Thursday, February 27, 1997Graduate employees to stage day of
action
Today, members of the Student Association of Graduate Employees
(SAGE/UAW) will join graduate students across the country in a
"National Day of Action" to support the unionization of graduate
students who work as teachers, researchers and staff at the
nation’s universities.
Graduate students at more than 20 universities  from New
York to California  will participate in a day of leafleting,
teach-ins, demonstrations and rallies organized by the Coalition of
Graduate Employee Unions (CGUE).
In California, the Coalition of Associated University Student
Employees (CAUSE) will stage actions at five campuses of the
University of California as part of their campaign to increase
pressure on the UC system as they demand recognition for their
graduate employee unions.
At UCLA, SAGE/UAW members will be canvassing campus to get
signatures of support for recognition of their union.
CAUSE is a statewide coalition of five graduate employee unions,
representing a majority of graduate employees in the UC system.
Collection contest deadline approaches
The deadline to enter the 49th annual Robert B. and Blanche
Campbell Student Book Collection Competition is April 9.
This contest is for students who have amassed a book collection
and wish to have it displayed.
Previous winners included collections in subjects such as
Japanese anime and manga, the culture of wine and robots in science
fiction.
Students must include a one-page statement describing how and
why the collection was put together with their entry, as well as a
bibliography with annotations that show the importance of each item
to the collection, explained Valerie Rom-Hawkins, circulation
services supervisor at the University Research Library and member
of the contest’s planning committee.
A Web site for more information on the contest, such as its
history and official rules, can be found on the competition Web
site at www.library.ucla.edu/committees/campbell/index.html.
Lawmaker pushes ban on gay marriage
On Wednesday, a state lawmaker whose son is a homosexual
reintroduced legislation that would prevent California from
recognizing gay marriages.
The bill faces an uphill battle in the Legislature, where not
only are Democrats in control but also the speaker pro tem of the
Assembly is openly gay.
State Sen. Pete Knight’s, R-Palmdale, bill is similar to
legislation he introduced as an Assembly member last year. That
bill passed in the lower chamber but was killed in the Senate.
"I don’t believe it’s in the state’s best interests to be
redefining marriage, and when I say redefining I mean taking the
words ‘one man and one woman’ out of that definition," Knight told
a Capitol news conference Wednesday.
Knight said such a move might also force businesses to provide
benefits to same-sex couples and force schools to teach acceptance
of such unions, "moving the state from a position of tolerance to
one of promotion."
The bill is prompted largely by a case in Hawaii, where a
judge’s ruling that the state must grant marriage licenses to gay
couples is being appealed.
State Sen. Sheila Kuehl, who is openly gay, said she would
oppose the legislation.
"Every time the bill comes up it’s an opportunity for us to show
again that this is a civil- rights issue, and that the gay and
lesbian community is a community already in long-term, committed
relationships," Kuehl said.
Compiled from Daily Bruin staff and wire reports.