MAKING A MOUNTAIN OUT OF A MOLEHILL ▶ OPINION, PAGE 4 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO www.ucsdguardian.org Monday, January 7, 2008 The Student Voice Since 1967 STUDENTS Preuss Admins Tackle Post-Audit Damage Control By Matthew L’Heureux PASS WARREN News Editor After a recent university audit uncovered mul- tiple instances of improper grade reporting and FEE HIKE IN administrative mismanagement at UCSD’s nationally recognized Preuss charter school, campus officials are preparing to select an external consulting firm LANDSLIDE to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the school’s operations. By Sharon Yi UCSD’s Audit and Management Advisory Staff Writer Services released results of the six-month-long audit in December, which stated that 144 of 190 student Following more than two months transcripts reviewed by auditors contained one or of campaigning, Dec. 7 marked clo- more inaccurate grades. Approximately 72 percent of sure for proponents of the Warren the 427 altered grades were found to have improved College Activity Fee Referendum, the affected student’s academic standing. Investigators which met the required participa- also concluded that ex-Principal Doris Alvarez and a tion threshold and was approved by former counselor “likely had knowledge of and/or 74.2 percent of voters. directed inappropriate grade changes.” Approximately 21.2 percent of In consultation with Preuss Board of Directors Warren students voted during the Chair Cecil Lytle and other university personnel, weeklong special election, 656 of Interim Vice Chancellor of Resource Management whom voted to increase the fee and Planning Gary C. Matthews will soon begin by $3 a quarter. The referendum interviewing various advisory organizations with will allocate $26,199 to Warren experience in charter school management. Chancellor College Student Council program- Marye Anne Fox assigned administrative oversight of WILL PARSON/GUARDIAN Greg Campbell, a former government teacher at UCSD’s Preuss School, was among 11 current and former employees who testified that ex-Principal Doris ming and student groups, includ- all Preuss activities to Matthews in the report, which Alvarez pressured them to give students “extraordinary” accomodations to improve their grades. Alvarez denies any participation in grade inflation. ing the Warren Live! concert and recommended an independent analysis of the school’s the Warren Transfer Commuter administrative practices. The upcoming review will tinues to deny any involvement in changing grades or Alvarez said. “My voice is not heard in there. There Commission. mark the first external programmatic investigation pressuring teachers to evaluate students unfairly. She was never any explanation of how these errors hap- “I had no doubt that it was going into school policies since its founding in 1999 as an submitted her resignation as principal on Dec. 18. pened. There was no evidence.” to get more yeses than noes,” said educational gateway for underprivileged students. “I am not going to apologize for anything I did,” Davies said that the university stands by the WCSC Parliamentarian Dan Palay, Preuss has since been heralded as a model for charter she said. “I did nothing wrong.” audit, which she called “very thorough and compre- who initially proposed the fee ref- schools, and was ranked the 10th best high school in Senior counselor Phil Ensberg, Alvarez’s son-in- hensive.” erendum. “It was always the 20-per- the nation by U.S. News & World Report in 2007. law, was also placed on paid leave when the audit was The audit report leveled several charges against cent mark that was hard to gauge. It Representatives from the San Diego Unified initiated. He returned to work on Dec. 17. Alvarez, including that she ordered open access to was just one of those things that you School District, which co-charters the Preuss School A 30-year veteran educator, Alvarez said that grade recording software and encouraged teachers to have to push until the end.” with UCSD, will also be involved in the selec- AMAS auditors lacked sufficient credentials to prop- provide students with “extraordinary accommoda- Palay said that although the 21- tion process, said Executive Director of University erly analyze the school’s operations, alleging that they tions” to improve their grades. Eleven of 21 current percent turnout may appear disap- Communications Dolores Davies. sensationalized the number of altered grades to make and former teachers interviewed by the auditors said Alvarez, who was placed on paid leave last the situation seem worse than it really was. See REFERENDUM, page 2 September while the audit was being conducted, con- “I believe the audit was biased and one-sided,” See AUDIT, page 7 Designers Credit New Philosophy Superior Court Deals Blow to Seal Supporters for Revitalized Campus Web Site LOCAL NEWS By Peter Feytser Senior Staff Writer The decade-long feud over the presence of a harbor seal colony at the La Jolla Children’s Pool became more complex last month after the federal government