GAUCHO GOSSIP

Rumors coming out of UCSB appear to be true this week that
former President Bill Clinton is coming to town later this month.
On the afternoon of October 13th, Clinton will be joined by Kinko’s
kingpin Paul Orfalea for a public discussion on the subject of
global leadership for the future. A portion of proceeds from the
event will go towards UCSB’s recently formed Orfalea Center for
Global and International Studies. Tickets go on sale at the
Arlington box office this week.

It appears the long-loved spiritual lunch at UCSB – which
featured homemade dishes and great midday Bhakti yoga talk – will
be forced to shut down or at least change its behavior after eight
years of successful and soul-nurturing lunch breaks. Organizers
received official word from the Office of Student Life late last
month that the program must meet the university’s definition of
potluck – that is, at least 80 percent of the group’s members must
bring a dish – or else it will be shut down and disbanded by the
police. In the past, the group has offered vegetarian meals on
Wednesdays and Thursdays, with zero instances of food poisoning or
general hygiene disruptions.

In the wake of a virtual live music lockdown and serious
anti-keg regulations, the powers that be in Isla Vista have brought
down their good-times-squashing iron fist on outdoor furniture. The
Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance
recently making it illegal to put any “indoor” furniture outside.
The move is an attempt to curb the storied IV tradition of burning
couches in public places. Last year, 31 couches met their death by
fire.

Worm studies at UCSB have resulted in the discovery of a gene
that combats mutated cancer cells. Nematode worms have been found
to possess a gene known as P53, which is the most important cancer
prevention gene because it causes damaged cancer cells to die off.
The worms’ marked ability to survive starvation, low oxygen levels,
and exposure to environmental stress such as radiation have all
been linked to the P53 gene. The discovery, made by William B.
Derry of the Rothman lab, is already being used by the
biotechnology industry for anti-cancer drug research.