Students Challenge Regents on Arms Lab
by Leah Etling, April 4, 2003

Originally published in the Santa Barbara News-Press

UCSB A group of students upset that the University of California continues to allow the development of nuclear weapons at UC-run laboratories confronted the UC Regents via teleconference Thursday.

The students, including several from UCSB, say they oppose the regents' management of the Lawrence Livermore lab in Northern California and Los Alamos National Laboratories in New Mexico.

"When people are looking at the university and trying to learn from them, to have the university involved in something like this, it doesn't set a good example," said UCSB student Jacqueline Binger, a senior peace and security major. Ms. Binger is a member of the Coalition to Demilitarize the University of California, a student-led effort that collaborates with the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation of Santa Barbara.

The group has asked that the regents stop developing weapons technology at the labs. They submitted a letter to them with that request March 20, but have not received a response. Because Thursday's remarks were made in the public comment section of the meeting, there was no response from the regents.