UC Berkeley ASUC President Arrested
Daily Californian
Oct. 13
Associated Students of UC Berkeley President Kris Cuaresma-Primm was arrested outside a Southside bar early Saturday morning and booked into the Berkeley jail on suspicion of public drunkenness, possession of an open container and resisting arrest, police said.
Officers patrolling the Southside area saw a man later identified as Cuaresma-Primm leave a Telegraph Avenue bar while still holding what they suspected to be an alcoholic beverage at about 1:20 a.m., Berkeley police Sgt. Tom Curtin said.
When the officers attempted to issue an “open container” citation, Cuaresma-Primm allegedly took off running, discarded the beverage and ducked into a business on Durant Avenue.
Officers escorted Cuaresma-Primm from the business, and after a brief struggle in which one arresting officer suffered minor injuries, Cuaresma-Primm was detained and transferred into a police car, Curtin said.
Cuaresma-Primm ended the night with a gash on his chin and bruises on his wrists, according to his chief of staff Jamie Liu.
Cuaresma-Primm declined to comment until after his court date.
Some ASUC members called the arrest “embarrassing” and said they hoped the student body’s opinion of the ASUC would not be swayed by the incident.
“I’m embarrassed for the ASUC as a whole,” said Suken Vakil, ASUC student action senator. “But I don’t think one instance of public intoxication by President Primm should be representative of the entire ASUC.”
Others said the incident does not speak to Cuaresma-Primm’s ability to serve as ASUC president.
“I just don’t feel that something that has happened personally to an elected official is really that pertinent to students,” said Imad Ahmed, ASUC international student senator. “That’s his private life.”
‘UCSD Uncensored’ Website Shuts Down
UCSD Guardian
Oct. 13
Creators of a website called www.ucsduncensored.com were asked to discontinue the use of the UCSD initials by Oct. 9, following allegations of copyright infringement made by the Student Policies and Judicial Affairs office, citing the California Education Code.
Boaz Gurdin, a junior in Thurgood Marshall College, and Joe Mahavuthivanij, a second-year transfer student in Earl Warren College, co-created the site, and they opted to discontinue its Web service until the problem is resolved.
The site’s features included different forums where students could post messages, comments and questions. Users were also able to connect to each other through instant messages or e-mail. The site, at the time of its shutdown, had approximately 150 users and received about 1,500 to 2,000 hits a day, according to the creators.
“We talked a lot about what some of the problems with UCSD are, such as how it can sometimes be a very spread-out and anti-social campus because people don’t see each other or cross paths,” Gurdin said. “The website’s purpose is to try to improve UCSD by creating a venue where people can communicate, connect and form a community; where you can express yourself, learn more and be more involved with the campus.”
The California Education Code, Section 9200, states that no student organization or business can use the name “University of California” without permission from the UC Board of Regents.
UC To Review Admissions Process After Report on Berkeley SAT Scores
Associated Press
Oct. 7
The University of California will review admissions procedures at all eight undergraduate campuses after a report found that UC Berkeley admitted hundreds of students in 2002 with SAT scores far below those of applicants who were denied admission.
UC President Robert Dynes agreed to the comprehensive analysis on Oct. 6 at the request of board of regents Chair John Moores, UC spokesman Michael Reese said.
Moores was the main author of the preliminary analysis of UC Berkeley’s admissions process. His confidential report to fellow regents, obtained by the Los Angeles Times, revealed that nearly 400 undergraduate students were admitted to UC Berkeley in 2002 with SAT scores falling between 600 and 1000, well below the 1337 average for last year’s total admitted class.
Nearly 2,600 applicants with scores from 1400 to 1500 were not admitted, and 600 would-be Cal students with SAT scores above 1500 were also rejected.
Berkeley administrators said the report contained largely accurate data but may have misinterpreted aspects of the admissions process. They noted that many of those who scored high on the SAT but were not admitted had low grade-point averages or withdrew their applications early. Others applied for an extremely competitive major or were residents of other states, for whom standards are higher.
Berkeley administrators also noted that the SAT test is only one factor in judging a student’s academic record.
