Tuesday, January 27, 1998
Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down
THUMBS
New buses good for nature
Thumbs up to the new fleet of campus buses. Introduced two weeks
ago, the buses run on natural gas instead of diesel fuel, making
for more environmentally friendly fuel consumption and less
pollution. Eleven new buses have replaced the old ones.
The buses get the equivalent of 8 to 10 miles per gallon and can
travel approximately 200 miles on a full tank. Drivers say the new
buses perform as well as the older ones, although they can
accommodate fewer people.
Small step for lower fees
Thumbs up to the UC Board of Regents, who recently voted to
reduce fees for college students by 5 percent for the next two
years. Students will save $190 per year under the bill titled the
College Affordability Act.
Although it may seem like a marginal fee drop considering fees
were increased significantly since 1989, every little step counts
.The act will also increase out-of-state and international fees by
$400 per student per year.
Better watch what you say
Thumbs down to Chilean Supreme Court Judge Servando Jordan for
issuing a criminal complaint to two Chilean journalists over an
article which called him "an ugly old man with a murky past." The
journalists were subsequently arrested under a supposed violation
of Chile’s state security law, which protects Supreme Court judges,
among other high-ranking government officials, from "anything which
can be construed as an attack on the state."
Rafael Gumucio, one of the journalists, said outside a Santiago
courthouse, "I’m not sorry for what I said about Jordan because I
meant it in a humorous way." But apparently, calling someone ugly
is no laughing matter – it’s a serious offense to the state.
Luckily, that rule does not apply here.
Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down represents a majority opinion of the Daily
Bruin Editorial Board. Send comments or topic ideas to
thumbs@media.ucla.edu.