Lack of sleep and unhealthy eating habits are correlated, according to a UC Berkeley study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications.

UC Berkeley professor of psychology and neuroscience Matthew Walker and doctoral students Andrea Goldstein and Stephanie Greer analyzed differences in the brain activity of 23 young adults after they experienced a normal night’s sleep compared to no sleep at all. The sleep-deprived brains showed decreased activity in the decision-making area of the frontal lobe and increased activity in the reward-receiving part of the brain.

The participants were presented with 80 images of different foods, ranging from healthy foods like fruits and vegetables to higher caloric specimens such as pizza and doughnuts. The sleepless brains found the less nutritious choices more appealing.

In a UC Berkeley press release, Walker said that the sleepless brain begins to have trouble with complex judgments and decisions and instead compensates with increased activity in primal brain structures that focus on motivation and desires.

UC Berkeley student Ryan Keane said that he either eats unhealthily or not at all during finals week, a time students are usually sleep-deprived. He said food becomes invasive and throws him off schedule.

“It all comes down to better time management,” Keane said. “If people are not sleeping well and are not eating well, they aren’t going to be productive and aren’t going to be (functioning) at the best of their abilities. It’s a horrible, perpetual cycle.”

UC Berkeley student Melanie Choi, who sleeps for one to two hours a night when she is preparing for midterms, said that with less sleep, her appetite perishes. Instead, she stays awake on coffee, tea and other drinks. Though her lack of appetite contradicts the study, she agrees that an insufficient amount of sleep hinders good health.

“It’s your decision whether or not you sleep a lot,” Choi said. “You can definitely sleep a lot, but (as a student), it is at the sacrifice of studying.”

In essence, Walker’s study scientifically suggests what several students have known all along — the more they sleep, the healthier they eat.

Contact Sasha Costello at scostello@dailycal.org.

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Jacob Brown/Staff

The University of California released its annual report on systemwide employee compensation for the 2012 calendar year today.

The 2012 gross salaries of more than 191,000 career faculty and staff employees, as well as part-time, temporary and student employees, are disclosed in a searchable database on the UC website.

The database includes big-name UC figures like:

• UC President Mark Yudof: $600,599.00
• Former UC Berkeley chancellor Robert Birgeneau: $445,716.00
• UC Berkeley professor Alexei Filippenko: $247,676.20
• UC Berkeley professor and former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich: $246,199.84
• UC Berkeley professor Ananya Roy: $147,161.15
• UC Berkeley law professor John Yoo: $329,451.07
• Former Cal Football coach Jeff Tedford: $2,146,581.24
• UCLA visiting professor James Franco: $12,249.84

Shirin Ghaffary is the executive news editor. Contact her at sghaffary@dailycal.org.

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Wilcox will be replacing Jane Close Conoley, the interim chancellor, who has served since former chancellor Timothy White left the school to become chancellor of the California State University system at the end of December.

“My values and interests align perfectly with UC Riverside, one of the nation’s great research universities,” Wilcox said in a statement released Thursday. “I look forward to meeting with students, faculty, staff, alumni and members of the larger community, to learning and exchanging ideas and to working toward making Riverside the best it can be.”

Wilcox, a professor of communicative sciences and disorders at Michigan State University, served as provost and executive vice president for eight years before stepping down on July 1.

He served as dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Kansas from 2002 to 2005 and as president and chief executive officer of the Kansas Board of Regents from 1999 to 2002.

“Kim Wilcox brings to the University of California distinctive expertise and interests that will serve the Riverside campus and the larger community exceedingly well,” said UC President Mark Yudof in a statement. “He has been a dedicated teacher, scholar and researcher who also excelled as an academic leader and chief executive, always maintaining his commitment to diversity and access to higher education.”

The UC Board of Regents will discuss Wilcox’s appointment and compensation at a special meeting on Aug. 8 and will consider the effective date of the appointment on Aug. 19.

Andrea Guzman is a news editor. Contact her at aguzman@dailycal.org.

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Sureya Malkonian/File

The UC Board of Regents is set to meet this week at the UC San Francisco Mission Bay campus for its bimonthly meeting. The board is expected to discuss the UC system’s 2013-14 and preliminary 2014-15 budgets, a report on the University of California’s efforts to implement online education programs and other items at the three-day meeting, which began Tuesday. The board is also expected to vote the nomination of U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano as the next UC president on Thursday.

This page will aggregate all the decisions made by the UC Board of Regents at the meeting scheduled for July 16 to 18.

Tuesday, July 16

• The regents approved a plan to increase funding for repairs to 148 apartment units at UC Santa Cruz’s Cowell, Stevenson, Porter and Kreske colleges pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act.

• The regents approved an amendment of the budget and external financing for UCSD Medical Center East Campus Bed Tower, now called the Jacobs Medical Center, to increase inpatient beds, medical units, and operating rooms.

