Shooting Arrows

The Daily Bruin carries a story today about possibleconstruction of an archery range on campus as a component of a large donation which is raising some ecology concerns. Apparently, the area currently contains California native plants and is usedin some coursework and has raised some faculty objections.  As pressures for fundraising ramp up –reflective of the larger university/state budget situation – these kinds of conflictsover university property and land use seem to keep cropping up.  Earlier - and still-current - examples involvethe hotel/conference center project and the proposed sale of the JapaneseGarden.

Excerpt:

Just behind ParkingStructure 11 and the Hitch residential complex ­– on the northwest tip ofcampus – is a four-acre patch of land.  Knownas Sage Hill, UCLA geographers have designated the area as the only functioningecosystem of native Californian plants and animals on campus. Professors takestudents on official field trips to the area at least once a quarter, and usethe land to teach students how to take soil samples and biological inventories…  Discussions are currently underway regardingthe building of an archery range “somewhere along Veteran Avenue,” said BradErickson, executive director of UCLA Campus Service Enterprises. He added thatthese plans are still in a conceptual stage, and no formal planning process hasbegun.  University spokesman Phil Hamptonalso confirmed that the university is considering utilizing donated funds toprovide what he described as much-needed recreational space on the northwestside of campus…

The full Daily Bruin article is at http://www.dailybruin.com/index.php/article/2012/01/sage_hill_site_facing_pressure

Back in 1930, we had plenty of space for archery on campus.  But in our modern circumstances - with much less open space - one is reminded ofthe old Twilight Zone episode – “I Shot an Arrow in the Air.”  As it turned out in that story, where it came down provedunfortunate:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Credit Where It's Due?

CaliforniaWatch has an article today about deals between credit card companies and universities which give the card offerers exclusive rights to mailing lists. The article is based on data released annually by the Federal Reserve.

It appears that in the case of UCLA, the deal is with the UCLA Alumni Association and not UCLA itself. In 2010, the Association received $733,318 based on 26,505. The contract indicates that the card issuer has access to “members” defined as follows:

"Member" means alumni, fans, ticket holders or supporters of the University of California, Los Angeles Athletic Department ("UCLA Athletic Department") and/or other potential participants mutually agreed to by UCLAAA and MBNA America.

It appears that private universities may make these deals directly and collect the revenue. (USC got $1.5 million.) Public universities do not make these deals and leave it to their alumni groups to do so. Whether there is some prohibition on public universities making such arrangements is not indicated in the article.

The CaliforniaWatch article is at http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/state-colleges-alumni-groups-reap-66m-credit-card-royalties-12429

The Federal Reserve database is at http://www.federalreserve.gov/collegecreditcardagreements/Search2010.aspx

The contract with the UCLA Alumni Association is at http://www.federalreserve.gov/CreditCardAgreementsContent/CollegeAgreement_1902.pdf

Before you rush out for your credit card and get into debt, maybe you should ask Mom: