Beware of the wild guesses of yours truly

We have been following the question of whether a lower court decision saying UC-Berkeley would have to cut back its planned enrollment. At one point in the blog postings, yours truly made a "wild guess" that somehow this verdict would not stand.* Well, at least I called that guess "wild." Read on:

Capitol Alert of Sacramento Bee

UC Berkeley must cut enrollment by thousands after California Supreme Court ruling

Andrew Sheeler, 3-3-22

The University of California, Berkeley, must cut enrollment by thousands of students, after the California Supreme Court on Thursday denied the university’s petition for a stay on a lower court’s order. Under that court’s order, UC Berkeley must limit its student enrollment to 2020-21 levels, meaning the university must rescind at least 5,100 admission offers to reduce enrollment by 3,050 students. The Supreme Court’s ruling represents a 4-2 decision, with Justices Goodwin Liu and Joshua Groban dissenting. 

In the dissent, Liu wrote, “In addition to the acute loss to each of these prospective students, the City of Berkeley would also be denied the social and economic benefits of accommodating a full student population, while the university’s potential loss of $57 million in tuition would undermine California’s interests in expanding access to education. “This is not even to mention the contributions of leadership, innovation, and service that our state and broader society may lose if thousands of students have to defer or forgo attending UC Berkeley this fall,” Liu wrote. 

At issue is a California Environmental Quality Act lawsuit filed by the community group “Save Berkeley’s Neighborhoods,” which seeks to block a student housing project. The group argues that UC Berkeley should not be expanding enrollment when there is not enough housing for existing students. “UC Berkeley has known since last August that they were subject to an enrollment cap, yet they took no action to notify applicants that they would be required to admit fewer students for Fall 2022. Instead they waited until late January to notify students. This cynical political move uses our deserving young Californians as pawns in a political effort to avoid the severe impacts that unmitigated enrollment growth has had on low income tenants in the city of Berkeley,” said group President Phil Bokovoy in a statement after UC Berkeley sent out letters to thousands of prospective students warning them that their admission may be rescinded. 

“UC Berkeley has repeatedly rebuffed (Save Berkeley’s Neighborhoods’) offers to reach a reasonable settlement as recently as early December concerning UC’s failure to house its additional students,” Bokovoy added. “In addition, UC Berkeley students themselves have repeatedly said that UC should stop increasing enrollment until it can provide housing for its students.” 

In a statement released following the California Supreme Court’s decision, UC Berkeley’s public affairs office expressed disappointment with the ruling, calling it “devastating news for the thousands of students who have worked so hard for and have earned a seat in our fall 2022 class.” The university said that it is in talks with lawmakers “to identify possible legislative solutions.” 

“At the same time, we are preparing to implement enrollment reduction in case there is no timely fix,” the university said in a statement. “Our implementation strategies will focus on mitigating the harm to prospective students, largely by increasing online enrollment and/or asking new, incoming students to delay enrollment until January 2023. While these strategies will enable UC Berkeley to make available as many enrollment seats as we can, the lower court order leaves us with options that are far from ideal.” 

The California Supreme Court’s decision also has drawn condemnation from the Bay Area business community. The Bay Area Council, a public policy advocacy organization representing Bay Area businesses, issued a statement calling the decision “a crushing blow” to the dreams of thousands of students. “We continue to work with UC Berkeley, city and state officials and legislators on a possible solution that will allow these students to enroll this fall,” Bay Area Council President and CEO Jim Wunderman said in the statement. “What this terrible lawsuit clearly and loudly demonstrates is the urgent need for comprehensive reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which has become a primary tool of local activists and others in blocking housing and other vital infrastructure our state badly needs. It’s long past time to bring CEQA into the 21st century so that it better reflects today’s environmental, social and economic priorities.”

Source: https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article259021993.html

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*http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2022/02/too-many-at-berkeley-part-2-wild-guess.html.

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Editorial Note: The governor and the legislature could act to override this decision in some way. The push for increased enrollment is in fact a product of pressure by the governor and legislature. But yours truly will take a pass on making further wild guesses about what will happen. But for the political actors at this point, it's pretty much "put up or shut up" on enrollment.

Actual Enrollment

The San Francisco Chronicle looks at the numbers of freshmen who actually enroll at UC - as opposed to the applications and finds that shifting the pool of applicants doesn't have much effect on the eventual enrollment. 

...Black students made up just 4.4% of the overall 2021 freshman class, which is just slightly up from 3.7% in 2011. According to estimates from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey collected from the Minnesota Population Center, 6.2% of Californians between the ages of 18 and 24 are Black — almost two points higher than the share of Black freshmen enrolled at a UC school. Hispanics make up about 49% of the 18-to-24-year-old California population, compared to 25% of Latinos among UC freshmen (The Census Bureau collects data on whether people identify as “Hispanic,” while the UC collects data on “Latino” identification). White students are also underrepresented among UC freshmen, according to these estimates — 28% of Californians between 18 and 24 years old are non-Hispanic white, compared to 19% among the student body. Asians are the only group with higher representation in UC enrollment than in the California college population, by about 20 percentage points...