• The regents approved the budget of $25,053,000 for external financing for the Nimitz Marine Facility Berthing Wharf and Pier at Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Nimitz Marine Facility in Point Loma.

Wednesday, July 17

• Sadia Saifuddin was unanimously appointed as a student regent by the UC Board of Regents, with one regent, Michael Blum abstaining from the vote.

• The UC Board of Regents approved the update on the 2013-14 budget presented by the Committee on Finance. The budget will increase by 5.8 percent from the previous year to a total of $138.3 billion in State General Funds and Special Funds.

• The UC Board of Regents approved an 8 percent increases in Professional Degree Supplemental Tuition levels for the four nursing programs at UC San Francisco, UC Los Angeles, UC Davis, and UC Irvine, effective August 1.

• The UC Board of Regents approved an increase in contributions to the UC Retirement plan for both UC and its employees, effective July 2014.

Thursday, July 18

• The regents approved the appointment of  Melvin Stanton and Randolph Wedding as co-acting Chief Investment Officers in response to the recent retirement of Marie N. Berggren, effective July 2, 2013.
• The regents amended Regents Policy 7401 to revise the Faculty Code of Conduct to protect the rights of faculty to freely express opinions regarding institutional matters, such as UC policy. Revisions were also made to conform with state law regarding discrimination on the basis of “gender” and “gender expression.”
• The regents also discussed the annual accountability report, which analyzes long-term UC trends such as enrollment, faculty demographics, and graduation rates.

Thurday, July 18 – Special Session

Contact Jane Nho at jnho@dailycal.org.

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The strike is in its third day, and BART and union officials have yet to agree on a compromise in wage negotiations. As the BART strike severely restricts the flow of public transit, here are some transportation alternatives to know to ease your daily commutes.

BART

Free parking in lots during strike

Casual carpooling spots for commuters

Free transbay shuttles:

• West Oakland station shuttles to SF from 5 to 9 a.m. (reverse trips 3 to 7 p.m.)
• El Cerrito, Walnut Creek, Dublin/Pleasanton, Fremont stations to SF, 5 to 8 a.m. (reverse trips to 3 to 7 p.m.)

AC Transit

Extra F line buses

CalTrain

Service throughout the Peninsula to San Jose and Gilroy

San Francisco Bay Ferry

Alameda Main Street to SF Ferry Building every 45 minutes

Oakland’s Jack London Square to SF Ferry Building, weekday peak commute hours every 45 minutes

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Sondheimer was placed on administrative leave on June 3, immediately after the university learned of allegations that he had engaged in inappropriate conduct, said UCLA in a statement.

According to a CBS 2 news report, Sondheimer had sent inappropriate messages on the Internet to an individual he believed to be a 13-year-old child. Sondheimer was in fact messaging a decoy from Operation Riptide, an organization dedicated to exposing child predators.

Sondheimer, a 1977 UCLA graduate, had served 36 years as UCLA’s associate athletic director and was heavily involved in on-campus recruiting and issues regarding athlete academics.

“The allegations were unrelated to his job at UCLA and did not involve students or any other employees of the university,”  UCLA said in the statement. “The university and its police department simultaneously began a full investigation, which is ongoing.

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Michael Ball/Staff/File

This Fourth of July, Berkeley residents will not have to stray far from home to find several exciting Independence Day events.

The largest event of the day is the Berkeley Marina Fourth of July fireworks & festival taking place from noon to 10 p.m. Along with live music and food, the festival will feature entertainment ranging from free dragon boating to pony rides. At the end of the day, there will be a fireworks show visible from the Marina at 9:30 p.m.

If BART is still on strike, several modes of transportation to the event are still available.

For those driving, parking passes at the Marina will cost $15 for the day; however, no vehicles will be allowed in or out after 7 p.m. until the event is over. There will also be paid parking at nearby Golden Gate Fields racetrack with shuttle service to the event.

Although it will be a holiday, AC Transit will run until 6:30 p.m. Cyclists will also have the option of free-of-charge valet parking at Richmond Spokes near Adventure Playground at the Marina.

In addition to the Berkeley Marina festival, two smaller events highlighting the cultural diversity of America will be offered.

From noon to 5 p.m., the exhibit “Our Many Cultures” will be open to the public at no cost at Expressions Gallery, located at 2035 Ashby Ave. The exhibit highlights the many cultures present in America and in the world.

Kala Art Institute, located at 2990 San Pablo Ave., will also offer free admission from noon to 5 p.m. to the exhibit “Freedom of Expression, The Work of Enrique Chagova.”

“Freedom of Expression” explores the history of Mexico and current political events with ties to American history and popular culture, specifically around colonial conquest and current issues surrounding the U.S.-Mexico border.

For more information, see the event calendar of visitberkeley.com.

