UC Berkeley goes into shelter-in-place following campus-wide threat
UC Berkeley announced a shelter-in-place order — shutting down the campus and alerting all individuals to remain indoors — on the morning of April 21 after threats were made against faculty at the Center for Educational Equity and Excellence, according to The Daily Californian. The shelter-in-place order was lifted at around 2 p.m. on the same day after the suspect was located off-campus and was no longer deemed a threat by the Berkeley UC Police Department.
According to campus spokesperson Dan Mogulof, the suspect issued threats directed at specific campus members at 7:30 a.m. that morning, and the Berkeley UC Police Department (UCPD) gave a shelter-in-place order after deeming the threats as credible.
A tweet from Berkeley UCPD stated that the suspect was not an active shooter and that police were “actively looking for a person who may want to harm specific individuals.”
“The threats that UCPD was made aware of this morning were extraordinarily serious and very credible,” Mogulof said at a press conference the following day, reported by The Daily Californian. “When threats like that are received, we’re not going to take any chances when it comes to the safety of the community.”
All in-person classes were canceled for the rest of the day following the lift of the shelter-in-place order. Mogulof said the university will release more information regarding the situation in the following days.
UC Merced begins initiative to increase enrollment of students of color
UC Merced is joining the 1300 Campaign, an initiative aiming to send 1,300 students of color from the Northern Central Valley to the UC and California State University (CSU) systems by 2030. The university announced the endeavor on Saturday, which will be in collaboration with CSU Stanislaus.
“This project requires the will and commitment of all of those who work with us, to lay the academic and social groundwork for students of color to succeed,” Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz said to UC Merced News. “UC Merced, where more than 90 percent of our undergraduates are students of color, fully embraces this challenge to do even more.”
The initiative seeks to target schools that are “underperforming the state averages for graduation rates, A-G completion rates, college-going rates, 4-year college-going rates, expulsion, suspension, and free or reduced lunch,” according to the 1300 Campaign website. Additionally, it offers the opportunity for one cohort of high school students this summer to experience college life for a week at UC Merced or CSU Stanislaus.
“I am committed to developing a strong relationship with our institutions to guide our students through the system,” Modesto City Schools Superintendent Sara Noguchi told UC Merced News. “I look forward to seeing the improvements we will see in our city and the whole state.”
UCSF celebrates 1,000th lung transplant since program’s inception
The UC San Francisco hospital completed its 1,000th lung transplant last week through the clinic’s Lung Transplant Program, which was established in 1991.
Patrick Alexander, a 60-year-old male from Fresno, is patient number 1,000 and is currently recovering at the hospital following the procedure.
“We don’t know much about the donor family or the donor his or herself but we’re just so grateful,” Alexander said to ABC7 News.
Alexander sought treatment after scarring on his lung was discovered, impeding oxygen from entering his bloodstream. According to UCSF transplant surgeon Dr. Jasleen Kukreja, the operation is expected to extend Alexander’s life by 10 to 12 years.
“We went from 19%, almost 19-20% airway complications requiring some sort of intervention down to less than 1% now, which is quite remarkable because no other program has been able to achieve that outcome,” Kukreja told ABC7 news.
A version of this article appeared on p. 2 of the April 28 print edition of the Daily Nexus.
