They didn’t think they would win, as they moved up in the competition. At the 22nd Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Competition in Kingsport, Tennessee, Cabrillo’s Robotics Club, designed and engineered an underwater robot capable of tasks related to ocean conservation. To win, they beat 29 teams from all over the globe.
Higher Ed
UCSC Camper Park sudden closure: New housing pickle as campus recycles 41 trailers
Everyone agrees there have been health issues at UCSC’s 40-year-old on-campus trailer park. The on-again, off-again efforts to deal with them ended Wednesday as the campus moved in to remove and recycle the trailers.
She knits, she sails and she studies whales: UCSC graduate student Lauren Fritz wants to know how tourism affects humpback whales
UC Santa Cruz graduate student Lauren Fritz is worried about humans’ impact on humpback whales. She grew enchanted by the gentle giants after college while working on whale-watching boats, but began to wonder about how tourism vessels were affecting the whales’ lives. Now, she studies them in Monterey Bay, using drones and tissue samples to find out more about their lives, and in Antarctica, where she studies how tourist boats disturb the whales.
UCSC rescinds some campus bans for pro-Palestine protesters even as criminal charges linger
UC Santa Cruz students and faculty that were cited by police May 31 at a pro-Palestine encampment say their arraignments have been postponed from July to September. The District Attorney’s Office hasn’t yet received police reports from the incident.
Lawmakers reach agreement on $10 billion school bond
The money will pay for repairs and upgrades at thousands of schools across California; K-12 schools would get $8.5 billion and $1.5 billion would go to community colleges.
UC graduate student worker strike officially ends
Graduate student workers are no longer striking after reaching an agreement Thursday with the University of California. Union members authorized a strike in May over the UC’s handling of Gaza solidarity encampments at several campuses.
Garden-based learning nonprofit Life Lab faces budget cuts, staff reductions following PVUSD contract termination
With the loss of an expected $2.2 million contract with Pajaro Valley Unified School District and other funding, Santa Cruz garden-based learning nonprofit Life Lab is reducing staff and programming. Life Lab released a statement Tuesday about “significant changes” and said it would have updates in the coming weeks.
Finish grading in exchange for amnesty: UCSC graduate student workers make the campus an offer
Graduate student workers say they want amnesty for the more than 100 people arrested at UC Santa Cruz’s pro-Palestine encampment May 30-31. They say they will then finish grading of their undergraduate students. UCSC says it won’t negotiate. What’s likely: “pass” grades for those ungraded.
What caused December’s UCSC bus crash? After six months, records made public so far show little
Six months after the on-campus bus crash that led to the death of driver Dan Stevenson, UC Santa Cruz officials say they’re still investigating the cause. Through a public records request, Lookout obtained maintenance records that shed little light on what might have happened.
‘Love in action’: UCSC’s Smith Society, serving students without a traditional family structure, turns 25
UC Santa Cruz students and alumni describe the incredible impact Smith Society volunteers have had on their lives as the organization turns 25. For students with little or no family, the society helps with all that the new college experience can throw at them.