Contact Nico Correia at ncorreia@dailycal.org

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A day after the Berkeley-based plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case were married at San Francisco Hall, after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the ban on gay marriage, the two found their marriage in jeopardy.

Typically, a grace period exists between the Supreme Court’s final ruling and implementation, but in this case, the 9th circuit court acted almost immediately to enact same-sex marriage just two days after the Supreme Court’s ruling on Proposition 8, causing an emergency appeal filed on behalf of the Prop. 8 legal team.

The appeal was filed after the California Department of Public Health released a letter directed by Gov. Jerry Brown to the clerks and registrar and recorders of the 58 counties of California that “effective immediately, county clerks shall issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in California.”

A Protect Marriage press release brought up the lack of a 25-day waiting period: “under Supreme Court procedural rules, ‘final disposition’ comes when the Supreme Court issues a ‘mandate’ to the Ninth Circuit, at least 25 days after announcing its opinion in the case.”

According to the press release, this immediate action of the decision did not allow time for petitions for the Supreme Court to rehear the case.

On Sunday, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy struck down the appeal, and Stier and Perry’s union will stand after more than four years of legal entanglement for the right to marry in California. Their marriage, witnessed by hundreds of enthusiastic onlookers, is finally legal.

With that final blockade to the marriage of Sandy and Kris gone, more celebration and happiness is sure to abound in the Perry household, according to their son Spencer Perry.

“It never occurred to me that I would feel any different after my parents got married,” Spencer said. “I can only describe how I’m feeling now as patriotic: I feel more connected to my country after this decision.”

Contact Nico Correia at ncorreia@dailycal.org

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Mary Zheng/Staff

Students on the north side of UC Berkeley no longer need to trudge across campus to get their frozen yogurt fix after the opening of a new Menchie’s frozen yogurt franchise Wednesday.

The franchise, located at 1862 Euclid Ave., will have its grand opening Saturday and will feature free yogurt for guests between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The restaurant will be open Monday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Prior to the opening of Menchie’s, there were few dessert options on the north side of the campus, according to Stacey and David Aucella, who own the Menchie’s. Finding this location was thrilling, they said.

“Everything around here is food, and that seems to be what does the best,” David said. “Our real hope is that not only Cal Berkeley but the community in the North Berkeley Hills will come down with their families and young children.”

The south side of campus has more dessert options, however, which sometimes leads to concerns about competition. Yogurt Park manager Ryan Piscovich said that he is glad Menchie’s is on the other side of campus, because there is already a lot of competition on the south side.

“The area is already pretty watered down with frozen desserts,” Piscovich said. “(Yogurt Park has) been here for 35 years, so I think that we are pretty deeply rooted in the community as it is, but any time you hear of a new place opening up, it is a little disheartening.”

Kat Kirkeby, a Berkeley resident who lives nearby said that she was thrilled when she heard about Menchie’s because it is closer to her than other frozen yogurt locations. However, she was disappointed to find out that Menchie’s is more expensive.

“I’m weighing the pros and cons, because (Menchie’s) tastes better,” Kirkeby said. “The fruity flavors taste fruitier, their topping setup is really neat and the whole setup is very organized. I like it. It’s very tasty.”

Stacey said that the mission of Menchie’s is to make people smile and provide an experience. With indoor and outdoor seating, she said, it is a place where people can relax and leave the stress of the outside world to enjoy themselves.

“It’s looking fantastic,” said Wesley Baker, who works for the Menchie’s global headquarters to help setup franchises. “The franchisees have set it up, the team is fully ready to go, the store is beautiful and I think the community of Berkeley is going to fully embrace Menchie’s and our values and culture.”

Stacey and David hope to become part of the community. Stacey said that there is already a local following of people that have never heard of Menchie’s before, but that have been eagerly waiting for it to open.

“I hope that when people think about where they want to have a special treat, where they feel comfortable hanging out and where they like to come meet their friends and have a low-fat dessert that is more than half the calories of ice cream, they’ll come to Menchie’s,” Stacey said.

Contact Sasha Costello at newsdesk@dailycal.org.

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Abigail Fisher, a white student, brought a lawsuit against the University of Texas at Austin claiming she was rejected for admission in 2008 due to discrimination prohibited by the 14th Amendment. The university argued it had an interest in pursuing limited diversity for its educational benefits.

The Supreme Court said the Fifth Circuit court did not hold the University of Texas at Austin to the burden of strict scrutiny as laid out in previous affirmative action cases and that the decision affirming the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the university was incorrect.

“The Court of Appeals must assess whether the University has offered sufficient evidence that would prove that its admissions program is narrowly tailored to obtain the educational benefits of diversity,” the opinion states.

Read our previous coverage of the case here.

Jacob Brown is a news editor. Contact him at jbrown@dailycal.org.

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