R4 recycles ton of reusables

This fall one student's trash will become another student's treasure as R4 Recycling hosts a sale featuring bounty from its recent record-breaking 11th annual spring move-out collection drive. It marks the first time the recycling program will try to resell items collected during its annual Resource Recovery Drive.

The drive promotes the reuse of materials generated from residence halls. "Without this program, recyclable and reusable materials are thrown in the dumpsters and sent to the landfill," said Mary Chambers, an R4 student representative.

Donations from 10 student housing collection sites included clothing, appliances, kitchenware, books, rugs, carpets and linens. This year's drive collected 667 pounds of food, 451 pounds of reusable shoes and 1,345 pounds of reusable clothing. The 2003 drive netted almost 1,000 pounds more than the 2002 drive.

Food has been donated to the Yolo County Food Bank; the date for the campus sale of other goods collected has not yet been set, Chambers said.

In previous years, items have been donated to organizations including the Salvation Army. Proceeds from this fall's sale will help recover the costs of the annual collection drive to ensure it continues, she said.

ScholarShare talk slated

UC is implementing a payroll deduction program for employees who wish to participate in the Golden State ScholarShare College Savings Trust (ScholarShare) -- the state's "529" college savings program. A ScholarShare representative will be on campus to talk about the program noon to 1 p.m. July 8 in the MU's Mee Room.

ScholarShare participants make after-tax contributions. Earnings on contributions grow free of state and federal tax, and there are no annual contribution limits.

Seating is limited for the July 8 talk; attendees are asked to e-mail reception@hrrm.ucdavis.edu. More information is also available at http://www.scholarshare.com.

Intercampus bus changes set

Starting Tuesday the schedule and bus sizes for the UC Davis-UC Berkeley Intercampus Shuttle will change. Decisions were based on budget reductions and the more than 350 responses that Fleet Services received from a recent questoinnaire about shuttle use. Both routes to and from UC Davis will be aboard a 41-passenger bus; and there will no longer be 11-passenger shuttles running each afternoon.

Morning route: Depart UC Davis at 7:30 a.m., bound for UC Berkeley; depart UC Berkeley at 11:30 a.m., bound for UC Davis.

Afternoon route: Depart UC Davis at 2:15 p.m., bound for UC Berkely; depart UC Berkeley at 6:30 p.m., bound for UC Davis.

The ride takes about 90 minutes. Shuttles run during the week, and the cost is $5.50 each way.

Patrons depart and arrive south of Shields Library on Hutchison Drive. For more information, see http://berkbus.ucdavis.edu or call (530) 752-UBUS.

Event examines security

In partnership with the UC Office of the President, UC Davis last week hosted the inaugural UC-wide IT Security Symposium. The event saw more than 30 presentations, hands-on labs, and keynote speeches from national leaders in information security.

Much discussion centered on the recent passage of California Senate Bill 1386, a consumer protection law that outlines how and when consumers must be notified when their personal identity information has been accessed in computer hacking events.

"Over eight million credit cards were stolen last year," said keynote speaker Shane Shook, manager of KPMG Risk and Advisory Services. According to Shook, Internet fraud is much more prevalent than the public realizes. Lack of awareness, he said, is due to the fact that companies don't reveal when they've been victimized by hackers, knowing it will cost them business. SB 1386 orders state agencies, including UC, to notify consumers when personal identity information has been compromised.

"In a country where approximately 25 million households conduct banking online, data protection laws are critical," Shook said.

UC Davis will on July 1 implement its own plan for complying with the consumer protection law. To ensure all 10 UC campuses address security issues on an ongoing basis, UCOP is considering making the symposium an annual event.

For more information, see http://security.ucdavis.edu/.