Arya Aliabadi/Staff

Although a new UC policy allowing for open access of research passed Friday and was largely celebrated, some are concerned about an exception that allows some professors to opt out.

When the policy takes effect in November, UC faculty members will be required to deposit manuscripts of their articles in the university’s open access publication repository, eScholarship, licensing their work to the university and making their work available to the public.

The policy will undergo a trial period beginning November 2013, when the UC Academic Senate will implement and monitor progress at UCLA, UC Irvine and UCSF. By November 2014, the policy will be implemented systemwide, including at UC Berkeley, contingent on any changes made after the trial period.

“I think it’s a great step forward for UC,” said Academic Senate chair Robert Powell. “It helps put into perspective that UC faculty are working for the state of California, and many of us have research funded by the state of California. We want to put out work into the public domain so that people can access it without having to pay.”

But some say the policy will be ineffective because it allows faculty members to opt out of the requirement. Faculty members can submit waivers on a per-article basis if they want to submit their research to some academic journals that might wish to retain licensing of the work.

UC Berkeley professor of molecular and cellular biology Michael Eisen said he believes that having the choice to opt out will render the open access policy ineffective.

“As more and more universities have policies like this, more publishers will see these archives as a threat to their business,” Eisen said. “My prediction is that over time, publishers will demand that authors opt out.”

Rodrigo Ochigame, co-founder of The Open Access Initiative at Berkeley — a student group that advocates making scholarly work public — said that he was pleased that the new policy has shifted the default setting of UC research to public access, but he also sees the opt-out option as an issue.

“As the policy is reviewed, we will push for a policy without such a major loophole,” Ochigame said. “If not the elimination of opt-out, at least some mechanism to protect authors from uncooperative publishers.”

But Christopher Kelty, a UCLA professor and member of the Academic Senate committee that drafted the open access policy, said that the opt-out clause was included in the policy from the beginning because it was desired by faculty members.

“When you have a large university like the UC, it’s just impossible to not allow faculty to make decisions about what they do with their work,” Kelty said.

Publishers such as Nature Publishing Group, — which publishes various scientific journals, such as Nature — have been making changes to align themselves with open access policies.

NPG marketing director David Hoole said that NPG has offered open access options to scholars since 2005 — these exclusively include open access journals as well as special licensing agreements that are restricted but open after a period of time.

“NPG shares UC’s objectives to make articles as accessible and reusable as possible within appropriate sustainable business models,” Hoole said.

Contact Elise Lagana-Aliotti at ealiotti@dailycal.org.

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ARYA ALIABADI/Staff

Cal alumni Louis Peitzman — a former arts and entertainment editor and a former Sex on Tuesday columnist at The Daily Californian — and Ariane Lange of Buzzfeed fame teamed up recently to create this love letter to Cal. It went viral. In The Daily Clog’s debut use of GIFs, we have composed this updated  list of 40 more signs to recognize a Golden Bear in 2013.

1) You’ve hoarded almost all of your school supplies from Caltopia.

They are giving away free Xbox 360s? Gimme!

2) You’ve mastered the ninja art of flier-dodging on Sproul.

3) You start running when you hear, “Girl Scout cookies for sale!”

4) Or when you see Top Dog empty. 

Lemon chicken or Smoked chicken apple? Decisions, decisions …

5) But to get your CREAM sandwich fix,

That glorious first bite…

6) You will endure anything.

The line starts two blocks away? It just began to rain? Challenge accepted.

7) You wonder whether you spend more time looking for an open seat at Moffitt than you do actually studying.

8) And whether finding an open spot at FSM is even possible.

Seriously. Where did all you people come from?

9) To avoid the late-night lines at RSF, you try to get there early.

10) But all your exercise actually comes from the trek back to your room.

RSF to Foothill? More like Shire to Mt. Doom.

11) You know why blue and gold are the most appropriate colors

Nathan Adrian, three-time Olympic Gold medalist.

12) And have so many reasons to watch the Olympics

Dana Vollmer, four-time Olympic medalist.

13) From the soccer field

Alex Morgan, one-time Olympic gold medalist and 2012 U.S. Soccer Player of the Year

14) To the water course

Erin Cafaro, two-time Olympic gold medalist in rowing.

15) And even the swimming pool

*12-time Olympic medalist. Tied for most medals won for an American woman.

16) Look out, Rio, Cal Bears coming through!

Missy Franklin, four-time Olympic gold medalist.

17) And we mean, seriously …

Dana Vollmer, Natalie Coughlin and Nathan Adrian recreate “Abbey Road” with Michael Phelps

18) You watch movies to find Berkeley references

Now what gate does that look like?

