling, a type of graffiti that is quicker and tidier than the
traditional art form. Spearheaded by a British graffiti artist named Banksy,
stencil graffiti has become increasingly popular in the last decade due to its
low risk and appealing aesthetics.

The basic process of a stencil starts when the artist
chooses an image and creates a dual-tonal pattern with a computer program such
as Photoshop. The artist massages the photo until it’s fit to print, then
laminates and razors it. Artists can also create more complex multilayered
stencils, which allow for numerous colors within one piece. The final product
is an idiosyncratic graphic that can take only a few seconds to spray on a
wall, a definite plus for those wary of the law.

“If you’re fast you can do it in 10 seconds,” the artist
said. “That’s the appeal of it, that’s why it became popular in the first
place, because the difference between putting up a huge piece in half a minute
and putting up a huge piece in 10 minutes is, you know, you’re arrested.”

UCSD’s official art pieces consist of Stuart Collection
pieces like the “Two Running Violet V Forms” (better known as the giraffe
catchers), but graffiti artists view creative student areas such as the
Mandeville graffiti stairway and the Che Cafe as underappreciated and divided
from the rest of the campus.

“UCSD has a really great visual arts department, and it’s
really supported,” the artist said. “Maybe if it were to be more integrated
with the rest of the campus, rather than just held in Mandeville, that would be
better. Right now it’s crammed down in the bottom of a stairway and it’s sort
of isolated.”

In addition to confining the location for artistic student
expression, campus officials have recently started painting over graffiti
outside of Mandeville Hall, placing discouraging signs nearby the area and
regulating students like Muir College senior and stencil artist Ji-San Lee.

“Being able to paint freely and not have to worry about
doing something illegal is great,” Lee said. “But recently I tried painting [at
Mandeville Hall], and some guy told me I couldn’t.”

According to Lee, the university’s unwelcoming attitude is
due to a general misunderstanding of the art form.

“I skate and stencil and there are a lot of faculty members
that see painting on the wall or skating and they’re frustrated,” Lee said.
“But a college campus shouldn’t be such a rigid environment. With stencils, it’s
not like we’re having gang wars. I think it gives the campus more culture and
more diversity, besides having concrete everywhere.”

Just as stenciling contributes to a campus’ look, it also
builds a more cohesive population at UCSD.

“It creates a community, like the Mandeville wall is itself
a community,” the anonymous artist said. “Not that everyone who does graffiti
knows each other that well, but it’s more like the art itself. Eventually it’s
transient, it’s going to be gone the next day, so if you can put something up
that’s really good that people really like, they won’t take it down and maybe
you’ll see it in their styles later which, in a way, makes it so your art is
still existing.”

Whether or not the university actively supports the
stenciling student movement, artists on campus can’t help but pencil themselves
into the campus agenda.

“Seeing your work around campus is like being in a museum
and looking at your painting,” Lee said. “It’s a hard feeling to beat.”