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Friday, September 25, 2026

Here's Looking at You, Kid

Email notice recently circulated at a campus building complex:

We are pleased to announce that our new campus security camera system is now operational following a great deal of effort and time in planning and implementation.

This significant investment enhances campus safety and security by providing coverage at many primary building entrances.

Please note:

  • Cameras are intended to support campus safety and security efforts.
  • Cameras are not actively monitored. No one is routinely watching live camera feeds.
  • In accordance with California law and university policy 133, footage is reviewed only in response to safety, security, or other authorized investigative matters.
  • Recorded footage is retained for 30 days, after which it is automatically overwritten unless needed for an active investigation.
  • Requests for footage must be processed through UCPD. Individuals seeking review of footage should first file a police report. Building Services cannot provide or review footage upon request.
  • Camera locations were determined based on security priorities, infrastructure, and available project funding. While we understand there may be interest in additional camera coverage, the current system reflects the locations identified as providing the greatest overall security benefit to the campus.
  • As a reminder, personal security cameras (including Ring cameras and similar devices) are not permitted on campus unless reviewed and approved through the established campus and UCPD process. Approved security cameras must be installed through the university and be accessible to UCPD in accordance with policy. This does not apply to cameras used for routine video conferencing, virtual meetings, or instructional purposes.

Thank you for your support as we continue our efforts to maintain a safe and secure campus environment.

Straws in the Wind - Part 475

From an email received by yours truly: ...I am writing to share an important update regarding the Jenessa Shapiro Fellowship Fund, which you generously supported to honor Jenessa’s legacy.

 

Due to recent changes in federal guidance, we had to make revisions to the fund criteria to ensure the fund can continue to be awarded in compliance with current regulations. The new fund description is: “To support UCLA Anderson students with demonstrated interest and/or experience in inclusion, access and impact. UCLA administers scholarships, fellowships, and any other student financial award in compliance with federal, state, and university regulations.”

 

All other award criteria has been removed.

 

Please know that our intent is to steward your gift responsibly and to ensure that it continues to benefit students in a manner consistent with both your philanthropic intent and applicable requirements.

 

If you have any questions or concerns about this change, please contact me within 30 days of this letter's date. If we have not heard from you by then, we will move forward with the understanding that you are in agreement...

Free Bus - Part 2 (history)


Back on Sept. 17, we posted about a free bus program at UCLA for employees below a specified pay level. Now a bit of history:

In the early 2000s, UCLA had a more comprehensive BruinGo free bus program financed out of parking fees. The late Prof. Don Shoup evaluated the program and found it to be a success by any measure. See:

https://dn760109.eu.archive.org/0/items/CompetitionForNaturalResourcesInCaliforniasSierraNevada/Unlimited%20Access%20-%20An%20Evaluation%20of%20the%20UCLA%20BruinGo%20Program%20and%20its%20Lessons%20for%20California.pdf 

But the program was nonetheless terminated.

So now we have a lesser version of what we once had. Just saying...

Source of image above: 

https://www.facebook.com/UCLA/posts/pfbid02MqA3rJwTYTbG32qLDdea5KHQieiKyvXcCN15dmBbxXepS94JQ6JPyoHaGT9f4Zval.

Thursday, September 24, 2026

Food for Thought - Interpretation

From the California Post concerning Chancellor Frenk's statement on the law school 9/11 conference:

“I chose the words of my statement carefully and deliberately,” [Frenk] said. “Some subsequent accounts have characterized it as a condemnation, rebuke or repudiation of the symposium. A careful read of my statement will fail to find any of those words..."

A rep for Frenk told The California Post that the chancellor’s statement was “absolutely a condemnation” of the 9/11 event when asked if the academic leader’s statement was in fact a condemnation...

Full story at https://nypost.com/2026/09/18/us-news/ucla-chancellor-pressured-to-retract-rebuke-over-event-with-9-11-mastermind-lawyer/.

Straws in the Wind - Part 474

From the Yale Daily News: Yale spent $26.2 million on outside legal fees — a 46 percent increase from the previous period — in the fiscal year ending June 2025, which includes the first five months of the second Trump administration. The approximate $8.3 million jump from the $17.9 million spent in fiscal year 2024 is the largest increase on record for Yale, according to publicly available tax filings dating back to 2001 — though the University’s spending on legal fees has trended upward over the last five years. The $26.2 million figure corresponds to the period from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025, the most recent one with public disclosures available, and comes from Form 990 disclosures filed in May 2026...

Yale’s lobbying spending has also skyrocketed during the second Trump administration. After Trump’s 2024 election victory, [Yale President] McInnis began a lobbying push to address declining trust in universities and oppose policies that could cut Yale’s funding...

Full story at https://yaledailynews.com/articles/yale-increased-legal-spending-amid-trump-administration-inquiries.

Will Harvard Continue to Lead the Charge? - Part 200

From the Harvard Crimson: Harvard’s School of Public Health has privately weighed asking UnitedHealthcare, Tenet, and CVS Aetna to fund its research as it works to replace money lost to federal funding cuts, according to a person familiar with the matter. The three companies emerged from a November meeting of the HSPH Health Policy and Management Executive Council, where attendees suggested them as the most attractive candidates for a partnership given their size and budget, the person in the room said. CVS Aetna was a particularly promising prospect, an HSPH affiliate told the council, because Troyen A. Brennan — an adjunct faculty member who joined HSPH in April 2022 after 14 years as chief medical officer and executive vice president at CVS Health — could help broker a relationship with the company. Two other people confirmed the council has brainstormed corporate partnerships in recent meetings but did not specify which companies it landed on...

The school’s funding picture shifted sharply last year after the Trump administration cut off nearly $2.7 billion in Harvard’s research grants. HSPH — which relied on private and federal sponsors for 59 percent of its operating budget in fiscal year 2025 — was hit particularly hard. Last spring, the school cut budgets across its departments, laid off staff and researchers whose projects lost funding, and slashed Ph.D. admissions in several programs. The Biostatistics department, which lost out on a large NIH grant midway through the review process, halved its number of admitted students for the cycle. At the time, then-HSPH spokesperson Stephanie Simon wrote in a statement that the school faced a “significant budget crisis” and that its research operations were “seriously jeopardized.” ...

Full story at https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/9/18/hsph-corporate-research-funding/.

DOJ vs. UCSF

From the LA Times: UC San Francisco’s medical school illegally used race in admissions, discriminating against white and Asian applicants in favor of Black and Latino ones, the Department of Justice [DOJ] alleged Tuesday... In a nine-page letter to UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood, the Justice Department alleged the medical school used racially discriminatory practices when selecting its incoming classes of 2023, 2024 and 2025. It said the practices violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars racial discrimination by institutions receiving federal money, and the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling against race-based affirmative action in college admissions. “Unfortunately, at UCSF Medical School, MCAT scores and undergraduate GPAs have taken a back seat to race,” Assistant Atty. Gen. Harmeet K. Dhillon said in a statement. “Aspiring doctors should be admitted based on their qualifications.”

In a statement, a UCSF spokesperson said the university disagrees with the finding. “We will continue to engage constructively with the department and look forward to resolving this matter,” the statement said...

Full story at https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-09-22/doj-ucsf-medical-school-admissions-discrimination.

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DOJ News Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-finds-ucsf-medical-school-discriminates-based-race-admissions.

DOJ "Findings": https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1462136/dl.