UCLA lost a brilliant teacher too soon when John Delloro died of a heart attack on June 5 at the age of 38.

I’m not a coffee person; but when I need a pick-me-up, I try to go to Cafe 1919. Their cookies are addictive, and I feel better knowing my coffee is fair trade.

Lend us your ears ““ and your voices.

California Scholars for Academic Freedom has not endorsed the Palestinian Campaign for an Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, calling for colleges to divest from and not cooperate with Israeli colleges, universities and cultural institutions. According to the campaign’s Web site, this boycott emphasizes withdrawing funding and support from Israel and “pressing for resolutions to be adopted by academic, professional and cultural associations and organizations.” While the campaign was founded in April of 2004, the recent events in Gaza spurred California academics to join the call for a boycott ““ a commendable but wrongheaded idea.

Los Angeles is having another election on March 3.

The Undergraduate Students Association Council wants to go paperless, and it’s a good idea.

Gov. Schwarzenegger’s proposal to eliminate 22,500 competitive Cal Grants is a serious blow to an education system on the ropes. California’s colleges are already winded by the one-two punch of consistent budget cuts and the current depression (beg pardon, I meant recession).

There’s plenty of electricity in the air. It’s a new year, a new quarter, and in two weeks, we’ll have a new President. There are a lot of things to be optimistic about.

Like most financial terms, “budget” has become an explosive word lately. We usually hear the word in the context of “budget cuts,” a phrase UC students have become all too familiar with. While we grumble and mutter about budget cuts, we ignore them when they hit close to home ““ discussion sections, class sizes and enrollment.

I hope you had a restful Veterans’ Day.