Opinion

“Most people have to work for a living; others get to play video games.” That is what United States Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) said about research at UC Irvine’s Center for Computer Games and Virtual Worlds in the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Science.

Mark Yudof has been called one of the Top Ten Best College Presidents of All Time by Time magazine. When he became president of the UC System in 2008, he stepped into a financial bear trap: Arnold had just cut the UC budget by 20 percent when the UC was already facing a billion-dollar deficit. Not to mention the fact that there wasn’t going to be much help from the rest of the state itself as California was feeling the brunt of the recession.

The proposed budget cuts on California’s Medi-Cal program show serious political failure. The beneficiaries of the Medi-Cal program are low-income families, foster care children, low-income seniors over 65 and disabled individuals. The program provides health insurance to some 6.5 million Californians. In the year 2010-2011, the approved budget for Medi-Cal was $60,163,121; Governor Brown’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year is $42,539,740. At the same time, Brown wants to increase taxes over $9 billion in the form of higher sales, income and vehicle taxes. If the state is cutting social security for low income families and increasing taxes, who will be the ultimate beneficiaries of the state savings?

After multiple rounds of brutal budget cuts and skyrocketing fee hikes, many in the UC Irvine community supported Governor Brown’s campaign in the hope that he might put an end to this nightmare. Since announcing his $500 million cut to the UC - nearly 20 percent Ń it seems that this nightmare may just be beginning. At least, that’s the way the UC administration is portraying it.

“Rejection. The exclusivity of any university is judged primarily by the amount of students it rejects.”

The Associated Students of UC Irvine has taken a stance against the budget cuts proposed by Governor Brown. On Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2011 the Legislative Council passed legislation (R46-60) in opposition to such cuts. The legislation urges the California State Legislature to open discussion on alternatives that do not hinder public higher education.

Letters from Meredith Michaels, Richard Lynch and Christian M. Peralta

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In December 2010, the UC Irvine Bookstore erected signs announcing, “Foodies, Rejoice!” advertising the President’s Blend olive oil selected by UC President Mark Yudof. At $12 a bottle, the gourmet olive oil reflects high-quality and extensive agricultural research done by the UC Davis Olive Center, producers of a number of olive oil blends including The President’s Blend, which is being sold at all UC bookstores.

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