Harry Nguyen

Earlier this year, a compromising photo of wholesome American superstar Michael Phelps preparing to smoke from a bong surfaced. The photo, which immediately became the topic of the day in the sports world, as well as the rest of the world, has lead to eight arrests, public statements from Phelps, attempts at damage control from his handlers and actions from Phelps' sponsors.

On Jan. 31, Sacramento announced its solution to save $1.3 billion by next June: furloughs. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's latest plan is to force 238,000 state employees to take an extra two unpaid days off each month.

As California continues to reel during this economic downturn, the University of California has been one of the biggest victims of this financial debacle. Once again, higher education has been hit with budget cuts. In response, those who run one of the best public school systems in the country recently got together and discussed in length (read: desperately) the different solutions they could possibly enact, such as retooling UC admissions policies, in order to meet Governor Terminator's budget cuts.

In order to close California's massive deficit, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed a mid-year budget cut earlier this month to cut $65.5 million from the University of California this fiscal year, adding to the $48 million already cut this year. Furthermore, the proposed 2008-09 budget means that the UC would need to save an additional $100 million to cover student enrollment, expansion and other rising costs not funded by the state. For those doing the math, that means the UC must make $213.5 million appear out of thin air.