The Bond

From the Sacramento Bee: The Yes on Proposition 38 campaign has raised more than $38 million and spent nearly $20 million of it on television advertisements in support of the $8.4 billion immunology research bond on the November ballot. The No on Proposition 38 group had raised less than $640 by Sept. 19. Instead of funding ads, the group is focused on letter-writing campaigns to highlight possible issues with the ballot initiative. On Oct. 6, they wrote a letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta alleging that the measure may violate the state constitution...

Only one research institute in California appear[s] to meet the criteria for half of the immunology bond’s funds: the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy, an independent medical research organization affiliated with UCLA. Gary Michelson, a billionaire philanthropist and medical inventor, is both the co-founder of that institute and the chief backer of Prop. 38...

A section of the California Constitution that says an initiative that identifies a private corporation to perform any function or have any power may not be submitted to voters. While Prop. 38 does not name any private corporation, [opponents] asked if it “makes any legal difference when the requirements effectively identify it.” ...

The campaign had raised more than $38 million, as of Sept. 19, of which more than $33 million has come from billionaire philanthropist Gary Michelson and his nonprofit Michelson Center for Public Policy. Another $5 million was donated by Meyer Luskin, co-founder of the institute...

Full story at https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article317528464.html.

Straws in the Wind - Part 492

From Inside Higher Ed: Cornell University will re-examine its sexual assault prevention and response efforts and take a “serious look at the role of fraternities and sororities in campus life,” President Michael Kotlikoff said in a video statement... Kotlikoff called what happened to the student, known as Jane Doe, “deeply disturbing.” ...

In the weeks since Doe made her experience public in a lawsuit against Cornell and the seven men she alleges raped her, the Ivy League university’s response to sexual assault on campus—as well as its efforts to prevent sexual violence in the first place—have come under intense scrutiny from students, employees, alumni and the general public.

...Campus tensions ran high [last] Monday. Anonymous activists smashed a glass door and spray-painted “SMASH THE PATRIARCHY” and “AT CORNELL RAPISTS ARE PROTECTED PROTESTORS ARE EXPELLED” on the walls of an administrative building... “We wanted to ensure that Day Hall, the center of Cornell’s administrative function, was not able to continue business as usual,” the activists wrote in a statement...

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced... that Cornell had agreed to an independent investigation of how it handled the rape allegation; Kotlikoff said... that the Board of Trustees plans to share details about that investigation this week...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/governance/executive-leadership/2026/10/06/cornell-will-take-serious-look-role-greek-life.

College Scorecard

FYI: The US Dept. of Education has a database of colleges and universities. UCLA's scorecard is pictured above and can be found at:

https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?110662-University-of-California-Los-Angeles

If you poke around on the scorecard, you can find data on cost to attend (for students receiving federal aid), median salary 4 years after graduation, race/ethnicity of students and faculty, and other information.

Halloween Scare

From the Daily Bruin: Aahs! The Ultimate Gift Store will celebrate its last Halloween in Westwood before shuttering Nov. 3. Aahs! – which opened in 1981 on the corner of Kinross Avenue and Westwood Boulevard – sells costumes, props, toys and novelty items. The business sold its Westwood location – the chain’s last remaining store – to UC Investments in September, said Jack Bhasin, the store’s owner of 43 years and current president.

UC Investments purchased the Westwood Village Collection in July, which includes 14 Westwood properties. UC Investments acquired Aahs! in a separate purchase, said Michael Russell, the executive director of the Westwood Village Improvement Association... UC Office of the President declined to comment on UC Investments’ plan for the newly acquired properties. Declining foot traffic, recent business closures and a lack of accessible parking contributed to the store’s closure... Several Westwood stores and restaurants – including Broxton Brewery, Urban Outfitters, Sarah Leonard Fine Jewelers and Espresso Profeta – have shut down in the past year...

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2026/10/06/aahs-to-shutter-after-halloween-joining-recent-westwood-business-closures.

Straws in the Wind - Part 491

From the Yale Daily News: Yale has already made 78 percent of the budget cuts it planned to implement over three years in response to last year’s endowment tax hike, according to Yale’s fiscal year 2027 budget that was released last month. The endowment tax hike, which was part of President Donald Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act, is costing Yale $247 million this fiscal year, after the tax jumped from $52 million to $299 million, according to the budget. The increased figure represents 3.6 percent of the University’s total spending this fiscal year. The cuts leave 22 percent left to achieve for the remaining two years of the three-year target...

Yale spokesperson Karen Peart wrote in a statement to the News, on behalf of University Chief Financial Officer Katrina Spencer and deans of several schools the News contacted for comment, that “some areas of the university will feel more financial strain than others.”

Full story at https://yaledailynews.com/articles/yale-already-made-majority-of-cuts-to-offset-trump-s-tax-budget-shows.

MacArthur

From the UCLA Newsroom: More than two decades ago, artist Rodney McMillian spotted a battered armchair by a trash heap, brought it to his art studio and began thinking about what happens when everyday objects are removed from one setting and placed in another. His resulting found-object sculpture, “Chair,” was an early example of the type of artistic inquiry that has defined his career, evoking questions about class, poverty and history, both broad and personal. Now McMillian, a professor in the UCLA Department of Art and head of the department’s sculpture area, has been recognized as a 2026 MacArthur Fellow by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, joining 19 other “exceptional, creative and inspiring people” who make up this year’s class.

The prestigious fellowships, commonly known as “genius grants,” are awarded annually to individuals across the sciences, arts and humanities who demonstrate exceptional creativity, dedication and potential for future innovation. The award comes with an $800,000 no-strings-attached stipend paid over five years. “Rodney McMillian’s work speaks to the power of art to challenge how we see the past, illuminate the present and deepen our understanding of the world around us,” said UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk. “His recognition by the MacArthur Foundation is a testament to the extraordinary creative talent that makes UCLA such a vibrant intellectual community.” ...

Full news release at https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/faculty-artist-rodney-mcmillian-named-2026-macarthur-fellow.

Video at:

Or direct to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIuEk-DUtxk.

Leg Assembly on Childcare Closing

Resolution Against Closing Early Care and Education (ECE) & University Parents Nursery School (UPNS)

Legislative Assembly members voted via the Academic Senate Data Management System on the Resolution Against Closing ECE & UPNS. The Legislative Assembly received a total of 93 votes cast: 89 Approve, 4 Oppose. This Resolution required a majority of votes cast by present members to be approved. [AIPSC (2nd ed.) 5.1]. A majority of votes cast (96%) were to Approve this Resolution.

(from Academic Senate email announcing vote)