News briefs

05 November 2003

Scotlan Awards luncheon on tap
The George P. Scotlan Award, recognizing African American Studies students who have achieved academic excellence and demonstrated community leadership, will be presented at a luncheon at noon, Wednesday, Nov. 12, in 652 Barrows Hall. The speaker will be Bil Banks, professor of African American Studies. For information or to RSVP, contact Ethel Adams at msadams@uclink.berkeley.edu or 642-8046 before Friday, Nov. 7.

Depression Screening Day is Tuesday, Nov. 18
Depression Screening Day on campus is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 18, in Stephens Lounge, Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union. The free, walk-in screenings are open to members of the campus and local communities.

Conducted by mental health professionals from University Health Services (UHS) and the Alameda County Psychological Associa-tion, the screenings include a written self-test followed by an interview with a counselor. Referrals for follow-up evaluation and treatment are provided where necessary.

Depression is a factor in many suicides; about two-thirds of those who commit suicide have depressive disorders, according to Susan Bell, a psychologist at the Tang Center and an organizer of the event. “Across the nation, 30,000 people commit suicide each year, including 5,000 in the 15-to-24 age group,” she says.

For information, call UHS CARE Services at 643-7754 or Counseling and Psychological Services at 642-9494.

Volunteer opportunities at UC Botanical Garden
Volunteers at the UC Botanical Garden get the chance to work with experts who are passionate about plants, ecology, and conservation. Volunteer opportunities include becoming a docent and learning to lead garden tours, growing plants for plant sales as a propagator, working in the Garden Shop or entrance kiosk, assisting with horticultural or curatorial tasks, and helping with membership, special events, and office support.

For information, contact Candice Schott at 643-1924 or cschott@uclink4.berkeley.edu.

Films on Ecuador and oil kick off fall FSM Café series
The first fall program in the Free Speech Movement Café Educational Program Series is a film screening and panel discussion on “Ecuador and the Price of Oil.”

Ecuador is the fourth-largest oil exporter to the United States, with oil revenues accounting for one-fifth of its economy and almost half of its export earnings. But how is the quest for new oil affecting local communities and the environment?

Four Berkeley graduate-student journalists explore this question in their short documentary films, Crude Fate and Fire on the River, shot on location in Ecuador last spring. Following the screening of both films, Suzana Sawyer, a UC Davis professor of anthropology, and Sandy Tolan, a teaching fellow at Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, will join the filmmakers in a discussion of the politics of petroleum in Latin America.
The program will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 14, at the Free Speech Movement Café in Moffitt Library. For information, e-mail sm-info@library.berkeley.edu.

For the record . . .
In an Oct. 23 Berkeleyan article on the campus Educational Opportunity Project, EOP director Gloria Burkhalter was misquoted. Burkhalter should have been quoted as saying that EOP counselors “focus not only on what’s required but on what’s needed to help students succeed.” We regret the error.

In the same issue, in an article about Open Enrollment for employee benefits, the campus Benefits Office phone number was incorrect. The correct number is 642-7053.