you can learn a lot from one night on the streets

One UC San Diego student, Shanelle Sherlin, got a glimpse of what it is like to live life on the streets and the eye-opening experience helped her learn the power of giving. The Muir College sophmore spent 12 hours in the streets of downtown San Diego where she dug through trash cans, collected bottles, begged for money and interviewed other homeless people, all for an art project designed to help people

“I came up with the idea to pretend to be homeless so that I could learn to relate to them and humanize the indigent,” she said. “Before I thought most homeless people where alcoholics or drug addicts, but I learned that wasn’t the case for many of the people I met. One man I talked to lost everything after he was disabled from a car accident.”

Sherlin’s project was for a UC San Diego visual arts class. She donned old clothes and said she was surprised at how people ignored her or gave her dirty looks. “It was a very humbling experience,” she said. “Most people just walked by, and if I did try to approach someone, they would tell me they didn’t have time to talk.”

Sherlin lived on the streets and collected $27 worth of bottles Nov. 28 and the next day went back to the same neighborhood to feed and interview homeless people. “The homeless people I talked to were just so thankful that I talked to them and gave them attention,” she said. “I think, especially during the holidays, people should think about helping those who are less fortunate than us.”

To read more about Sherlin's story go here.

The Dog Days of Finals

The dog days of finals are here and students at UCSD de-stressed on Tuesday by petting some friendly pups at the Price Center. Studies show that petting a dog lowers stress levels, so students had the opportunity to play with golden retrievers, black and golden labs among the 30 plus certified therapy dogs on during Fall Quarter finals.

The annual event, proven to be very popular with students when it debuted last year, was arranged by the campus to remind students of the dangers of “stressing out.”

“Stress for students is the number one health impediment to academic success,” said Jerry Phelps, PhD., director of Wellness Initiatives for UC Student Wellness.

To learn more about the benefits of the Wellness Center go here.

campus recognizes world aids day with myriad of events

They danced and sang. They created films, sculptures and photography exhibits, all to show the impact of HIV/AIDS and how it has affected so many people and taken so many lives. Members of the UC San Diego community recognized World AIDS Day on Tuesday.

A highlight of the day at UCSD was a public viewing of three pieces of the AIDS Memorial Quilt.Revelle College senior Minnie Low was one of the many students who stopped by view sections of the Quilt, which were created by San Diego organizations and individuals. “It is so moving to see it because the Quilt has impacted so many people in so many different ways,” Low said. “I love that people come together once a year to learn about this disease and how it affects millions of people.” To read more about the day's events, check out this SDNN article .

campus unveils a one-stop-sustainability-shop

Today UC San Diego is unveiling the Sustainability Resource Center, a one-stop-sustainability-shop where students can learn about green jobs and courses on sustainability-related topics, how to conserve energy and water or find eco-friendly products.

With the goal to earn the highest possible Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, the center features countertops made from recycled paper and glass and eco-friendly paint. Center flooring includes wood reclaimed from a demolished building, formaldehyde-free bamboo, and carpeting that is recyclable. The center also features an innovative energy-saving lighting system where 100 percent of the high-efficiency lighting is energized by solar panels located directly above the center. Click here to read this story about the center in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

IEW Kicks off with Color

A flag parade, student festival and performances Argentine Tango dancers are just a few of the events part of UCSD's celebration of International Education Week (IEW) Nov. 16-20. Among the more than 25 events planned is the Student Festival on Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. which will bring together students from more than 50 countries to celebrate and showcase their culture and talents through artistic displays, music, ethnic clothing, dance and food. Groups such as the Chinese Music Ensemble, Tango Concepts and the UC San Diego Hawaii Club will give performances.

tnt triumphantly returns

After a six months hiatus TNT returned to the streets of downtown last night. The Loft at UCSD partnered with the Associated Students and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego on this event which celebrated large scale installations by artist Tara Donovan. Also at TNT was an interactive balloon art-making activity led by Addi Somekh, an artist who makes music with his balloon art creations. “It was amazing to see Somekh’s huge 12-foot cyclops made entirely out of balloons and to hear him talk about how he’s made art in 34 countries across the globe,” said senior Katie Hall said.