19) Or television shows with familiar personalities

Professor Farnsworth of Futurama is inspired by campus philosophy professor Hubert Dreyfus.

20) And appreciate alumni contribution to college classics

John Cho promoting “Harold and Kumar.”

20) And generational icons.

Cho along with Chris Pine in Star Trek.

21) Sometimes the alumni are generational icons.

Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Inc., delivering the 2013 commencement address at UC Berkeley.

22) Others will lead nations

Haakon Magnus, crown prince of Norway.

23) And all lay claim to the single best mascot of any university.

What you got, Stanfurd??

24) Speaking of which, you turn into an animal during The Big Game

Let those Cardinals know true school pride.

25) And remain an animal for concerts at the Greek Theater.

Green Day is playing? To the Hill, everybody! Who’s with me?

26) You get a heart attack each time you find this in your inbox.

But you secretly admire the subtle passive-aggressiveness.

27) You’ve been aggressively advanced upon by a squirrel

28) And aren’t surprised to find evidence of hipsters in every bathroom stall

29) Or that every class has at least one hipster GSI.

30) You know where to find wizards in your backyard

Bowles = Hogwarts.

31) And have seen Muggles play Quidditch on Memorial Glade.

32) You wonder if the T-Rex from Jurassic Park

33) Was inspired by the giant skeleton in the Valley Life Sciences Building.

34) You have a go-to favorite picture of the Campanile

35) For every

36) Single

37) Possible 

38) Occasion.

39) When someone says you “go to UCB,”

40) You tell ‘em, “I go to Cal.”

You know it. You tell the story. You tell the whole wide world this is bear territory!

This article was made in collaboration with Arya Aliabadi of the photo department and Emily Chin of the multimedia department. 

Image sources: Incase, Astrobuddha, RSammer. Hakan Dahlstrom, Kate Gardiner, MIke_fleming,  John Morgan , D.H.Parks, bil_bly_ca, wallyg under Creative Commons and Arya Aliabadi, Ruby Elizabeth Lee, J. Hannah Lee, Dean Ignacio, Anthony Martinez, courtesy

Contact Alex Mabanta at amabanta@dailycal.org

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Chances are, you’re nervous, stressed or just simply unhappy. But of course we know why: It’s Phase II. Now that you’ve heard all the tricks and tips, heard from the oracles, had your CCNs ready since April and have three backup plans, you’re probably more than well aware that you might not get the schedule you want. And you know what? It’s OK! Remember that here at the Clog, we’re students too. Here are some coping mechanisms that can help you get through accepting your Phase II fate:

1. Accept the inevitable. Something unfavorable is bound to happen. That’s just the way it is. We have a crapload of students, and we’re sure that there’s some statistic out there that explains why it’s so difficult to get into a class you want. You’re attending the No. 1 PUBLIC university. That means a university with A LOT of people. Cut Tele-BEARS some slack. It tries its best.

2. Don’t blame yourself. Your phase dates are out of your control. The number of people who will enroll into a class is out of your control. All you can control is your preparation. If you’re trying your best to be prepared and concerned, why feel like shit when you’re using a system that’s mostly based on luck?

3. Be positive. Think of it as life training. You can be as prepared as the next insanely prepared student, but some things that you don’t want to happen can happen. Learn to be flexible with your semester plans. Tele-BEARS is constantly changing; you’re just never going to know what’s going to be openly available on an online schedule of classes — or what number on the waiting list you’re going to be.

Oh, the joys of attending a public university! Although not very many of us look forward to our phase dates, make the best of it and don’t feel too bad. You’ll only be dealing with Tele-BEARS for so long. There may actually come a day where you’ll miss the anxiety of not knowing what class to add.

On a positive note, what do you LOVE about Tele-BEARS? Share with us in the comments!

Image Source: umjanedoan under Creative Commons 

Contact Karen Kwaning at kkwaning@dailycal.org.

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Check out the UC Regents meeting live stream below:

Video streaming by UCSF

The post UC Regents meeting Day Three Live Blog appeared first on The Daily Californian.

American skies will be clouded in a red, white and blue haze this Independence Day, and ours in the Golden State are no exception. The launching of fireworks is a quintessential tradition, started by none other than Founding Father John Adams himself. In lieu of his hope for “Illuminations from One End of this Continent to the Other” (or Katy Perry’s insistence to “let it shine”), we at the Daily Clog have composed a list of the coolest places to view fireworks in person this Fourth of July in the Bay Area:

1) Berkeley: Fourth of July at the Berkeley Marina. Ensuring a splashing good time, the Fourth of July on the Berkeley Marina will host giant slides, bubble ball rides and, for the adventurous, free dragon boat rowing. Need a little pizzazz? Magicians and jugglers await you at the the Buddy Club Stage. Hear the steel drums? Sing to the sounds of the Caribbean, or bounce to the Brazilian beat with the United Capoeira Association. Starving? Food trucks will be racing toward Berkeley for this international foodie event. For everyone else, try a pony ride, bungee jump off a trampoline or get a therapeutic massage. From carnival rides to live musical performances, Berkeley is where the party is at! Fireworks start at 9:30 p.m.

