News briefs

05 December 2001 |

Topic of 2002 essay contest: "If only..."
Many competitive prizes are open to Berkeley students; only one — the Lili Fabilli and Eric Hoffer Essay contest — is open to faculty and staff as well.

This year's competition, dedicated to the topic "If Only ...," is now officially under way. In keeping with the rules, essays must be 500 words or less — a limit that is strictly enforced by the Committee on Prizes — and submitted no later than 4:30 p.m., Jan. 25, 2002. Essays may be submitted in person to the prizes coordinator in 210 Sproul Hall.

Essays are judged on originality of thought and excellence in writing. Prizes are awarded by the Committee on Prizes, which also selects each year's topic.

The prize amount among all winners totals $3,000. Last year's first-place winner, a staff member, won $1,000.

Curtail energy use Dec. 22 through Jan. 1
Heating and ventilation will be curtailed on campus from Saturday, Dec. 22, through Tuesday, Jan. 1. Faculty and staff are encouraged to be away from campus during the entire curtailment period.

In buildings scheduled for energy curtailment, only heat and ventilation will be shut down; normal electric service will be maintained at all times. However, the use of electric space heaters is strongly discouraged.

For information, call Paul Black at Physical Plant–Campus Services, 642-1100.

Winter break schedules online
Details on winter break hours and emergency contacts for many campus units are available online at amber.berkeley.edu:5027/attachments/011130att.doc.

Sept. 11 anthology is now on sale
A paperback anthology, "September 11: Contexts and Consequences," is now available to the public.

Edited by Berkeley anthropology graduate students Misha Klein and Adrian McIntyre, the 600-page reader includes maps, background information, poetry, opinion pieces, research articles and an interview with Osama bin Laden.

It is available on reserve in libraries around the Bay Area, including libraries on the Berkeley campus and the Berkeley Public Libraries. Copies may be purchased at Copy Central, 2560 Bancroft Way (848-8649), for $41.68 plus tax.

Telegraph Avenue holiday fair gears up
More than 300 California artists will display handmade crafts this month in the 18th annual Telegraph Avenue Holiday Street Fair.

The fair will be held on Telegraph between Dwight Way and Bancroft Way, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., for two consecutive weekends: Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 15-16, and Friday through Monday, Dec. 21-24.

A free shuttle will run from the downtown Berkeley BART station to Telegraph Avenue, from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For information, see www.taasite.org, call 540-5990 or e-mail taa@transbay.net.

KQED radio to air Bancroft history series
The Bancroft Library and KQED-Radio, 88.5 FM, will broadcast "Live from The Bancroft Library," a three-program series on early California that draws on the library's extensive historical collections.

The shows were recorded before a live audience in the Bancroft Library's Heller Reading Room.

The first program, "The Hispanization of California, 1769-1846" airs at 8 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 10.

Additional programs — "America Only More So: The Origins and Power of California's Image" and "Heaven on the Half-Shell: Mark Twain in the West" — will air at 8 p.m. on Jan. 17 and 24, respectively.

For information, call 642-3781.

Computer network security is upgraded

Information Systems and Technology has issued several new computer systems security policies.

The first, Guidelines and Procedures for Blocking Network Access, socrates.berkeley.edu:2002/blocking.html clarifies steps that the campus System and Network Security office takes when a serious security incident occurs.

Departmental Security Contact Policy, socrates.berkeley.edu:2002/contacts.html, ensures that campus departments can be contacted in the event of a computer or network security incident.

For information, contact IS&T security officer Craig Lant at 643-0596, or Cliff Frost, director of Communication and Network Services, at 642-5360.

Helping students apply for research grants
For faculty with graduate students who are preparing doctoral dissertation research proposals, new information on grants is available on the Institute of International Studies Web site.

The site answers common questions on preparing research proposals and submitting them to the major social science and humanities funders. See globetrotter.berkeley.edu/DissPropWorkshop/.

Online transcript ordering now in place
Currently enrolled students with access to Bear Facts can now order official transcripts on the Web and charge their orders to their CARS accounts; unofficial transcripts remain available for free. The Online Transcript Request System (OTRS) can send official transcripts to schools, employers, scholarship programs, and others. For information see registrar.berkeley.edu/Records/transdipl.html.