News Briefs

Patient hospital closed for repairs

Tiverton House, a hotel for the UCLA Medical Center’s
patients and visitors, closed Friday due to water damage, or
“water intrusion” problems possibly linked to the
facility’s original construction, according to Roxanne
Moster, assistant director of Health Sciences and
Communications.

Since the hotel’s closure caused Tiverton guests ““
90 percent of whom are UCLA Medical Center patients and their
families ““ to seek housing in other hotels, the university
has arranged for shuttles to help transport those staying in hotels
to the Medical Center, Moster said.

“We’re getting a lot of calls from people who have
already scheduled their operations,” said Michael See, an
employee at the UCLA Guest House.

Water damages in seven of the 100 rooms at the hotel last spring
triggered a series of inspections and its recent closure, Moster
said.

The hotel will remain closed for the next several months to
ensure necessary repairs are made, but the exact nature of the
water damage is still being examined.

Wesson to speak at graduation

Herb J. Wesson, Jr., recently elected the 65th Speaker of the
California State Assembly, will deliver the keynote commencement
address for the UCLA School of Public Policy and Social
Research.

Because districts have been redrawn, Wesson, D-Culver City, will
represent UCLA in the California State Assembly if he is elected in
November.

Commencement, scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday, June 15, 2002, will
be held outdoors in Dickson Court on the UCLA campus.

Wesson was chosen as Speaker of the Assembly in February 2002
and was sworn in by Gov. Gray Davis in Royce Hall.

Student sues UC law school

Neal Markowitz, a student at the UC Hastings Law School, is
suing the University of California on the grounds that requirements
for in-state residency for tuition purposes are
unconstitutional.

Opening briefs in a state appellate court were filed Friday in a
lawsuit that claims that UC Hasting’s classification of
students as residents or non-residents for determining who pays
in-state tuition violates the Due Process Clause of the 14th
Amendment.

The UC’s definition of California residency are more
stringent than the state’s.

The suit, filed by Eppsteiner & Associates, LLP claim that
the California education statute that sets guidelines for residency
is arbitrary and discriminates against citizens who by all other
means are subject to California jurisdiction.

Stuart Eppsteiner, the lead plaintiff attorney on the case said
that he is confident that he will win the case as there is
no-rational basis for the UC guidelines.

“There should be no distinction between residents. The
state can’t discriminate against people coming here who are
tax-paying citizens” Eppsteiner says.

The UC said it was not yet ready to comment on the lawsuit.

UC tightens its ties with Spain

The University of California further expanded its multi-faceted
relationship with Spanish higher education with the recent signing
of agreements between the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture
and Sport and the graduate divisions of three UC campuses,
Berkeley, Los Angeles and San Diego.

The signing took place at the UC Office of the President in
Oakland on Feb. 22, hosted by C. Judson King, UC provost and senior
vice president-academic affairs, along with John A. Marcum,
associate provost for international academic activities, and the
university-wide director of the UC Education Abroad Program.

Officials from UC, Spain’s Ministry of Education, Culture
and Sport (MECD), the Spanish Consulate in San Francisco, and
representatives from Spanish higher education participated in the
signing.

The new agreements will bring Spanish students to select UC
campuses for doctoral degrees.

Briefs compiled from Daily Bruin staff and wire reports.