2) San Francisco: Fourth of July celebration at the pier. Famous for its sleepy population of sea lions and retinue of marine-life themed stores, Pier 39 in San Francisco will host its own Independence Day celebration with musical performances from the world’s only socially-conscious rock band of 10-year-olds, WJM, and the back-to-the-’80s Tainted Love Band. For the kids, drop them off at the magical Smurf Village at Pier 39′s East Park. Then, gaze over the San Francisco Bay for one of the country’s most elaborate fireworks displays, starting at 9:30 p.m.

3) Antioch: July Fourth celebration. Celebrating their historic rivertown, Antioch residents will enjoy a car show and city parade this Fourth of July. With kid-friendly play zones and plenty of entertainment, the festivities come to a sensational end with the city’s one-of-a-kind riverside fireworks show. Fireworks start at dusk.

4) Milpitas: “Red, White and Boom” At the Milpitas Sports Center Complex, the public is invited to a citywide pool party with water games and food. In the evening, a concert by the seven-piece Retromaniax will provide a 60-year journey through American music. Fireworks will explode in the sky shortly thereafter at 9:15 p.m.

5) San Jose: Rose, White and Blue Parade and fireworks after the San Jose Giants. In the capital of the Silicon Valley, celebrations will be nostalgic. Along the Alameda, the old-fashioned “hometown-style” Rose, White and Blue Parade features antique cars, homemade floats and military promenades. Want to see the perfect pitch? At the Municipal Stadium, fans of the San Jose Giants are treated to a special July Fourth “fireworks extravaganza” after their game against the Visalia Rawhides. Fireworks start immediately following the game.

6) San Rafael: Marin County Fair. The nearly week-long “Greenest County Fair on Earth” debuts with the musical shenanigans of “Weird Al” Yankovic on July 3. From carnival rides to the acrobatics of the Chinese Circus of Beijing, the Marin County Fair is sure to put a smile on anyone’s face. And game on! With an extensive list of competitions, including food preservation and horticulture, the fair cultivates the inner competitor like no other. Be sure to check out a screening at the International Marin Film Festival. Finally, stay late to see a fireworks show each and every day, starting at 9:30 p.m.

7) Santa Clara: Fourth of July Fireworks Extravaganza Show. Residents of Santa Clara are asked to bring a lawn chair or blanket for optimal lounging in Central Park. Live performances feature the Buscher Middle School Jazz Band and the soul-inspired Groove Kinds. For hungry Santa Clarans, Food Truck Row will offer numerous sampling opportunities in global fare. The Fireworks Extravaganza starts at 9:30 p.m.

8) Martinez: 4th of July parade. The smallest city in the list packs a surprisingly celebratory July Fourth observation. Residents begin with a community pancake breakfast before heading off to the hometown parade. This year’s theme features kid-decorated bikes being flanked by mounted police and cheerleaders. Along with youth-made floats, the city’s cheer will be captivated by a flashy fireworks display near Waterfront Park. Fireworks start at 9:30 p.m.

9) Palo Alto: Summer Festival & Chili Cook-Off and fireworks at EcoCenter Baylands. Love the spice of summer? Check out Palo Alto’s festival for sun and chili lovers. Alongside live music, kiddie rides and face painting, teams of chefs battle the heat in a blistering chili championship. Too hot for you to handle? Volunteers at the EcoCenter in the Palo Alto Baylands have put on a fireworks display. The Baylands, one of the last marshes in the San Francisco Bay, offers a pristine natural setting with which to view the show. Fireworks start at 9 p.m.

10) Alameda: Celebrate July Fourth on the USS Hornet. To truly experience a Fourth of July like no other, hop aboard the USS Hornet, a retired aircraft carrier that saw action in World War II and the Apollo space missions. Now a museum, the ship boasts war memorabilia and artifacts from the moon missions in its carefully displayed exhibits. On Independence Day, the USS Hornet offers kid-friendly rides in a flight simulator, jump house and inflatable slide. Along with food and live entertainment, including a barbershop quartet, the ship offers panoramic views of fireworks from around the Bay Area on the flight deck. Fireworks start at 9:15 p.m.