The 21 an older event was designed for transfer and international students. “It was a good way to get transfers involved, especially now that the new transfer student are living on campus in the Village apartments,” Hall added. “Also TNT is a popular San Diego tradition, so it was really nice to get out and engage with people in the community.” To read more click here.

Spoon, Vampire Weekend, Manchester Orchestra all coming to UCSD

RIMAC has had its share of great shows, but coming this December Spoon, Vampire Weekend, Manchester Orchestra, Phoenix, and White Rabbits will all play at the venue for the 94.9 Holiday Hootenanny. Tickets to epic show can be bought at the UCSD box office.

it's a family affair

It was a family friendly weekend at UC San Diego as more than 1,000 parents, guardians, and other family members visited the campus, see its landmarks, works of art, new transfer housing and music hall, Birch aquarium and sustainability projects Oct. 23-25.

Although there was no shortage of activities, Anson Kwan said he planned to go to a few events with his son, Allan. "We liked going to the movies and the aquarium," he said "This is my first visit since he started school; it's nice to see how he's adjusting. It's really an opportunity to bond again." The La Jolla Light featured a story on family weekend. Click here to read more.

campus kicks off holloween celebrations tonight

Students are getting freaky this Halloween season. They don’t have to wait ‘till the 31st to start trick-or-treating, students at Muir College will meet tonight at 9:30 p.m. at Half Dome to trick or treat in the Muir Apartments. Costumes are encouraged and the first 75 to show will get a free reusable bag and free candy.

Friday UCSD is hosting its annual costume contest from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. where hundreds of members of the UCSD community try to outdo one another and win prizes.

Also on Friday is UCSD's legendary pumpkin drop. Muir College will be dropping two 200 lb pumpkins from the 11th story of Tioga Hall, the tallest building on the Muir College campus, at 12:30 p.m. Inside the pumpkin will be an assortment of individually wrapped candy which students scurry to claim. The pumpkin’s “splat” is measured each year.

Art Taken to the Sixth Level

How do you break the barrier between art and artists? Sixth College and ArtPower! have teamed up to answer that very question through the Arts6 program. The program encourages students to engage with world-renowned artists through discussion, observation and performance. The program has allowed students to dance with the Jant-Bi Dance Company, perform with the Taikoproject drummers and this Wednesday they’ll be drumming with Brazilian percussionist Cyro Baptista at the Loft.

The mission of the program is to get students to explore the college’s Culture, Art and Technology academic theme through exposure to vibrant, challenging, multi-disciplinary and multi-media performances.

Students not only get a chance to get up close and personal with talented artists from around the world, they also are given discounted tickets to ArtPower! events all year long. To learn more go here.

students fight fees by giving back

Budget cuts from the state and rising fees -- being a college student ain't easy these days, but UCSD students are taking matters in their own hands with the Act, Advocate, Give campaign. Tomorrow on library walk student volunteers will be helping fund scholarships and will raise awareness about the rising costs of education. They'll have laptops available to send online letters to our state legislators and there will be paper petitions to sign attesting to the importance of state support for higher education.They'll also be collecting donations for the Student Foundation's scholarships.

To learn more go here.

ellen creates twitter frenzy on campus

It was a Twitter Frenzy Thursday night as hundreds of students gathered at the Price Center to enter in Ellen DeGeneres’s Twitter Challenge contest. Five UC San Diego students won trips to Los Angeles and tickets to one of Ellen DeGeneres’s 12 Days of Giveaway tapings.

DeGeneres, who has more than 3.5 million followers on Twitter, started hinting to UC San Diego students Wednesday night that her show would come to campus.

Excitement started building in the Price Center about 4 p.m. Thursday when DeGeneres announced that the contest would soon begin. The crowd erupted at 5:45 p.m. when DeGeneres announced the challenge: “Students of UCSD: The first people to bring Aaron any kind of corn at the Price Center are in the running for an incredible prize.”

Winners were taken to the second floor of Price Center where the production crew was filming. DeGeneres gave the group of students the next challenge: have a picture taken of themselves wearing nothing but a red towel with someone in any kind of uniform in less than 15 minutes.