stepped in to defend the rookery, which was immediately fol- lowed by a major setback for advo- cates concerned with the safety and protection of the seals. Last month, the National Marine and Fisheries Service requested that San Diego city officials set up a rope ERIK JEPSEN/GUARDIAN FILE barrier to protect the seals during On Jan. 4, a superior court judge ruled against installing a rope barrier to protect seals at La Jolla’s Children’s Pool. their calving season, which began last week and continues through May. seals,” said Donald Masters, a special ment by Ellen Browning Scripps, the A branch of the National Oceanic agent at the Long Beach headquarters, original conditions of which stated PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ERIK JEPSEN/GUARDIAN and Atmospheric Administration, the in a letter to City Attorney Michael that the Children’s Pool must remain Two students surf UCSD’s new Web site, designed to be more aesthetically pleasing and easier to use. NMFS has received five to 10 seal- Aguirre. a bathing pool for children and a related phone calls per week in the However, Superior Court Judge public park. By Sarah de Crescenzo appeal. past six months, according to officials. Yuri Hofmann ruled on Jan. 4 that However, more than a decade ago, Contributing Writer The Web site’s redesign was led Callers to the organization’s marine- a rope barrier separating the seals seals began occupying the beach and by the six members of the Campus mammal hotline have reported occur- and the public could not be installed, eventually overtook it. Unchanged since its last renovation Web Site Executive Committee, which rences in which the seals had alleg- because it conflicted with a previ- Pate’s ruling required the city to in 2000, UCSD’s main Web site under- collaborated with the Campus Web edly been harassed or scared off by ous ruling by Superior Court Judge return the beach to its “pre-seal” con- went a thorough reconstruction in the Site Coordinating Committee, a group humans. William C. Pate. dition within six months, barred the weeks prior to winter break. According composed of academic and admin- “The rope barrier has been a City officials were divided over city from protecting the seals and to its developers, highlights of the new istrative representatives. Developers needed step in the right direction, the NMFS request, because a 2005 ordered the dredging of 3,000 cubic site include easier navigability, a user- but closing the beach would make ruling by Pate that stated the city was friendly interface and greater visual See REDESIGN, page 7 a safer environment for the nursing in violation of a 1931 trust agree- See SEALS, page 3 FOCUS SPORTS INSIDE WEATHER Unlucky Number Seven Lights and Sirens .................3 This Means War Column .................................4 Jan. 7 Jan. 8 A University of California-managed laboratory faces Men’s basketball finally sees an end to its six-game Letter to the Editor ...............5 H 56 L 44 H 61 L 44 scrutiny for its latest nuclear weapon project. winning streak, losing 80-69 to Humboldt State. Site Seen ..............................9 page 8 page 16 Classifieds ..........................14 Jan. 9 Jan. 10 Crossword ..........................14 H 61 L 44 H 63 L 45 2 NEWS THE UCSD GUARDIAN MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 2008 BLOCKHEADS BY LARS INGELMAN Charles Nguyen Editor in Chief Matthew McArdle Managing Editors Hadley Mendoza Serena Renner Nicole Teixeira Copy Editors Teresa Wu Matthew L’Heureux News Editor Jesse Alm Associate News Editors Kimberly Cheng Reza Farazmand Hadley Mendoza Opinion Editor Marissa Blunschi Associate Opinion Editor Rael Enteen Sports Editor Danai Leininger Associate Sports Editor Alyssa Bereznak Focus Editor Katie Corotto Associate Focus Editors Chancellor, UC President Serena Renner Chris Kokiousis Associate Hiatus Editors Christopher Mertan Must Approve Fee Increase GUARDIAN ONLINE Sonia Minden Will Parson Photo Editor REFERENDUM, from page 1 ▶ “It wasn’t to make them equal, www.ucsdguardian.org Erik Jepsen Associate Photo Editor pointing, in actuality it is a strong it was to convey the truth of both Richard Choi Design Editor showing for UCSD students. sides,” Horning said. Wendy Shieu Associate Design Editor “It’s always disheartening to see The ballots were offered at voting OPINION Christina Aushana Art Editor how low the voter turnout is, but polls run by volunteers, who kept that’s only in the grand scheme of the polls open until the final ballot Web Poll: Do results of the university audit affect your Page Layout Emily Ku, Kent Ngo, Sonia Minden, Michael Wu, things,” he said. “At the same time, was cast on Dec. 7 despite cold and opinion of the Preuss School? Kathleen Yip 21 percent is a relatively high turn- rainy weather. Horning counted the Copy Readers out of voters considering only 17 votes and then collaborated with Ashley Erickson, Najwa Mayer, Anita Vergis percent voted in the past council Fernandez to send certified election FOCUS Anna Gandolfi General Manager election.