And of course, stay safe. According to the National Fire Protection Association, there are more fires on July Fourth than on any other day in the United States. The Consumer Protection Safety Commission reports that almost 30 percent of fireworks-related injuries happen to children under the age of 15. Finally, California’s fireworks laws are complicated, so be sure to check your local community for its latest health and safety codes.

Happy 237th birthday, America! Let those colors burst!

Image source: D.H. Parks under Creative Commons.

Contact Alex Mabanta at amabanta@dailycal.org.

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AC Transit provided 1,000 free one-year EasyPasses on Thursday for employees of small businesses in the Elmwood, Telegraph and Downtown areas to encourage them to take advantage of free public transit in order to increase the number of available on-street parking spaces for visitors and reduce Berkeley’s carbon footprint.

Until 2015, goBerkeley will test out a combination of carsharing, free transit passes and its new supply-and-demand pricing system for parking in efforts to alleviate traffic congestion and limited parking in business districts. The city received funding from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Climate Initiatives Program, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the Federal Highway Administration to test its plans.

“We want to free up the spots to visitors in these commercial districts to bring in higher sales revenue,” said Councilmember Jesse Arreguin.

Part of the problem is that employees of businesses in select areas occupy a great number of on-street parking spots, leaving limited visitor parking, Arreguin said.

The program will partner with the city of Berkeley, MTC, UC Berkeley, AC Transit and public transit nonprofit organization TransForm, among others.

Ann Cheng, a program director at TransForm, says its goal is to get outside employers and employees to take advantage of Berkeley’s public transit options. With the dynamic pricing policy, parking rates will vary by time of day and location so that people can quickly find parking spaces in busier districts.

“The businesses are very supportive,” Cheng said. “I think it’s a really good sign when businesses understand the importance of helping visitors find parking.”

According to Cheng, TransForm’s goal is to increase street parking availability by 16 percent.

City CarShare, a Bay Area nonprofit car-sharing service, was also invited by the city to partner with goBerkeley and help provide more eco-friendly methods of transportation.

“The city of Berkeley is such a forward-thinking city in that it looks at the problem of car congestion and for other ways to get around while looking at sustainability,” said Anita Daley, marketing director of City CarShare.

Some community members have expressed concern surrounding specific aspects of the goBerkeley program. One controversial proposal involves extending metered parking time. Arreguin said that extending meter time would have a negative impact on businesses.

“Oakland did that a few years and there was a huge backlash from businesses and residents, and I think we will see that from the Berkeley community,” Arreguin said.

Contact Lydia Tuan at ltuan@dailycal.org.

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At the conference, UC Berkeley was recognized for its exemplary work in developing sustainable practices. The conference aims to bring together all the higher education systems in California so that they can share sustainable ideas and encourage other campuses to implement similar programs.

“Best of Practice awards are opportunities for us to recognize and bring light to the projects that are the most innovative,” said Katie Maynard, event manager for the California Higher Education Sustainability Conference.

The Best of Practice winners are chosen by a panel including members of the UC Office of the President, the CSU Chancellor’s Office, utilities partners and sustainability-focused nonprofit organizations. Factors considered when choosing winners include cost and energy savings, design and user satisfaction.

 UC Berkeley won the Overall Sustainable Design award for the second year in a row with its housing complex Maximino Martinez Commons. Some of the space’s most sustainable innovations include drought-resistant plants and a solar hot-water system.

“In terms of the awards, it’s one of the top ones that they hand out,” said UC Berkeley Director of Sustainability Lisa McNeilly. “Almost half of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) projects have been in campus housing. This is just another example of Cal Housing being a leader in this area.”

Staff members from UC Berkeley PowerSave, a program that implements energy-efficient projects, were also recognized for their work on the Fight the Flow campaign with the Student Energy Efficiency award. The campaign led to reduced water usage in the residence hall showers by installing valves that allow students to decrease water pressure.

The conference also presented Cal Dining with the Sustainable Foods Service award.

“The award was given to Cal Dining and represents the success of our team as a whole — cooks, chefs, our student workers as well as administrative support,” said Director of Residential Dining and Catering Operations Chuck Davies. “I think the entire team felt proud that we had accomplished something which helps save money and reduces waste.”

By using a LeanPath system to quantify waste in the kitchen, Cal Dining has been able to reduce food waste by 19 percent, according to Davies. Cal Dining’s adoption of the LeanPath system includes scales that collect information on food waste that can be analyzed by staff members at weekly meetings. Maynard said that she thought this approach to reducing waste was unique.

“Many schools just look at ways to compost,” Maynard said. “UC Berkeley is going further than that and really looking at ways to reduce waste through measurement and tracking.”