Austyn Gabig started calling her friends on campus to see if anyone could bring her towel and luckily a friend at Sixth College was doing laundry and rushed a sopping wet towel to Gabig. “I was full of adrenaline,” she said. “I found a community service officer when I walked into Price Center. My phone doesn’t have internet access, but a girl in the market took our picture and e-mailed it to The Ellen Show.”

Although she was supposed to give one prize away to the student with the best picture, Ellen decided to award all five for their efforts. Gabig is a long-time Ellen fan who went to an Ellen Show taping when she was in high school. “I really enjoy watching her show, I just think she is hilarious,” she said.

The competition airs Monday on KNSD at 3 p.m.

unbroken soldier

Justice Castaneda was 20 years old when he went to a military recruiting office. At the time, he had been involved in drugs and seen many of his close friends go off to prison.“I knew I had to get out,” he said. “I was making bad decisions, hanging out with a bad group. I was sitting inside of my friend’s car who was driving without a license when I saw the Military Recruiting Office — I knew that was where my future was headed.”

Castaneda has come a long way since then. Now a senior at Thurgood Marshall College, the 29-year-old serves as the president of the university’s Student Veteran Organization (SVO).

Castaneda grew up in a working class neighborhood in Madison, Wis. and got into the Marines “by the skin of his teeth,” he said. Castaneda spent the first year in sobriety, working as an information analyst, but quickly rose up the ranks to Sergeant in two years, and was promoted to Staff Sergeant three years later.

In 2004, Castaneda was deployed to Iraq, where he worked as a security team leader in the village of Fallujah. Now the honor student organizes events for his fellow vets on campus and also volunteers as a tutor and mentor to underprivileged youths at a local high school.

“As veterans, we’re dedicated students,” he said. “We’re older, we know what we want and we want to give back. We learned a lot from serving in the military. Now it’s our time to engage with the campus community and our fellow students.”

To read more about Justice, go here.

new mural to electify ucsd community

The campus at UCSD is brighter now that world-renowned artist Mario Torero has created the Chicano History Mural which can be found at Peterson Hall. The mural represents key elements of Mexican-American history and culture in California and feature iconic figures such as Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. "Torero’s images are at times considered provocative by non-Latino publics and always resonate positively for those familiar with the cultures of Spanish-speaking peoples in the Americas,” said Jorge Mariscal, UCSD professor of literature and director of the Chicano Studies program. The new mural will be celebrated on Wed., Oct. 14 where Mariscal, the Chancellor and Torrero will give remarks.

Senior is Washington D.C.’s First ‘Green’ Intern

What do you do when you've already built a 20-foot long, 200-pound concrete canoe and helped install photovoltaic solar panels on the roofs of several campus structures? Well, just ask Mark Galvan who has topped himself once again by landing a job as Washington D.C.'s first green intern. I've had the pleasure of meeting Mark on a number of occasions and he's genuinely one of those cool, hard-working, dedicated and humble students.

I'm not surprised that others, such as Congresswoman Susan Davis (CA-53) and the Capitol’s chief administrative officer, Dan Beard were also impressed with him when they came to visit to UCSD. The two have given Galvan the opportunity to work in a multi-faceted internship that is the first of its kind and a unique opportunity for Mark to do what he loves, help build a sustainable future :) Click here to get the full scoop on Mark and his new gig.

could a ucsd playwright be the next coppola?

UCSD theatre grad student Jennifer Barclay has joined the ranks of Francis Ford Coppola and Eric Roth. Roth and Coppola have both won the Samuel Goldwyn Writing Awards Competition and Barclay was recenlty named as one of the five finalists of the 2009 awards competition.

After receiving more than 150 submissions, the Samuel Goldwyn Foundation narrowed the field down to five feature-length screenplays from Barclay and four other students from UCLA.

As a finalists, Barclay will receive a cash prize. Winners will be selected by Hilary Swank, Colin Callender and Catherine Tarr, and awards will be presented Nov. 2at UCLA. To read the story in Variety.com click here.

To learn more about Jennifer click here.

the bicycle diaries

Two students came to UC San Diego from Lompoc by way of bike and surfboard last week. Muir College sophomores Perry Naughton and Casey Owen spent six days cycling along the coast towing their tent, wetsuit, surfboard and a week’s worth of food in a trailer behind their bikes.

