January 10, 2000 Take Note New executive director of Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science to strengthen ties with UCSC Ronaldo Ramirez, who has been special assistant to Vice Chancellor Francisco Hernandez, has been selected as executive director of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS). SACNAS is a national organization that encourages Chicano/Latino and Native American students to pursue graduate education and obtain the advanced degrees necessary for research careers and science teaching professions at all levels. SACNAS membership is composed of science professors, industry scientists, K-12 teachers, and undergraduate and graduate students. The campus has a long-standing connection with SACNAS. Professor Emeritus Eugene Cota-Robles was a founding member; Professor Frank Talamantes served as a former president; Professors Leo Ortiz and Marta Zuniga have served as board members; and former professors Clifton Poodry and Victor Rocha have also been active in the organization. "As I move into my new position I hope to continue to strengthen the long-standing ties between SACNAS and the Santa Cruz campus," said Ramirez. As executive director, Ramirez will represent SACNAS nationally to its constituents, provide staff leadership, develop new grant initiatives, and play a key role in fund- raising. He begins his new position on January 18. Calling all tenors . . . The UCSC Concert Choir is preparing the Brahms Neue Liebeslieder Waltzes and Mendelssohn's Lauda Sion for two concerts in the Recital Hall March 4 (matinee) and March 5 (evening). The choir is in need of tenors. All faculty, staff, students, and community members are welcome. Rehearsals began January 6 and are taking place on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from noon to 1:45 p.m., in Room 114 of the Music Center. For more information, contact Concert Choir Conductor Margaret Kvamme at (831) 459-5106. Public talk and exhibit of photos on rural India While conducting research for her dissertation in environmental sociology, Lisa Bunin traveled to central India to study the re-emergence of organic cotton farming. Farmers in the Nimar and Vidarblha regions who had embraced the "Green Revolution" in the 1960s, became disenchanted with chemical-intensive agriculture by the mid- 1980s and sought new ways to farm without toxic chemicals, drawing on a mix of historical local knowledge and field experiments. Bunin chronicles her research on these farming communities in an exhibit, titled "Organic Cotton: A Developing Story in Rural India," on display at the Bridge Gallery at Porter College through January 16. There will be a reception and a public talk by Bunin on January 13 at 7 p.m. at the gallery. For more information, call Lisa Bunin at (831) 425-7121. Drop-in fitness classes for faculty and staff The Recreation Office is offering excellent, inexpensive fitness classes winter quarter. The classes are designed with faculty and staff in mind to fit within the lunch break. Stretch and Strengthen Mondays and Wednesdays from noon to 1 p.m. January 19- March 15 (no class 2/21) Activity Room, East Field House Instructor: Stephanie Spencer Yoga Stretch Fridays from noon to 1 p.m. January 7- March 17 Martial Arts Room, East Field House Instructor: Don Bard The cost for the classes is: $4 per class for staff/faculty or a 10-class card for $30; $3 per class for registered UCSC students or a 10-class card for $25; $5 per class for members of the Santa Cruz community or a 10-class card for $40. January broadcast schedule for UCSC Forum UCSC Forum, which features the best of UCSC lectures and programs, airs at 8 p.m. each Sunday and 4:30 p.m. each Wednesday on Community TV of Santa Cruz County, Channel 72. The schedule for the rest of January is as follows: January 16: Amiri Baraka: "The Highest Form of Knowledge Is Use" (repeat) (rebroadcast January 19) January 23: Murray Baumgarten: "Primo Levi, Survival in Auschwitz, and the Meaningfulness of Everyday Life" (repeat) (rebroadcast January 26) January 30: Diane DiPrima: Stepping Outside of Regular Life (a poetry reading, facilitated by UCSC lecturer in literature Tom Marshall) (repeat) (rebroadcast February 2) For more information, call Community Television at (831) 425-8848, ext. 20. New shuttle service on campus New shuttle service between the North Remote Parking Lot and Science Hill began January 3. The Day East Remote Core route serves these areas every 15 minutes between 7:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. weekdays. The Express Night Core route provides drop-off service to the North Remote Lot weeknights after 6 p.m. New maps and schedules are available at Transportation Information Centers throughout the campus, on shuttle buses, and on the TAPS Web site. For more information contact TAPS at (831) 459-3228 or taps@cats.ucsc.edu.