More Swastikas Spray-Painted at UC Davis Campus

DAVIS (AP) — Three more swastikas have been found spray-painted around the University of California, Davis — the latest in a series of recent incidents ramping up racial and ethnic tensions at UC campuses around the state.

Campus police discovered the swastikas March 3, as students planned a rally against bigotry that day.

The rally, attended by about 20 students, was done in response to two previous incidents at UC Davis: a swastika carved into the dormitory door of a Jewish student and the vandalism of a campus center for lesbian and gay students.

Students in Los Angeles and Irvine also protested against racist incidents at other UC campuses.

UC San Diego announced March 2 that a KKK-style hood, inscribed with a hand-drawn circle and cross, had been found on campus and police are investigating.

Last month, a noose was discovered hanging in the UC San Diego library less than two weeks after an off-campus party was advertised mocking Black History Month.

UCSD Students, Admins Agree on Diversity Goals

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Administrators at the University of California, San Diego, and the school’s Black Student Union have signed an agreement that outlines common goals after several racially and ethnically charged incidents sparked angry protests.

Faculty, students and administrators issued a joint statement after the meeting March 4 that said the conversation was productive and wide-ranging.

Tensions on campus are up following several incidents including an off-campus student-organized “Compton Cookout” party that mocked Black History Month with ghetto stereotypes. A noose was later found hanging from a library bookshelf.

The university says administrators agreed to diversify the student body and the faculty through targeted recruitment, provide more classes and instructors dedicated to diversity, and rewrite the student code of conduct.

Hollywood Arts Council Presents 24th Annual Charlie Awards

(HAC) — The Hollywood Arts Council will present the 24th annual Charlie Awards Luncheon March 19, 11:30 a.m., in the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, 7000 Hollywood Blvd. (at Orange Street), in Hollywood.

The program benefits project S.O.A.R. (Students Overcoming All Risks), the Council’s After-School Art Workshops held in eight Hollywood-area elementary schools, and its annual Children’s Festival of the Arts. 

The event will be emceed by ABC7’s George Pennacchio. The catered fundraising awards show luncheon is open to the general public. Tickets are $100. Valet parking will be available.

Reservations: (323) 871-2787. Further information: (323) 462-2355, www.hollywoodartscouncil. org.

South Los Angeles Middle School to Open in August 2010

(Crown Preparatory) — Crown Preparatory Academy announced March 3 the unanimous approval of its charter application by the Los Angeles Unified School District. The new, tuition-free public school will open in August 2010 in South Los Angeles, serving students in grades 5 through 8.

The Crenshaw/Leimert Park area has been named as a proposed location.  Crown Prep will implement a gradual-growth plan, enrolling its inaugural class of 120 fifth-graders for the 2010-11 school year, adding one grade each year until it reaches a total of 480 students at all grade levels. Admission to Crown Prep is open to all students that reside in South Los Angeles and the surrounding communities.

A Parent Information Night will take place March 25, 7 p.m.,  at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, Community Room (lower level, next to Los Angeles Police Department office).

Information: (323) 309-5119, www.crownprep.org.