Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi sent an email Tuesday (Aug. 27) condemning “senseless acts” on the campus last weekend: a racial slur written on a chalkboard in Dutton Hall, and a half-dozen cases of burglary and vandalism including 31 broken windows.

The hateful message and other incidents cropped up late Saturday or early Sunday (Aug. 25-26). Police had not made any arrests and were continuing to investigate. Anyone with information is asked to contact UC Davis police by telephone, (530) 754-COPS, or by using this online contact form.

“I am incensed and at the same time, heartbroken, that this occurred this week in particular — a week where we acknowledge one of the greatest moments in American civil rights history; a week where President Obama will stand on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and acknowledge the place and the moment where America marched for freedom,” the chancellor wrote. Read her entire message.

The chancellor cited the Principles of Community, in which “we reject all manifestations of discrimination and affirm the inherent dignity in all of us,” and added: “It has been said before, and I again repeat, no act of hate will be tolerated at UC Davis.”

A Campus Crime Alert Bulletin issued Aug. 26 stated: “Unknown suspect(s) broke windows in buildings and vehicles. Suspect(s) gained entry into some buildings, causing further damage inside.”

The bulletin listed these locations: Dutton, South and Sproul halls; the buildings that house the Educational Opportunity Program and the School of Education; University House (Services for International Students and Scholars); TB9 (Ceramics Facility); Aggie Village; and the arboretum.

Katehi reassured the campus community that “safety is our greatest concern.” She said Ralph J. Hexter, provost and executive vice chancellor, and Adela de la Torre, vice chancellor of Student Affairs, would provide more information when it became available, “and they will also be ready to respond to your concerns or questions.”

Poster calendars are here!

The 2013-14 campus poster calendars are now available at the campus’s main bookstore, Memorial Union, and limited quantities are due to be available next week at branch stores on the Davis and Sacramento campuses.

Deliveries will begin soon to customers who submitted preorders, said Sarah Brodberg of UC Davis Stores.

The calendars, folded or rolled, cost $1.59 each and are eligible for the 10 percent departmental purchase discount.

If you did not submit a preorder, Brodberg said, you should consider visiting the main store as the quickest way to make a calendar purchase. For more information, contact her by email, sabrodberg@ucdavis.edu.

Login screen reminds: ‘Check the URL!’

Take a good look at your Central Authentication Service, or CAS, login screen the next time it pops up: A new message states “Check the URL!” And there’s a green arrow directing your attention upward to the address bar.

You will also see a URL example with this explainer: “The URL might not look exactly like this, but it will include a padlock, ‘University of California, Davis’ and start with cas.ucdavis.edu.” Here’s a screen shot.

The change effected by Information and Educational Technology is part of a CAS upgrade this summer to improve the service and add more security features.

IET started Aug. 6 with smartphones and small tablets, giving them — for the first time in the CAS — optimized login screens. “These new login pages are designed to both make your mobile experience easier and to assist you in determining if the login page you are on is a legitimate UC Davis page or a forged page trying to fool you in submitting your passphrase to an outside party,” IET explained on an IT Express Knowledge Base page.

Earlier this week, IET made a similar change to the standard CAS login page.

The new looks may vary slightly depending on device, software and browser.

To ensure you are on a genuine UC Davis CAS page, look for “cas.ucdavis.edu” at the beginning of the URL (not including the “https://,” which is not always displayed, especially on smartphones). IET emphasizes: If you do not see “cas.ucdavis.edu,” the page is a hoax — do not use it.

Read more in TechNews.

Adult bald eagle returns to the wild

Five months ago it had fractures in a claw and shoulder, and lay at the side of the road. This morning (Aug. 30) after almost five months of treatment and rehabilitation at UC Davis, the adult bald eagle flew home in Northern California.

The state Department of Fish and Game picked up the bird on April 9 outside Red Bluff (Tehama County), and a local veterinarian referred the bird to the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.

Veterinarians worked with Cook Medical, which donated a device to help in the healing of flesh wounds that accompanied the fractures.

Rehabilitation took place at the California Raptor Center, a program of the School of Veterinary Medicine. Bret Stedman, raptor center manager, released the eagle at 11 a.m. at Turtle Bay Exploration Park along the Sacramento River in Redding (Shasta County).

284 pints in 2 days — way to go!

“Once again, UC Davis comes through for patients in need!” says Heather Sharp of BloodSource in reporting the tally from this week’s ASUCD Blood and Marrow Drive on the Quad: 284 pints.

Altogether, 333 people — including 95 first-timers — registered during the two-day drive; not all of those who register are able to donate, for a variety of reasons.

The next time BloodSource comes to campus will be for the sixth annual Causeway Classic Blood Drive, when we compete to see who can donate the most: UC Davis or Sacramento State. The UC Davis collection is scheduled for Tuesday-Wednesday, Nov. 5-6, on the second floor of The Pavilion at the ARC.

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