Full story at https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Record-number-of-Black-and-Hispanic-students-are-16969458.php.

Editorial note: Yours truly gets nervous when these types of analyses appear and suggest - implicitly to be sure - that Asians are a problem for UC that needs to be "solved." We are all aware of recent incidents of anti-Asian sentiment and physical attacks. If there is a problem in UC enrollment, it has to do with California's K-12 system, California's income distribution, and other societal forces. UC restructured its admissions practices - mainly by dropping the SAT/ACT. More people applied as a result. But there were no changes in California's K-12 system, California's income distribution, or other societal forces. These are the results. They look similar to what we had before the restructuring. Maybe that shouldn't be a surprise.

Newsom calls on CA pension funds - including UC's - to sell more than $1.5 billion in Russia holdings

Where's the buyer?

From the Sacramento Bee: Gov. Gavin Newsom called on leaders of California’s public pension systems on Tuesday to sell their investments in Russia. The state’s Public Employees’ Retirement System and State Teachers’ Retirement System, along with the University of California Retirement Retirement Plan, have investments funds worth a combined $970 billion. They together hold more than $1.5 billion in investments in Russian stocks, private equity holdings, real estate, debt and other investments, Newsom said in a letter to the three chairpersons of the pension systems’ boards of directors.

CalPERS board President Theresa Taylor said... that while she was “personally appalled at Russia’s actions,” sanctions prevented the immediate sale of the system’s public assets in Russia, adding the system’s directors would have to weigh the affordability of getting rid of its private assets in the country

Newsom asked the three chairpersons to advise him of the steps they’re taking within 10 days...

Full story at https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/the-state-worker/article258928008.html.

There may be significant problems and losses entailed in selling off Russian assets in a fire sale mode. Where are the quick buyers? It will be interesting to see what is said about this demand from the governor at the next meeting of the investments committee of the Regents about two weeks from now. Note that the Board of Regents - which includes the governor as an ex officio Regent - has a fiduciary duty to the fund.

John Edmond, Professor Emeritus of Biological Chemistry (1937-2022)

From the UCLA Dept. of Biological Chemistry:

We are saddened to report that John Edmond, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Biological Chemistry, passed away on February 17, 2022. Born on January 21, 1937 at Balafark Farm, Fintry, Scotland, Edmond was just passed his 85^th birthday.

 

After obtaining his BSc and PhD in Chemistry and Biochemistry from the University of Glasgow, Edmond served as Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at the same university. After a brief stint as a research biochemist in a basic lipid laboratory at Shell Research in England, Edmond was recruited as Assistant Professor to the Department of Biological Chemistry in 1968. His research career encompassed developmental neurobiochemistry and metabolism, focusing on lipid metabolism in the brain and its relationship to developmental disorders. Dr. Edmond had a distinguished academic and scientific career spanning over 40 years. He served as a reviewer in the NIH Physiological Chemistry Study Section (1980-86), and on the editorial board of Journal of Neuroscience Research for more than a decade.

 

John was a true citizen of UCLA and served on many committees, providing effective service to not only DGSOM but also to UCLA and the broader UC. Among the posts he held were Chair of the Academic Senate Committee on Research (1988-89), Chair of Statewide Committee on UC Research Policy (1989-1990), Chair of the Council on Planning and Budget (1992-94), Chair of the Academic Senate Task Force on Research Policy (1995-96), and Chair of the Academic Senate (2001-02). He was also the founding Chair of the Academic Senate Council on Research (1996-97). In DGSOM, Edmond served on the medical student Admission Committee and Gender and Power Abuse Committee for many years. Edmond believed deeply in the role of the Academic Senate and the model of shared governance at UCLA.

John was beloved by his students as well as his colleagues. He was variously described as principled, compassionate and fair with a cheerful personality. No task was too small to recruit his help. He was held in high regard by his trainees and peers alike.

He is survived by his wife Lorna whom he met and married in Glasgow, two children and four grandchildren. At his wish, his ashes will be interred with those of his family in Scotland.

Food Assistance for UC Students

UC Schools Are Seeing A Sharp Rise In CalFresh Enrollment

By Jill Replogle, 2-23-22, LAist

On Tuesday, UCLA student volunteers and staff stacked a table with free snacks and helped students start the process of enrolling in the food benefits program CalFresh. Gina Basile, a third-year studying dance and education, dropped by to see if they could help her figure out why she hadn't been able to use her CalFresh debit card, which she got in late January.

Ten percent of California Community College students and nearly 12% of University of California undergraduate students are enrolled in the CalFresh food benefits program, according to a new report from the California Policy Lab. For the UCs, that number is a jump from a decade ago — with a pivot upward in 2016 that the report suggests is tied to increased funding for the UC Basic Needs Initiatives:

The report also found that enrollment rates were generally higher among Black, Latino and Native American students, and among students who are the first in their families to attend college.

CalFresh provides low-income students with up to $250 per month to spend on groceries. The state has estimated that as little as 18% of eligible college students are enrolled in the safety net program, even though a much larger share of students report having trouble paying for food.