Contact Elise Aliotti at ealiotti@dailycal.org.

The post UC Berkeley wins 3 awards at CA Higher Education Sustainability Conference appeared first on The Daily Californian.

Sean Conners/Staff

A real caped crusader lurks on Berkeley’s streets. Meet Eugene Tssui. With a resume that overshadows even the Dark Knight, the four-time master’s Olympics all-around gymnastics champion is, all at once, a flamenco guitarist, a Harvard University research scholar, a ceramicist, an author of seven books, a professor at Peking University, an inventor with three pending patents, the current reigning world champion for amateur boxing, a concert pianist and the designer of his very own line of capes. He is a Golden Bear with a handful of UC Berkeley degrees (including an interdisciplinary doctorate in architecture and education). In short, Tssui, 58, is a jack of many trades. He is best known as an architect of buildings — jaw-dropping buildings. One of his homes, the Tardigrade House in West Berkeley, has been named the “world’s most indestructible house.”  Another project, though only in blueprint, is the design for the world’s longest bridge across the Strait of Gibraltar.  But for his long and varied career, Tssui’s story was almost nipped in the bud by the very department that took him in.

Rough beginnings

At the end of his final year as a master’s student, Tssui was invited to exhibit his designs for the campus department of architecture at Wurster Hall. On the first day of his exhibit, a group of architecture professors, shocked by Tssui’s unorthodox designs, called on the administration to take the exhibit down. They succeeded.

“(Dismantling my exhibit) caused an uproar from the students,” Tssui recalls. “They demanded that it be put back up.”

Within 24 hours, Tssui’s detractors buckled but not without a fight. Beneath each of his drawings, the architecture professors also added a blank sheet of paper for the public to comment on.

“I don’t even know what that was about,” Tssui shrugs. “And the comments people wrote said ‘Great!’ and ‘Amazing.’”

Still, Tssui found key mentors and a place to call home at Cal. He doubled up on classes in biology, engineering and education and credits Berkeley’s immense diversity for keeping him rooted and creative. He befriended lifelong mentor Richard Meier, the sole architecture professor who recognized Tssui’s talent.

“(Meier) was a chemist, a futurist, an architect, a biologist — he was a polymath, like me,” Tssui said. “And in a way, he protected me. He backed me up when things were getting tough. I spoke at his funeral. That was my way to repay his debt.”

Meier’s legacy can be seen in each of Tssui’s projects. Both advocates of environmentally-friendly architecture and energy-efficient design, decades before global warming had become a national concern, the two have pioneered the concept of sustainability in living spaces. Tssui’s most recent buildings are emblematic of this.

A new look for green living

Finished design for the ZED Residence in Mt. Shasta

His latest house is the Zero Energy Dwelling Residence, branded as the “first residence in the world that purposely uses no electricity and toilet water.”  Aptly named, the house seeks to minimize its carbon footprint and utility bill. There are no plumbing pipes or electrical conduits. Running water, heated by the sun, travels by gravity through a series of pipes before flowing through a faucet or showerhead. Solar-powered ovens cook food. Building materials are locally sourced. And the steel petals that surround the house?

“The 10 wall panels open and close according to the changes in temperature, humidity, climate and natural light,” Tssui explains.

Much like the tiny tardigrade that inspired his parent’s house, Tssui again drew inspiration from nature for his design — this time looking to the venus flytrap.

The ZED Residence under construction.

In the foothills of Mount Shasta in Northern California, the ZED Residence is already halfway complete. With its geodesic dome and orbital ring, the house sustains a visual aesthetic as iconic as the Tardigrade House.

In pioneering his own family of architecture — what he refers to as the “Biologic Movement” — Tssui has translated various natural properties into building materials. The ZED Residence, for example, maximizes the “strength-to-weight” ratio found in many super-strong objects. Its spherical shape dissipates forces from wind and earthquakes. It can withstand a tsunami.

“We are introducing and implementing the universal principle of strength-to-weight ratio that is found everywhere in nature,” he elaborates. “Every one of nature’s living organisms exists having the highest strength-to-weight ratio. There are no fat organisms in nature. All of nature’s creatures abide by the laws of being the strongest they can be and the lightest they can be. Only humans and caged animals are distorted examples of not following this inherent law of existence.”

Elsewhere in Mount Shasta, Tssui is planning the city’s conference and exhibition center and an interdisciplinary thought laboratory called Telos. In a career spent actualizing his dream of “architecting the 21st century,” Tssui has built 18 one-of-a-kind projects nationwide. Tssui also has great international ambitions. He casts his eyes east to the burgeoning cities of China, where his lessons in sustainable design and environmentally responsible living reach thousands. Jumping between elementary schools and government bureaus, Tssui has discovered teaching to be every bit as satisfying as architecture.

