According to Executive Officer Lt. Col. Jeffrey Erts, members of the ROTC — called cadets — were supposed to receive the first of their bimonthly stipends, which range from $300 to $500, on Oct. 15. As the U.S. Army scales back on educational assistance because of the federal government shutdown, however, cadets can expect a delay of their stipends until Congress can agree on a budget.

“We expect that they will be paid eventually, but not until there’s a budget,” Erts said. “And right now, there’s no budget.”

The delay of the stipends is disruptive for many cadets, according to UC Berkeley sophomore Tony Chang, a cadet in the ROTC. Chang is studying to work in the Medical Corps and uses the stipend to pay for books and food.

“I know emergencies can happen, and I just want to be prepared, so I had saved up money before the shutdown,” he said. “But other cadets are asking for a little help.”

In addition to the stipend, some students also receive the Army ROTC scholarship, which covers either a cadet’s tuition or housing costs as well as other school-related costs. Erts estimated that of the 50 students enrolled in the program, about 18 receive the scholarship.

Whether the scholarship money will be distributed this semester will be determined in the next two weeks, he said.

“We still have some time,” Erts said. “But if the scholarship is delayed, we will have a discussion with the school to make sure cadets remain enrolled in classes.”

The funding shortage affects other aspects of the ROTC as well. Erts said that while recruitment has been largely unaffected, the program can no longer hold recruitment events off campus, which could hinder the strength of the program in the future.

Meanwhile, the Fall Field Training Exercise, one of the ROTC’s most important events for the fall semester, has been postponed, according to senior military instructor Master Sgt. Jose Magana.

Calling the exercise “critical,” Magana said it offers the only chance for cadets to learn skills such as land navigation and ways to acclimate to the field environment.

Two of the program’s employees were furloughed during the first week of the shutdown, but they were allowed to return to work, according to Erts.

Nevertheless, both cadets and officials remain optimistic. Erts said cadets are taking the funding challenges in stride.

“In some ways, they are too busy to get involved in politics,” he said.

For Tony Chang, the Army is more than an avenue to pay for college anyway.

“I always wanted to be in the Army,” he said. “I fall in love with it more and more all the time.”

Contact Savannah Luschei at sluschei@dailycal.org.

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The legislation, known as Assembly Bill 484, will fully replace the current STAR testing system in the 2014-15 school year with a new statewide computerized exam that will assess students’ knowledge on an individual basis and the success of the new curriculum that many states are in the process of adopting nationwide.

“This is one of the most important and revolutionary changes to education policy, and California is the right state to lead the way,” said Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, D-Concord, who drafted the bill, in a press release.

The testing system — Measurement of Academic Performance and Progress — differs from STAR in style and content, according to Frank Worrell, a professor at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education. Unlike STAR, which predominantly uses pencil and paper, MAPP is completely computer-based, allowing the test to adapt to the ability of the test-taker.

Worrell posed a hypothetical in which two students are given 10 questions and both students answer the first four questions correctly to explain how MAPP works.

“Then one student answers question five wrong, and the other answers it right,” Worrell said. “The first student will then get an easier question designed to figure out what that student doesn’t understand. The one who answers it right will get a more complex, challenging problem.”

Worrell added that the benefit of the test is “a more precise understanding of what students are learning and where their weaknesses are.”

MAPP also tests what students are learning in the classroom — namely, the new Common Core standard, which will be rolled out on a practice basis for some subjects in some grades for the 2013-14 school year.

The curriculum aims to make students think critically and conceptually, making them competitive for a globalized college and career environment, said Karen Hemphill, president of the Berkeley Unified School District School Board.

Hemphill added that the curriculum seeks to change the way schools teach English and mathematics. For mathematics, changes will help students gain a better conceptual understanding of arithmetic and algebra.

Meanwhile, English reading curriculums will feature less fiction. Hemphill estimates that students in middle school will read approximately 50 percent nonfiction, while high school students will read about 70 percent nonfiction.

While Hemphill said she was excited for the changes, she acknowledged there would be a districtwide learning curve as the new curriculum is implemented. To ease the transition, the district plans to host workshops for teachers and parents. It also plans to give intermediary tests this year to make sure students are prepared for next year’s MAPP.

Contact Savannah Luschei at sluschei@dailycal.org.

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The revised proposal, submitted by Councilmember Darryl Moore after public backlash against his original recommendation, dropped the motion to close the registry and instead suggested celebrating the registry’s 22-year anniversary by declaring Oct. 11 Marriage Equality Day.

The City Council established the Berkeley Domestic Partnership Registry in 1991 as a means of helping same-sex couples and opposite-sex unmarried couples obtain the same benefits as married couples.

Councilmember Kriss Worthington praised the adoption of the revised proposal, calling the original “one of the most grotesque, offensive and discriminating policies I have seen.”