"The opportunity to have these benefits has been sort of life-changing, but I haven't been able to access them," Basile said. "It's really frustrating and really scary." Basile said she and her roommates all work minimum wage jobs, which don't pay enough to support off-campus living, even with her financial aid package.

"I thought that would be enough for me until I actually started living on my own and really got a sense of my own financial responsibility," said Basile, who is the first in her family to go to college. "Also this is my first time I moved away from home and so I just want to make sure that [my parents] know that I'm OK."

Food Insecurity 'Pretty Rampant' Among College Students

Elise Dizon-Ross is a co-author of the CPL report, which she said is the first comprehensive look at which California college students are using the food assistance program, known at the federal level as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). "We knew food insecurity was pretty rampant among college students but we didn't know how many students were actually accessing these benefits," she said.

Dizon-Ross noted the wide variation in CalFresh enrollment on different campuses — for example, from a low of 7.8% of undergraduates at UC Riverside to 21% at UC Santa Barbara and 21.5% at UC Merced. She said this is likely due in part to the number of eligible students but also to the level of campus outreach and administrative support to get eligible students signed up.

Among other local UCs, just over 8% of Irvine and Los Angeles students are enrolled...

Full story at https://laist.com/news/education/uc-schools-are-seeing-a-sharp-rise-in-calfresh-enrollment.

News release from California Policy Lab: https://www.capolicylab.org/news/new-datapoint-shows-how-many-uc-and-community-college-students-received-calfresh-benefits-in-2019-20/.

Full California Policy Lab report: https://www.capolicylab.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Student-Participation-in-CalFresh.pdf.

Patent Loss

Patent Office: 1924

From time to time, we have tracked the seemingly-endless litigation over patent rights to CRISPR. It seems UC-Berkeley and UC have suffered a defeat. From Mercury-News:

UC Berkeley’s Jennifer Doudna earned a Nobel Prize her lab’s work on Crispr-Cas9, a revolutionary method to edit DNA. But on Monday, UC lost its patent rights. Ending — for now — a long, vitriolic and expensive fight over commercial application of a pioneering tool that is transforming biological research, a board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruled on Monday that use of the genome editing technology in humans belongs to the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, not UC Berkeley. UC’s claims “are unpatentable,” according to the decision.

It’s a major blow for UC, representing a potential loss of $100 million to $10 billion in licensing revenues, according to Jacob Sherkow, a professor at the University of Illinois College of Law who studies the intersection of scientific innovation and patent law, regulation, and bioethics. While UC can keep what it’s earned so far, he said, it will be limited in the future.

“This means that a number of UC Berkeley’s patents that are directed to the canonical CRISPR system — when used in the cells of higher organisms, like humans — are not valid,” said Sherkow. “Some of them are still valid. But arguably a large swath of the most important ones, from a financial perspective, are not.”

Vowing to challenge the decision, Doudna said that “today’s USPTO ruling is surprising and contrary to what more that 30 countries and the Nobel Prize Committee have decided regarding the invention of CRISPR-Cas9 genome engineering technology for use in all cell types, including human cells.” In a statement, UC said that it was disappointed by the decision and believes that the board made a number of errors. UC retains rights to more than 40 other CRISPR-related patents that were not involved in this case, it said...

Full story at https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/02/28/uc-berkeley-loses-crispr-gene-editing-patent-case/.

UCLA Seems Anxious for the New Normal to get back to the Old Normal

From the UCLA newsroom: As part of UCLA’s commitment to build community and forge connections with Westwood Village, the university will host its inaugural First Thursdays event on Thursday, March 3, on Broxton Avenue.

The monthly series, developed in partnership with the Westwood Village Improvement Association, will feature daytime and evening events for students, staff, faculty, alumni and members of the local community designed to highlight the village’s attractions and revitalize the historic link between the campus and the neighborhood.

“Westwood Village has always been such an important part of the UCLA community, and the village was an important part of my experience as a student,” said Mary Osako, UCLA’s vice chancellor for strategic communications. “With the incredible challenges the pandemic has wrought over the past two years, we know so many businesses have struggled in our community. First Thursdays are a new way for us to support them, encouraging Bruins to spend a wonderful day and evening in the village while at the same time supporting the business community and its growth in ways we hope can have a real economic impact.”

The events, to be held on the first Thursday of each month, kick off in the afternoon at the village’s bustling Westwood farmers market, where Bruins can shop for locally sourced foods and connect with UCLA-operated booths offering information and mentorship opportunities. In the evening, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., UCLA presents a series of community-building activities involving interactive installations, music, food and giveaways. Attendees will also receive coupon books for Westwood and campus businesses. The series will run through June...

Full release at https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ucla-first-thursdays-debuts-in-westwood.

Note: It's worth a reminder that a rush to normality produced some unfortunate results last fall before Omicron shut things down again:

http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2021/11/the-pauley-crowd-event-unmasked.html

http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2021/11/crowds-without-controls-are-not-wise.html