He remarks, “The joy in teaching is to have the special privilege to observe the flowering of an individual’s inner capacities. The joy is in creating the kind of attitude … that invites people to think differently and be free to find their genuine passion in life. “

In topics from reducing resource consumption to discouraging unhealthy eating, Tssui’s classes reflect his widely diverse interests. As a teacher, he often found himself personally rooting for his student’s growth and pushing them to think iconoclastically.

“I want them to become the rebels and revolutionaries of the future — to be able to anticipate the coming needs and issues of humanity and think in ways that can develop solutions,” he says. “I want them to defy convention and question assumption and expectation — to do the unexpected.  That’s what I feel a true professor should do!”

Eugene Tssui lectures at Beijing University.

A real caped crusader

Splitting his time building houses on one end of the Pacific Ocean and teaching on the other, Tssui has come to embrace a “best of both worlds” philosophy. As a Chinese American, Tssui has never thought that the hyphen separating his nationality from his ethnicity set the two apart. He has dedicated his life to breaking barriers and championing what he calls “the era of reckoning.” In finding ways to contend with increasingly global issues, Tssui has drawn on Genghis Khan as a role model:

“Recently, I have studied books on Genghis Khan. He allowed communication between civilizations in ways we don’t realize. The East and West were created because of him. And he was an incredible humanist.”

From a recent respelling of his last name to an expansive array of brightly colored capes, Tssui hopes to continue the traditions of the famous Mongolian emperor, who created the largest contiguous empire in human history almost a millennium ago. Predictably, these actions have inspired numerous criticisms, some of which harken back to Tssui’s graduate years at UC Berkeley.

“(People) have told me that I am a crazy egoist that only cares about my work and wants to shock people, both in my work and in my dress.  This is understandable, because (people) who dress differently and whose work stands out from others are often are motivated by self-aggrandizement and attention-getting,” he says. “In my case, I want to design differently because commonplace designs make little sense. I feel all life is an experiment and that to be truly human, one must try to discover what is possible and what is not.”

Over the past few years, Tssui has come to appreciate how today’s young people have accepted his work with open arms. When he first constructed the Tardigrade House in 1993, green architecture was virtually unheard of. Today, his mentorship is demanded by budding architecture interns and graduate students worldwide.  For a cape-wearing, globetrotting architect on an environmental crusade, no time is better than the present:

“The new generation — that’s why I spend so much time with students and ideas — has the guts to defy the old ways. I’ve learned that the millennial generation … is impatient now, and rightly so, to ask questions and find lasting solutions to problems that have plagued us for centuries. They see that past generations have let greed overtake stewardship of the planet. And they are finding ways … to change the future.”

This article is the final part of the series on Eugene Tssui.  To see Tssui’s work in Mount Shasta, check out the video here.

Image sources: Sean Conners, staff and Eugene Tssui, courtesy

Contact Alex Mabanta at amabanta@dailycal.org.

The post The man behind the world’s safest house appeared first on The Daily Californian.

SEAN CONNERS/Staff

In a dimly lit room at the back of the RSF, past the rows of treadmills and tired faces on the first floor, change is brewing. Change is littered all over the floor in tiny, multicolored balls and silver golfing clubs. It is in the faces of the room’s occupants, some of whom have never been inside the RSF before. This summer at UC Berkeley, one class, Golf With Marty, will historically change the way golf is taught at the collegiate level.

“After all, it’s not every day that you see people who are blind hitting a golf ball,” quipped class coach Marty Turcios.

However, his physical condition puts him in a unique position as a coach. Turcios has cerebral palsy, a congenital condition affecting the nervous system that requires lifelong therapy. There is no cure. But none of this stops Turcios. For the past two decades, Turcios has become one of the first coaches in the world to teach golf with cerebral palsy. Having personally instructed between 50 to 100 golfers in his career, many from high schools around the Bay Area, Turcios is now coming to Cal to teach golf, and anyone from any background is invited.

A new kind of summer class

Marty Turcios, coach for Golf With Marty

Golf With Marty is part of Fitness for All, a collaborative project pioneering increased sports accessibility to every margin of the Berkeley community. Last spring, Fitness for All and its advisory committee commanded national headlines with the acclaim of their first-of-its-kind two-unit Goalball class. Riding a current of optimism, Matt Grigorieff and Jessica Adams, lead coordinators for Goalball and recent Cal grads, have dedicated themselves to making Golf With Marty every bit as successful.

