Community Briefs

Thursday, October 15, 1998

Community Briefs

Skater organizations try to stop violence

Various roller skater organizations are getting together
Friday.

The Skate Against Violence Campaign is an effort to strongly
raise awareness of the impact inline skating can bring to the
community and inspire young people to join an alternative to
violent activities.

The Friday Night Skate returns to Santa Monica as well this
week, and every first and third Friday to come. A 10-mile skate
around the city, the Friday Night Skate begins at Santa Monica
Pier, at the Northwest corner of Ocean and Colorado.

UC Board of Regents to meet today

The University of California Board of Regents is meeting today
at UC San Francisco at Laurel Heights.

Among the items on the agenda for the October meeting are the
1999-2000 budget for current operations, the 1999-2000 budget for
capital improvements, UC outreach efforts and an update on the
reconstruction plans for the UCLA Medical Center.

The next meeting is scheduled for Nov. 19 and Nov. 20 and will
be held at UCLA.

SAGE receives backing for strike from UAW

Following their recent threat of a strike, the Student
Association of Graduate Employees/UAW received backing Wednesday,
with UAW’s authorization to pay strike benefits to participating
teaching assistants, readers and tutors working for the University
of California.

The United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement
Workers of America (UAW) International Executive Board authorized
the union to dip into its $700 million strike fund to support
student employees who choose to strike if a settlement with the
university is not reached.

The union could pay strike benefits to as many as 9,000 students
employed by the university.

Union leaders said they will support the strike until a
settlement is reached, because student employees should receive the
same rights as any other employees.

The last strike of student employees was in 1996-97, when
teaching assistants (TAs) on five UC campuses went on strike for 25
days, but a settlement was not reached with the administration.

Hayden denounces ‘safe’ middle school

State Senator Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles) has made a statement
denouncing the "safe" declaration of Jefferson Middle School, due
to a lack of environmental testing of the area surrounding the
school.

"Tests for toxins in the soil that should have been done before
school doors opened are not yet complete, and will not be finished
for months," Hayden said.

"Emissions of the carcinogen methylene chloride at the site have
been far above the level permitted," he continued, "leading the
regional air quality board to cite (the Los Angeles Unified School
District) for 113 separate violations since November 1997."

Hayden called for a complete overhaul of institutional
procedures at both the district and state level, including greater
checks and balances at the district level, and the creation of a
coordinated state school site safety mechanism to focus
responsibility for determining that all schools are safe before
opening.

"Plainly, state oversight has failed as well," Hayden added. "As
with many toxic issues, too much responsibility for reporting and
remediation lies with the district itself."

Compiled from Daily Bruin staff reports.

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