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by Andy
Evangelista 1st
appeared 19 August 1998
Give 'em the Facts, Just the Facts
Perhaps campus folks are having an
institutional identity crisis, or are just a bit confused by recent and future changes for
the campus, or have forgotten -- or never knew -- pieces of its 134 year history, or
simply want anything that's free. We know this place could be complex, but the Eye is
still somewhat surprised by the number of requests for a booklet called
"Understanding UCSF," produced recently by the Public Affairs department. In
less than two days, Daybreak received some 40 requests for the booklet from individuals
and departments and sent out hundreds of copies of the handy, pocket-sized 13-page
collection of new and old campus facts.
 A UCSF
novice, or long-timer, can learn, for example, that Parnassus is just one of approximately
100 owned or leased UCSF sites in the Bay Area, more than 40 of which are in SF, or that
48 biotechnology companies have direct roots to UCSF inventions, technology or personnel.
Pick up a booklet and impress friends with your wealth of UCSF knowledge. Those interested
in receiving a copy should send an email to nheller@itsa.ucsf.edu
(to better process your request, please type "booklet request" in the subject
field).
Al Minvielle, director of Millberry Programs
and Services, was amazed to find out that an old Peugeot bicycle, which spent long idle
stints in his garage while he went on to better but not bigger mountain bikes, somehow
ended up rolling through a triathlon course in Pleasanton last Saturday (Aug. 15). It was
steered by fellow UCSF 40-plusser and Publications director Jeff Miller, who competed in
the Tri For Fun triathlon for first-time painseekers (er, triathletes). "You mean
that old clunker?" said Minvielle, referring to the bike and not to Miller, when told
by the Eye that the refurbished two-wheeler made it through the 11-mile bike course.
(Miller survived the swimming and running parts of the event, too.)
 Minvielle, who bought
the bike in the early 1970s, passed it on a couple years ago to fellow cyclist and UCSF
Magazine photographer David Powers, who loaned it to Miller, who fixed it up for the race,
which he finished in about an hour and 20 minutes.
Jeff, we're truly impressed by anyone
willing to swim, bike and run that long. But a real triathlon begins after getting off the
N Judah during the morning peak period, and getting up the ACC elevator to Parnassus,
grabbing a cup of java to go, catching the Otis express to the 13th floor of Med Sci, in
order to get to the office -- with cup still full and hot -- before the boss arrives.
In a letter to the British Medical Journal
this week, Neil Davidson, a physician at the Armed Forces Hospital in Salmiya, Kuwait,
suggests that issuing credit cards that double as organ donor cards could help ease organ
shortages. "Specific organ donor cards are not easy enough to obtain and carry at all
times, so what else, carried by most people most of the time, could double as a donor
card? Any signed credit card could both serve its financial function and act as an organ
donation card. Lack of consent to organ donation could perhaps be indicated by cutting off
a specified corner of the card, until smart cards' that incorporate medical information
become widely available," he writes. We're in favor of efforts to increase donor
organs, but even if you're too dead to know that your heart and liver is being harvested,
do you really want a hospital to have your Gold Card?
It's not quite the computer version of
tuning to the police radio, but members of the campus can now receive bulletins from the
UCSF Police Department via email. So far this year, the PD has sent 24 of these bulletins
or fliers -- mostly by fax -- warning UCSF people of thieves posing as pest exterminators,
wallet lifters at the gym, assaults that have occurred on campus, and new rules that could
get illegally parked bikes ticketed. These alerts are now faxed to some 240 departments
and individuals, a tedious process than can take eight to 12 hours, says Michael Sorenson,
the PD's crime prevention analyst. Most of the faxes are to offices, which post the
bulletins somewhere for their staff to see. A new listserv, titled
"PD-Bulletins," allows campus rank and file (at least those with computers) to
receive the information directly and in the seconds it takes to send an email. All you
need to do is send a one-line email message to: listserv@listserv.ucsf.edu . (Make sure your
correct email address shows after "from" and that the "subject" field
is left blank.) Your message should read "subscribe pd-bulletins first name last
name." Take the minute or two to subscribe, and you'll be among the first to get
updates on UCSF's Most Wanted. If you are on the Campus Administrators listserv, no need
to sign up for the new one -- a separate listserv has been set up for you to receive
breaking police info. Over and out.
Readers: If you have any items or
suggestions for this column, send us an email: andye@itsa.ucsf.edu
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