The initial recommendation aimed to close the registry as a celebration of same-sex marriage becoming legal earlier this year. Moore, who drafted the proposal, wrote that the registry “only functions as a matter of ceremony” because same-sex marriages are recognized by the state.

But Worthington argued that the registry remains a necessity because both homosexual and heterosexual couples still use it if they choose not to marry. According to Worthington, California law allows homosexual couples to enter a domestic partnership at any legal age but forbids it for opposite-sex couples unless one partner is older than 62.

“If you’re gay, you can be a domestic partner at any age, but if you’re straight, you have to be over 62?” Worthington said. “This is not marriage equality.”

Worthington said the proposal to close the registry, which allows both heterosexual and homosexual couples to obtain a domestic partnership regardless of age, “offended me deeply.”

“In our celebration of a victory for the rights of the gay community, we can’t take away the rights of the straight community,” Worthington said

Other citizens and council members pointed to the popular use of the registry as a reason it should stay open. More than 1,000 couples have used the registry since its creation, including 15 after the legalization of same-sex marriage, according to Councilmember Jesse Arreguin.

“The registry is not just symbolic,” Arreguin said. “It’s important because it provides couples a variety of legal rights and protections, including medical insurance coverage and protection from eviction.”

Berkeley resident Steve Freedkin and his domestic partner are not a same-sex couple but rely on the legal benefits of the registry. Unwilling to get married while “friends in other states can’t,” Freedkin said the registry prevented his landlord from evicting his partner, a protection that would disappear if the registry were closed.

While Freedkin said he believed the proposal was motivated by good intentions, he said Moore didn’t seem “to have all the information” when proposing it.

To commemorate Marriage Equality Day, Moore and Worthington plan to officiate marriages at Old City Hall between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

“We’re going to have the party,” Worthington said. “We’re going to have the party without taking away anyone’s rights.”

Contact Savannah Luschei at sluschei@dailycal.org.

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newscenter.berkeley.edu/Courtesy

Patricia Buffler, a world-class researcher and dean emeritus of the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, died from a stroke in her office Thursday. She was 75 years old.

Buffler, known affectionately as “Pat” by colleagues and family, was a leader in all of her occupations, which ranged from epidemiologist to advocate to homemaker.

As an epidemiologist, Buffler pioneered research in childhood leukemia and other cancers. Her many initiatives included the California Childhood Leukemia Study, launched in 1995 to examine how genes, diet and environmental exposure relate to the development of leukemia in juveniles. To date, the study remains one of the largest in the world.

Although Buffler was distinguished in her field, colleagues said she never concerned herself with status. Lisa Barcellos, a campus associate professor of epidemiology, first came under Buffler’s mentorship 11 years ago and was surprised by her affable personality, which she calls “rare in academia.”

“She was warm, personable, gracious,” Barcellos said. “She had a wonderful sense of humor.”

Buffler began her career when she enrolled at the Catholic University of America, going against her father’s wishes and becoming the first person in her family to attend college.

“Her father didn’t want her to go to college,” her husband, Richard Buffler, said. “And if she did, he wanted her to study something practical. So she chose medicine.”

While attending university, Buffler’s charisma quickly distinguished itself. Classmates elected her homecoming queen one year, and she briefly dated actor Jon Voight, her husband said.

After graduating in 1960, Buffler moved to New York, where she worked as a public health nurse. She later met her husband on a blind date arranged by one of his friends. The two married in 1962 and moved to California, where Buffler earned her doctorate in epidemiology in 1973.

“She was told, ‘We don’t have many women in public health,’ ” Richard Buffler remembered.

After holding various faculty positions at the University of Texas, Buffler returned to UC Berkeley as a professor of epidemiology and dean of the School of Public Health. She became the second woman in the school’s history to hold the latter position, according to Arthur Reingold, a UC Berkeley professor and head of the campus division of epidemiology.

During her 22-year tenure, Buffler was a strong advocate for women in science and health, often offering professional and personal guidance.

“I was surprised at how many women had a story on how Pat had helped them,” said Amy Kyle, a UC Berkeley associate adjunct professor.

Buffler is survived by her husband; her two children, Martyn and Monique; and her five grandchildren.

“She was always thinking ahead for their welfare,” her husband said. “That’s who Pat was. She never stopped helping, for them or for anyone.”

The campus School of Public Health plans to host a campus memorial Nov. 10.

Contact Savannah Luschei at sluschei@dailycal.org.

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Of about 1.7 million students in the class of 2013 taking the test, only slightly more than 700,000 met the SAT College and Career Readiness Benchmark score of 1550 out of 2400, the report states.

The benchmark score indicates a 65 percent probability of students obtaining a B-minus-average or higher GPA in their freshman year of college, a measure the College Board uses as a baseline for success in higher education.