For the 3,647 Berkeley students with disabilities (according to the Office of Equity and Inclusion in 2012) as well as 1,500 disabled Cal staff and faculty, Grigorieff and Adams’ efforts open countless opportunities. In this class, students who have never been able to play sports now train shoulder-to-shoulder with RSF regulars. Everyone gets one-on-one attention with coach Turcios — no one is pushed away.

Ed Roberts would be proud. Roberts, a Cal alumi and prominent leader of the disability rights movement, fought to make UC Berkeley and the country more tolerant and accessible for everyone. Golf With Marty continues his progress. Aiming to provide a rewarding experience for each and every student, the class inaugurates an exciting new chapter in Cal’s history.

“UC Berkeley has always been the leader in making all fields of education accessible,” explained junior Judith Lung, who is visually impaired. “This class continues Cal’s legacy in accessibility in sports and fitness.”

To accommodate everyone, the class is modified — not, as Lung puts it, “compromised.” The class is held indoors on the lowest level of the RSF, a convenient on-campus location that is wheelchair-accessible.  Special equipment, such as target nets and custom golf balls, improves the precision of swings.  In this manner, Turcios teaches golfing fundamentals and technique.  He advises newcomers to train with him before heading out to the golf fields.

“Before you go out and spend time and  money, you should have a good idea what you are doing,” Turcios said. “I’m going to teach you the game.” He has seen firsthand how people fall out of love with golf and outlines how newcomers to the game sign up for costly private lessons and buy expensive gadgets before even playing.

“It’s not worth it,” he summarized.

Lessons learned

For junior Ann Kwong, simply hitting a golf ball brings bursts of joy. Kwong, who is also visually impaired, held gnawing doubts before entering the class. In a sport in which a diminutive ball must travel through an impossibly vast playing field, having eyesight can be particularly helpful. Uncertainty racing through her mind was paralyzing to her judgment.

“Why should I come to golf?” she asked. “I don’t think I can play golf. I don’t know what I am hitting.  I can’t see what I’m hitting. So I don’t think I will enjoy it.”

Kwong took a leap of faith. After a few lessons with Marty, her misgivings completely died away. Again and again, she putts the ball with satisfying consistency.

Ann Kwong, internal president for the Disabled Students Union, adjusts the golfing tee

“Have an open mind,” she advised.  ”Don’t be afraid of failure and not hitting something for the first time. Because with practice and an open mind, you will learn the proper skills to hit  (the ball).”

Kwong credits all of her success to Turcios’ dedication as a coach. Turcios, universally known for his patience, can be found on his knees, resetting the golf ball and tee along with Kwong and Lung. This subtlety is integral. Once visually impaired people stand upright in preparation to take a swing, they lose physical connection with the ball they have just primed. Though a sighted person needs only stare at the ball to gauge the next move, a nonsighted person has to conceptualize the ball’s relative position.

“A sighted person can learn by modeling through observation,” Kwong explained. “I can’t do that. I’ve had previous instructors where, (when) I couldn’t hit the ball and I couldn’t do this position … they will give up.” But she’s had a completely different experience with Turcios: “Marty is so patient. If I’m not doing (a swing) correctly, he’ll patiently explain it again. As many times and as slowly as I need. Marty will tell me, ‘This is how you grip,’ (and he’ll) get on the ground with me and show me how to align. I really appreciate him physically showing me instead of just telling me. When I get frustrated, he says, ‘Don’t worry about it. Practice, and you’ll get it. Don’t overthink. Remember GPA. You’ve got this.’ That really, really helps.”

GPA refers to “Grip, Position, Alignment.” The pun is a Turcios original and highly appropriate. On a day when thinking about college classes was distracting from gameplay, Turcios found a way to get Kwong to rework her attention. Many students recall how specific and tailored Turcios’ lessons are to individual needs. Before players swing, Turcios delivers precise instructions from minute foot readjustment to chin extension. He demonstrates what he means, each and every time. Players take a shot. Bull’s-eye.

With more than 47 years of golf experience, Turcios possesses a gold mine of information. Sophomore Alisha Howell knows this firsthand. In her lessons with Turcios, Howell has come to appreciate the nuances and lingo of the game.

“I learned that different golf clubs are used to make the golf ball go different distances,” Howell said. “I learned a lot of vocabulary: putting green, driving range, seven-iron and nine-iron — and how you tell the difference. Before this class, I thought those were some kind of construction tools.”

Breaking glass ceilings

Grigorieff explains why hiring Turcios to coach Berkeley’s accessible golfing class alters history.