“It was a lot of fun,” Naughton said. “The first day we road 73 miles and that was tough, but by the end of the trip we felt like we could keep on going.”

The two childhood friends were roommates last year at Muir College and were inspired to go on the journey after reading about similar trips in Surfer Magazine. “Neither of us applied to colleges that weren’t on the coast and Black's Beach was a big part of choosing UCSD for us,” Naughton said.

The students stopped at Leo Carrillo State Beach, Salt Creek and Trestles to surf along the way and they camped out at a State Beach every night of the journey.

The two are dedicated surfers who have made a pact to surf at Black’s beach everyday this quarter. “We have a lot of buddies at Muir College who surf so it’s easy to walk across the street every day with our surfboards.”

To read about UC San Diego's ranking as a top school for surfing go here.

students focus on future

Welcome Week at UCSD is in full swing. Last night internet pioneer Larry Smarr gave the key note speech at the Welcome Week Convocation. His message -- climate change is the biggest problem facing our society and it’s up to individuals to make a difference. “I wanted to make sure that the students knew from the first day they got here that they can be a part of finding the solution.”

Smarr said UCSD’s award winning student video, “A Living Laboratory For Real-World Solutions” changed his life and he encouraged new students to watch the film.

"After watching the film, I doubled my commitment to living more sustainably." For the full text of Smarr's speech click here.

so many events, so little time

From apocalyptic masterpieces to all-night dance parties and free surf lessons … next week is jammed packed with a slew of fun-filled events that are FREE to new and returning students. Welcome Week kicks off with the all campus dance in the price center lawn on Sunday night. On Tuesday night students can grab a free dinner and mingle with professors at the Welcome Week Convocation dinner. Also next week, ArtPower! is kicking off the season with a free screening of Dr. Strangelove on the Price Center East lawn.

Friday students can “follow the candy lane” to the Price Center where there will be prizes, free snacks, entertainment and candy, of course. Later that night there will be a free concert by Keak da Sneak.

The week caps off with day at the beach where kiddies will be treated to a free lunch and get complimentary surf lessons, kayak rental, and tide pool/pier tours. In this economy it's hard to beat anything that's free.

new freshmen share the spotlight at annual picnic

It was all smiles at the annual Summer Send-Off Picnic on Sunday at UCSD as new students from the San Diego area mingled and got the inside scoop about the university from alumni. Chancellor Marye Anne Fox, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Penny Rue, and Armin Afsahi, '90, executive director of the UCSD Alumni Association, were joined by new students, such as Revelle College freshmen Axel Gonzales. Gonzales, a biochemistry major who plans on attending medical school, attended the picnic with mom, his grandparents and great aunt. Gonzales is from San Ysidro and graduated as valedictorian from Mater Dei Catholic High School in Chula Vista. He chose UCSD over Cal, UC Santa Barbara, and UCLA. Nice.


The La Jolla Light highlighted the heart-warming event in this story

here come the Econauts!

When school starts this month, the EcoNauts, a corps of environmental student educators, will fly into action. Seven students have been hired to help their peers and the residential staff learn more about sustainable practices, and ultimately, help UC San Diego lower its carbon footprint. EcoNauts will work with student groups on campus wide events involving: recycling, composting, water conservation amd conservation, and social sustainability.


ABC 7 in Los Angeles recently highlited the econaut's commitment to being green. Click here to read the full story

back to school in the age of facebook

More than 1,700 incoming students are making friends, exchanging information and learning about UC San Diego through Facebook’s UCSD Class of 2013 page. The group was created last winter quarter by Aaron Burt, a high school senior from Thousand Oaks, Calif. who was hoping to attend UC San Diego. As acceptance letters went out to Burt and thousands of others last spring, the group’s site got an influx of traffic.

Students write to each other daily to exchange information about UC San Diego before their first quarter begins. Some chat about their respective colleges while others, like Patrick James Holman, ask if there are any students who can practice tennis with him before tryouts.

The discussion board also is rampant with activity. The topics range from “who surfs?” to "who's an engineering major?" and “who’s ready to party?”