“We must dramatically increase the number of students in K–12 who are prepared for college and careers,” said College Board President David Coleman in a press release. “Only by transforming the daily work that students do can we achieve excellence and equity.”

The College Board is working to expand access to Advanced Placement courses and to PSAT/
NMSQT testing, particularly for low-income students. Last year, however, more than 300,000 students who qualified to take AP courses did not take any, according to the report.

Frank Worrell, a campus professor in the Graduate School of Education, believes the report may reflect a problem UC Berkeley faces — particularly regarding R1A and R1B classes, which are required to satisfy the university’s basic reading and composition requirement.

“At Berkeley, we have a selective group of students,” Worrell said. “But even so, there is a significant minority of students who fail to pass their R1A and R1B courses … At the bottom line, students are just not learning the skills they need (in order) to be successful.”

Robert Schaeffer, public education director of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, believes a better predictor of university performance is a student’s high school performance and not just “arbitrary” test scores.

Moreover, he said, minority representation among students taking the test has increased.

“The SAT does not reflect a decrease in college readiness but an increase in diversity,” Schaeffer said. “No longer is it only white, upper-class males taking these tests.”

Among those taking the test in the class of 2013, 46 percent were minority students — the largest percentage in the test’s history, according to the report.

For the 2013-14 academic year, freshmen admitted to UC Berkeley had an average SAT score of 2077, according to a campus press release.

The University of California removed SAT Subject Tests as an admissions requirement for fall 2012 in response to concerns that the tests were not indicative of how well a student may actually perform on campus.

“The SAT could be considered an indictment of public education,” Worrell said, acknowledging its limitations. “Obviously, the issue is more complex than the tests.”

Contact Savannah Luschei at sluschei@dailycal.org.

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Maliq Nixon left no student group untouched.

A UC Berkeley sophomore and a political activist, Nixon was pronounced dead early Saturday morning at Stebbins Hall, a Northside co-op on Ridge Road where he was living. He was 19.

The cause of death is unknown, according to the Berkeley Police Department.

Since Saturday, there has been an outpouring of condolences on social media and from Nixon’s friends as they recall his infectious spirit.

A history major who friends say was known for his strong convictions and tireless energy, Nixon was active in campus politics. Last year, he volunteered for Cal Berkeley Democrats, interned at the Gender Equity Resource Center and worked on multiple campaigns for the campus political party CalSERVE. This year, he was already hard at work volunteering for CalSERVE Senator Briana Mullen.

“If you were to ask someone if they knew Maliq Nixon, they would know Maliq Nixon,” said CalDems President Sofie Karasek. “He was one of those people who you could bond over knowing. He brought people together just by virtue of being himself.”

Despite having a packed schedule, Nixon made time to enjoy a number of outside interests, according to close friend Ross Cunningham. He was always listening to rap group OFWGKTA, and he loved La Burrita horchatas. He also used to carry a purse — a habit Karasek remembered fondly.

“Even if he wasn’t happy, he’d make sure that other people were,” said UC Berkeley junior Marcel Jones, who knew Nixon through CalSERVE.

Many friends remember Nixon as a captivating orator. His voice would rise in volume as he became more and more engrossed in a debate.

Caitlin Quinn, a CalSERVE senator, said she first took notice of Nixon’s civic engagement before he arrived at UC Berkeley. The incoming freshman was an avid poster on the Class of 2016 Facebook page, where he often engaged in debates. While most freshmen were just settling into the residence halls, Nixon helped Quinn register incoming students to vote.

Cunningham, a UC Berkeley sophomore, also connected with Nixon early in their freshman year. The pair met during Welcome Week and quickly developed a close friendship.

“He lived in his head, often quiet and withdrawn, but he was always willing to talk with you when you’re feeling upset,” Cunningham said in a Facebook message. “He gave so much and expected nothing in return.”

At the time of his death, Nixon was working for Mullen, advocating greater access to mental health services on campus. Mullen said Nixon felt the university “wasn’t doing enough.”

Mullen and others recall Nixon advocating the inclusion of Northside co-ops in the ASUC-sponsored Berkeley redistricting map at a recent ASUC Senate meeting — another issue about which he was vocal.

“He was at every senate, every committee meeting,” Mullen said. “You couldn’t pay most Cal students to sit through those.”

Interim Dean of Students David Surratt said the campus has reached out to Nixon’s family since the death was announced. Plans for a memorial service are pending, Quinn said.

“He was very passionate and very radical, but he would be really really respectful of people that wouldn’t always agree with him,” Quinn said. “And that’s rare. I was really looking forward to seeing where he was going to go.”

Contact Libby Rainey and Savannah Luschei at newsdesk@dailycal.org

Correction(s):
A previous version of this article incorrectly said that Maliq Nixon was a prospective history major. In fact, he was a declared history major.

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