• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

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.