“I had no idea the site would grow so much, but I’m happy students are making friends,” Burt said. “It’s definitely made me less nervous about starting school; I’m excited to meet the other students in just a few weeks."

san diego's social media maven hails from ucsd

She just may be the hardest working girl in San Diego -- May Jacob, ’05, balances several careers as a club developer, promoter, event coordinator, fashion show producer, model, clothing designer, and web and graphic designer. Oh yeah, she’s also a burgeoning rock star.

The theatre and dance major, who goes by May Star, was inspired to produce fashion shows after she co-wrote, co-directed, produced and starred in her own play during her senior year at UC San Diego. “Producing a play all on my own taught me how to cast shows, make flyers, and organize and direct people,” she said.

Jacob never studied marketing or web design, yet she is a self-taught virtuoso in both fields. As a social media maven, she seemingly lives online. Jacob built four MySpace profiles that reached out to thousands of users and she successfully transitioned onto Facebook where she has more than 1,000 friends. She just started a new blog and she tweets too.

Jacob uses the net to promote “Club Fashion Whore,” a themed discotheque and fashion show that she hosts the first Saturday of each month at the Ruby Room. Past themes have ranged from “depression era garden party”, to “disco” and even “trailer chic.”

When she’s not modeling or myspacing, Jacob performs in an indie rock band. Her band is finishing up recording the MAYSTAR album and she has plans to collaborate with producer Marcos Curiel of the band P.O.D.

So what’s next for the Karen O-esque fashionista? Jacob hopes to open up her own night club venue soon and wants to start a new band.

Mike Judge Mentions ACGC

Mike Judge, an alumnus of UC San Diego, and creator behind cult films and TV shows such as “Office Space,” and “King of the Hill,” has a new film, “Extract,” coming out this weekend. Judge has been in the news recently and he mentioned his talk at the All Campus Graduation Celebration in this Washington Post story.


WASHINGTON POST: So Mike, you recently gave the commencement address at our alma mater [the University of California at San Diego]. How'd it go?

MIKE JUDGE: I felt pretty good about it. But now there's YouTube, so if you slip up, it adds kind of a new level of stress and nervousness. I'm just glad I didn't make a mistake worth [posting].

... He certainly didn't slip up. In fact, he was a big hit with the students. If you missed his speech you can go to this link to check it out.

wong fu makes headlines

Online videos have changed the landscape of the film industry and Wesley Chan, Ted Fu and Phillip Wang are living proof. The three UC San Diego alums met in a 2004 visual arts class and started first making movies together “just for fun.” Now their films, which include the You Tube cult favorite Yellow Fever, collectively have more than 10 million views on the website.

Now their Wong Fu Productions Web site gets 5,000 hits a day from loyal fans who come to view their frequently updated collection of free short films.

Their success was recently highlighted in this Associated Press story.

new eco-friendly dorms

On Friday, Aug. 28, UC San Diego unveiled its newest housing facility, “The Village,” a huge 1,000-bed project for transfer students that is tracking LEED silver certification. The facility features drought-tolerant, bio-swale landscaping, “hydration stations” that eliminate the need for disposable water bottles, natural free air-flow ventilation and radiators heated by hot water. Granite counter tops are used in place of laminate for a long-term gain, and steel stairs replace carpeting in the eco-friendly buildings.

The new housing also features rooms designed by six teams of interior design students from the Design Institute of San Diego. The themes of the specially designed rooms range from surfing to Paris-chic.

Green Meals

The lunchrooms at UC San Diego are about to get greener and it's not just because of the lettuce. The campus’s Housing, Dining, and Hospitality division will offer cage-free eggs; fair trade coffee, tea, and sugar; organic food and; locally grown fruits and veggies in its dining halls and markets.

Student groups have supported the availability of cage-free eggs, fair trade, and organic foods, a trend that reflects a larger national and international movement for an alternative food system, according to Jeff Haydu, professor of sociology at UC San Diego. “People increasingly believe that they can advance political or social justice goals through their choices as consumers rather than, or in addition to, more conventional political action,” Haydu said. “There is something very appealing about the idea that you can make a difference simply by buying this and not that. Some say, ‘change the world one bite at a time.’”

Dining locations on campus will soon begin regularly featuring locally gown, organic farmer’s markets where students will have the opportunity to buy produce directly from local food businesses :)