A Sampling of Clips for July 8, 2011

* UCSD faculty and staff may obtain a copy of an article by e-mailing the University Communications Office

Deep Magma Tagged as Tectonic Factor
United Press International (UPI), July 7 -- U.S. researchers say they've identified a force driving Earth's massive tectonic plates, a movement that can build mountains or trigger massive earthquakes. Scientists have known for decades that the ongoing movements and collisions of the plates, a so-called push/pull mechanism, are responsible for sculpting continental features around the planet, usually where plates are either moving apart or coming together. Now researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego have discovered a force that drives plate tectonics: plumes of hot magma pushing up from Earth's deep interior. (Refers to the research by Steve Cande and Dave Stegman.) More

Illegal Immigrant In-State Tuition Begins in Connecticut
Associated Press, July 7 -- Connecticut is now among 12 states, including New York and Illinois, that grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrants who are working toward legal status. Advocates also have been pushing for a federal law providing a path to legalization for qualified illegal immigrant students and other young adults, but the federal legislation known as the DREAM Act has failed repeatedly in Washington. John Skrentny, director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at the UC San Diego, said laws such as the Connecticut measure raise as many problems as they solve. More

UC Cashing In With Out-Of-State Tuition
San Diego Union-Tribune, July 7 -- Recently released figures show the UC system’s nine undergraduate campuses expect out-of-state and international students to make up 12.3 percent of this fall’s freshman class, a sharp increase from 2010, when 8 percent of freshmen were nonresidents. UC San Diego is the third most attractive campus to nonresidents. Figures released by UC’s Oakland headquarters indicate that 18.2 percent of the students in UCSD’s fall freshman class are expected to come from outside California, up from 9.3 percent in 2010. With California’s new budget calling for a $650 million cut in state funding for the UC system, officials are scrambling to find new revenue. “Our goal is to maintain the outstanding quality of UC San Diego, so the out-of-state students bring tremendous value – in terms of diversity and, yes, in financial value.” said Mae Brown, an assistant vice chancellor and director of admissions at UC San Diego. (Also quotes Wayne Cornelius, co-director of the UC Global Health Institute and a professor at UC San Diego.) More

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Citizenship is a Birthright
San Diego Union-Tribune, July 8 – (Commentary by Michael Belknap, a professor of constitutional law at California Western School of Law and adjunct professor of American history at UC San Diego.) The Fourteenth Amendment, almost universally regarded by constitutional authorities as the most important provision added to the Constitution since its original adoption in 1789, begins with a simple declaration: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.” This one sentence says about all there is to say on the subject of so-called “anchor babies.” Because they are born in the United States, even though both parents may be citizens of and even live in another country, they are citizens of the United States. More

The Preuss School UCSD Class of 2011 Commencement Ceremonies
La Jolla Light, July 7 – (Captioned photo gallery)  It was a day to celebrate the many accomplishments of The Preuss School UCSD and the class of 2011, including the school being named the #1 Transformative High School in the country by Newsweek magazine. Ninety-seven Preuss high school seniors received their diplomas. All are college-bound and are the first generation in their families to do so. More

UCSD’s EarthKam
Fox News Ch. 5, July 7 --Closing a page in history books with the launch of the Atlantis, the iconic space shuttle program will come to an end for the time being, but what does that mean a local space program run out of UC San Diego? More

What Drives Variation in Medicaid Spending?
ABC News Radio (Wichita), July 7 -- Although there’ve been many studies assessing the geographic variability of Medicare coverage costs, only a few have looked at inter-state variability in Medicaid spending and the factors contributing to the differences.  For example, in 2007 the average cost per beneficiary in the U.S. was $5,163, but New York spent almost $8,500 while California only $3,186.  Researchers at UC San Diego sought to find out what is contributing to these differences. More

Study On Risks of Alcohol and Driving Left Out Key Findings
The Boston Globe, July 7 – (Letter to the editor from managing director of the American Beverage Institute) Researchers at UC San Diego use questionable data to make the flimsy argument that a few sips of alcohol are enough to significantly increase the likelihood of serious injury in an automobile accident. More

Epilepsy Bill Clears Another Hurdle, Faces Opposition From Unions
La Jolla Patch, July 7 -- A proposed bill that would authorize school employees who volunteer to be trained to administer emergency medicine to children suffering from epileptic seizures passed out of the Assembly Education Committee Wednesday night; however, not everyone backs the legislation.Dr. Mark Nespeca, a pediatric neurologist at Brady Hospital in San Diego and UC San Diego Medical Center, said last week that a delay in treatment would put children’s lives at risk. More

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