UC Davis sexual offense statistics--when more is better?That's what they are saying--that the huge discrepency between UC Davis and the rest of the University of California Schools actually is a good thing.
At one point, UC Davis was heavily criticized for the failure to report the true number of statistics--now it is leading the way.
According to the Sacramento Bee:
"No one is saying UC Davis has more crime. Experts say other schools probably have similar numbers but aren't doing as good a job with outreach programs and counseling services to make victims feel comfortable about reporting rape and other sexual assaults."It goes on to cite Daniel Carter, vice president of the national watchdog organization Security on Campus, who told the Bee, that UC Davis deserves credit for addressing a problem that affects most college campuses equally.
Kudos to Josh Fernandez of the Woodland Daily Democrat
First of all, his story on the Freddie Oakley's protest of same-sex marriage prohibitions was outstanding.
Second, he has a great blog entry where he himself gets a certificate of inequality and ends up with his photographer.
No word yet on where gifts and donations can be sent...
Strange Happenings from Bob Dunning
First, Dunning's criticism on Tuesday of the membership of the General Plan Housing Element Steering Committee was right on:
While we can quibble about a name here or a name there, the council has obviously gone to great lengths to appoint a diverse, talented, dedicated group of individuals.Dunning not only is dead-on in his criticism, but he then follows it up yesterday with praises, yes praises some of the progressive members of the committee:
Or at least as diverse and talented and dedicated as 15 white people can be.
The complete lack of persons of color, not to mention the dramatic underrepresentation of renters and politically unconnected folks is stunning for a town and council that prides itself on diversity.
ABOUT THAT COMMITTEE … while the racial makeup of the newly seated General Plan Housing Element Update Steering Committee has drawn some well-deserved criticism, blame the appointers, not the appointees … of the 15 who have agreed to serve, there are several who will bring an interesting perspective to the every-other-Thursday meetings …Then perhaps most shockingly he strongly supports Measure J (CORRECTION: originally I wrote that Dunning opposed Measure J, he has since informed me that he in fact supported it at the time.)
Pam Nieberg has been involved in more causes than most people have fingers and toes, and her passion and love for Davis are beyond dispute … the same for Pam Gunnell, who nearly won a council seat several elections back and has a one-issue-at-a-time approach that defies labels …
… Mike Harrington served on the council and has a realistic understanding of what will fly and what won't …
Eileen Samitz is too smart to have ever run for council, but like Pam Nieberg, her commitment to making Davis a better place is without question …
While Measure J doesn't apply to either proposal, maybe it's time we consider putting all projects of a certain size on the ballot and let the people decide directly … despite predictions of gloom and doom by opponents, the Measure J concept has served Davis well … it doesn't prevent growth, it simply allows everyone to have a say …Dunning's strong and sudden paddle to the left is enough to leave us all stunned, but we'll remain wary of the "wary one" for the foreseeable future.
---Doug Paul Davis reporting
