Thursday, October 24, 1996
Prop. 209 debate to be held on UCLA campus
A debate on affirmative action and Proposition 209 will be held
today in Dickson Hall, Room 2160E at 8:00 p.m.
Sponsored by campus organizations, the debate will pit
conservative scholar and New York Times best selling author Dinesh
D’Souza against UCLA professor Jerry Kang.
Speaking in support of the proposition, D’Souza is the author of
several books, including "The End of Racism" and "Illiberal
Education." One-time student editor of the Dartmouth Review,
D’Souza has also served as managing editor of "Policy Review."
The conservative author believes that "a multiracial society can
survive only if fair rules are applied to everyone" and that
affirmative action defeats this very purpose.
His opponent, Kang, is a Harvard Law School graduate. Kang has
participated in numerous discussions, including debates against
Linda Chavez, professional commentator and Glynn Custred, co-author
of the Proposition 209 ballot initiative.
After both speakers state their positions, students will be
allowed to question and challenge the two speakers on their
viewpoints.
Survey reveals student knowledge of cancer
A UCLA survey of college students’ knowledge, attitude and
behavior about skin cancer emphasized the need for a sun awareness
program.
Sponsored by the UCLA School of Public Health, the survey found
that knowledge of skin cancer was low, with few students aware of
how common skin cancer is and what the Sun Protection Factor (SPF)
number means.
In addition, the survey found that behavioral choices in regard
to sun exposure were also poor. More than half the students
reported being sunburned last summer while spending five or more
hours per week in the sun.
The study was conducted in the Spring of 1996 and involved over
1,000 UCLA students. Each participant was given a 29 question
survey in addition to a brochure from the American Academy of
Dermatology.
With more than one million new cases each year, skin cancer is
the most common and fastest rising cancer in the United States.
Currently, the results from this study are being used to
formulate a Southern California sun awareness program.
Report says prison spending hurts schools
Pointing to a dramatic shift in public spending over the last 16
years, a new study says that political decisions that have reduced
funding for higher education  while increasing spending on
prisons  have disproportionately harmed African Americans in
California.
The study, the latest in a series by the Center on Juvenile and
Criminal Justice, a San Francisco-based public policy group, found
that in 1996-97, 9.4 percent of the state’s general fund went to
prisons, while higher education got 8.7 percent.
California’s prisons now have twice as many African Americans as
its four-year public universities, 45,000 compared to 27,500, the
report notes.
At the same time, increasing tuition costs are putting higher
education out of reach for many Californians, particularly African
Americans, the study asserts.
The study was assailed Tuesday as "mindless drivel" by a
spokesman for Gov. Pete Wilson, whose policies were criticized in
the report as the major reason for the erosion in higher education
funding.
But Joni Finney, associate director of the California Higher
Education Policy Center, said the report makes solid points.
"I think higher education has taken a beating compared to other
state services because we have another revenue source  and
it’s called tuition," she said.
Compiled by Daily Bruin staff and wire reports.