“From an institutional point of view, the gym is one of the last places you will find an employee with a disability working,” he said. “That’s just the reality of it, unfortunately, and by hiring Marty, we are trying to break that notion and have UC Berkeley employ people throughout society. People with disabilities don’t work in the fitness area, and we want to change that.”

Turcios himself is no stranger to discrimination in the work place.  In spite of decades of success in his very own foundation, cynics have doubted and criticized him at every step of his career.

“I’ve had people come into my class and walk out and never come back,” he recalled.  ”Or they call their supervisors and say, ‘How dare you call this a golf class.’”

Turcios’ experiences with discrimination are common in workplaces all across the country. Despite two decades of expanded civil rights to disabled people under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, unemployment for people with disabilities remains a major economic problem for many. According to the Office of Disability Employment Policy of the U.S. Department of Labor, only 20.7 percent of people with disabilities participated in the American labor force last May. In the same study, 69.1 percent of people without disabilities participated in the labor force.

Unemployment rates are equally telling. In May 2013, the unemployment rate for people without disabilities nationally was 7 percent (down from 7.7 percent in May 2012). The unemployment rate for people with disabilities was nearly double that. Last May, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities was 13.6 percent (up from 12.9 percent one calendar year before). For junior Desiree Robedeaux, external president of the Disabled Students Union, the enormous economic inequality between those with and without disabilities is a telltale sign of social injustice.

“There is no reason why a person with dyslexia, a person with cerebral palsy and a person without a disability cannot coexist in the same work place — people with disabilities are just as capable if not more capable of success (as) those without disabilities,” she said, clarifying, “Because life has presented these individuals with so many challenges that these individuals have overcome, disability should be embraced by employers and should be perceived as a factor that shows strength and perseverance, not incapability. ”

For Lung, overcoming obstacles — in this case, mastering her drive — is met with open arms. Though self-described as “athletically-challenged,” Lung is prepared to give golf her all.

“With practice and learning from the best teacher in Marty, I can be good at a sport too,” she said.

Judith Lung, with a smile, drives the golf ball across court.

“Golf With Marty” is held every Wednesday.  Two identical classes run back-to-back from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.  Enrollment is ongoing, and space is still available. The program is made possible by grants from the National Alliance for Accessible Golf in partnership with the U.S. Golf Association

Image sources: Sean Conners, staff

Contact Alex Mabanta at amabanta@dailycal.org.

The post An inside look at Cal’s life-changing golf class appeared first on The Daily Californian.

This month, researchers at the Donald Vial Center for Employment in the Green Economy — part of UC Berkeley’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment — will begin consulting the California Public Utilities Commission about developing new training programs for employees in the utilities industry as part of a statewide initiative to reduce carbon emissions and increase environmental sustainability.

Working under a $500,000 contract granted by CPUC and valid through 2014, campus consultants will help utility companies such as PG&E to develop a strategic plan for improved workforce education and training. The initiative follows the Vial Center’s 2011 California Workforce Education and Training Needs Assessment, which aimed to help utility companies understand how to better train employees for eco-friendly practices.

“We went through a deliberate and methodical process and selected UC Berkeley based on the strength of the proposal put forward and factors like green goals and diversity inclusion,” said PG&E spokesperson Tamar Sarkissian. “This is a whole new trend in workforce training, and the partnership with UC Berkeley will support those new trends.”

According to the Vial Center’s 2011 report, poor installation of energy-efficient equipment has hurt statewide energy-efficiency goals. The report found that California currently has more than 1,000 education programs to train workers who install energy-saving equipment but concludes that a lack of widespread standards leads to confusion and lack of coordination in the workforce. With the new project, workers will be retrained to provide more clean energy installations, and facilities personnel will learn how to improve maintenance and operations of buildings.

“Whether they’re electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians, pipefitters, carpenters or laborers, ensuring workers have up-to-date skills is critical to achieving the state’s energy-efficiency goals,” said Vial Center policy analyst Jessica Halpern-Finnerty in an announcement released by the university.

UC Berkeley researchers will partner with various nonprofit organizations, community colleges and technical schools to integrate efficiency training into existing curricula. Those involved in the project hope the accessibility of the training programs will offer new job opportunities to members of the community who need it most.

“We hope to help accomplish two things: to develop clear pathways leading to better job placement outcomes — especially for members of disadvantaged communities — while also working to meet California’s energy-efficiency goals,” says Cynthia Guzman of Estolano LeSar Perez Advisors, a community development and public policy consulting firm working with the Vial Center.

Other organizations working to help overhaul the utilities workforce with the Vial Center include the UC Berkeley School of Public Health and the Career Ladders Project for California Community Colleges.

Contact Andrew Dickey at newsdesk@dailycal.org.

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