Governor Newsom requests “independent review” into the UC for sharing names with the Office for Civil Rights
According to The Daily Californian, California Governor Gavin Newsom is requesting an “independent review” into the University of California for sharing names of Berkeley community members with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
In August, Berkeley provided the names of roughly 160 students and faculty members to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) as part of an investigation into the University for allegedly failing to adequately respond to reports of antisemitism. During a press conference at UC Berkeley on Oct. 3, Newsom said he was “unaware” of the incident until he read about it, but is refraining from sharing his opinion until the investigation is finalized.
“Once I have that information [from the independent review], I’ll be able to make a judgment as to whether or not it was consistent with past practices or whether or not it should be adjusted in terms of policy moving forward,” Newsom said at the press conference.
Newsom continued by saying he has an “extraordinarily good working relationship” with UC President James B. Milliken and the UC Regents, and has been working with them for several weeks. Milliken shared a statement later that same day, stating that universities across the country, including UC campuses, have complied with federal requests for decades in accordance with federal civil rights laws. He expressed that the unredacted files were shared as a “last resort” after the OCR rejected the redacted files.
“Notably, these statutory and regulatory requirements are intended to ensure that universities fulfill their legal obligations to respond adequately to complaints of discrimination and harassment — not to investigate underlying individual employee or student conduct,” Milliken’s statement read.
The day before the conference, Newsom reacted to the Trump administration’s proposal to nine American universities. According to The New York Times, the proposal, or “compact” is a statement of the administration’s educational goals. If universities sign on, they will receive “multiple positive benefits,” according to a letter sent alongside the compact. The University of Southern California is the only California university that received the proposal.
“California universities that bend to the will of Donald Trump and sign this insane ‘compact’ will lose billions in state funding — IMMEDIATELY,” Newsom’s X post in reaction to the “compact” read. “California will not bankroll schools that sign away academic freedom.”
UCLA regains almost all research grants suspended over the summer
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Sept. 22 to restore nearly 500 grants that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) had allocated to UC Los Angeles. In late July, the Trump administration suspended 800 total grants over allegedly using race-based admissions, allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports and failing to promote an environment free of antisemitism and bias.
The NIH has restored all but nine grants or less, according to a court-mandated update from Department of Justice attorneys.
A judge ordered the administration to restore the other 300 grants from the National Science Foundation in August. The previously suspended research grants amounted to $584 million in total.
According to CalMatters, these grants fund research into life-saving drugs, dementia, individuals with heart disease in rural areas and many other science and health-related inquiries.
‘’Mystery cat graffiti person’ at UC Davis ordered to pay $32,000
The California Aggie reported that a UC Davis student known as @happycatshrooms on social media has been ordered to pay the university $32,000 in restitution for spray painting cats around campus.
From her first year until the summer before her fourth year, @happycatshrooms spray painted cats around campus infrastructure — including dormitories, bike tunnels and other campus buildings — to the delight of many students.
“Going online and seeing the excitement about the pink cats was always cute,” third-year political science major at Davis, Samantha Wang, told the Aggie. “It felt like a bonding experience for UC Davis students — like a unique part of the town and campus culture.”
Police officers caught her spray painting a cat over the summer and arrested her. After several court dates, a judge charged her with a misdemeanor and ordered her to pay for the damages.
“I understand that what I did was wrong,” @happycatshrooms told the Aggie. “But I also don’t want it to get lost that this is a very harsh punishment for what it was — and I haven’t spoken to a single person who disagrees.”
The graffiti artist said that a retail employer rescinded her job offer after she failed a background check, despite the retailer being an equal access employer. She is now selling stickers and hats with the graffiti cat, with sales going towards restitution payments.
A version of this article appeared on p. 2 of the Oct. 9, 2025 print edition of the Daily Nexus.
Gaven Newsome is the future of America and we must vote for him to replace the FoxNews-whatching republitard that occupies 1600 Pittsburg Ave. Gaven has led California to a budget surplus and we have the lowerest unemployment in the US. Without his leadership w’ed bee all 3 feet underwater do to see level rise and global warming but now the eletric grid is 100% solar so that was avioded. Of coarse you right wing morrons do’nt no any of this