Education 10-16

In an effort to preemptively strike against the costs associated with treating diabetes and obesity, the Diabetes Resource Center of Santa Barbara County launched a program at Franklin School to promote healthy lifestyles through athletics, fitness programs, and nutrition. Dubbed the Childhood Obesity Initiative, the program is funded by a grant from the California Endowment and has already proven successful in Carpinteria Schools.

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Caltrans announced on 10/14 that a statewide $46 million Safe Routes to School grant would go to benefit one Santa Barbara County school: Montecito Union School, which will receive $392,000 for a new pedestrian pathway and curb ramps along the west side of San Ysdiro Road.

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The 10/15 issue of the Daily Nexus, UCSB’s campus newspaper, featured an advertisement from the David Horowitz Freedom Center condemning the Muslim Student Association (MSA). A similar ad ran in an April Nexus and created an uproar on campus, with university employees petitioning the paper not to run such ads. A Nexus article in the 10/15 issue noted that the paper observes a “strict separation between its editorial and advertising departments in order to maintain objective reporting.”

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UCSB was ranked the 98th best university in the world-four spots ahead of University of Southern California-in a new survey by the London-based Times Higher Education and the independent research firm QS Quacquarelli Symonds. Eight other California schools ranked in the top 200, including UCLA (No. 30), UC Berkeley (No. 36), UC San Diego (No. 58), UC Davis (No. 89), and UC Irvine (No. 132).

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As of an update last week, UCSB had the lead in the nationwide Ultimate College Bowl contest, which will reward the college campus that registers the highest number of student voters with scholarships and a concert by indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, among others. Ultimate College Bowl is a partnership between MySpace and nonpartisan voter registration groups like Declare Yourself, HeadCount and Rock the Vote. (/ucb1016)

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UCSB’s Center for Nanotechnology in Society helped secure a $24 million grant from the National Nanotechnology Initiative for the new UC Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology, the university announced on 9/10. The UCLA-based center will draw on the talents of UCSB researchers for studies in subjects like public perception of hazards related to nanotechnology and environmental toxicology. (/nano1016)