June 15 - Commencement livestream, Shakespeare festival returns
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The big day: You can livestream today’s commencement ceremony at Angel Stadium. The stream starts at 2:26 p.m.; students begin walking in at 3 p.m., and the program gets underway at 3:30 p.m. The featured speaker is Yusef Salaam, entrepreneur, author, trainer and leader.
UCI ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS
New Swan’s mini-Elizabethan theater provides an intimate experience for the audience, as demonstrated during the 2016 production of “As You Like It.” Photo by Paul R. Kennedy
Shakespeare, reunited
Pericles’ joy over being reunited with his family after years apart may resonate with actors and audiences when “Pericles, Prince of Tyre” and “The Comedy of Errrorrs” (note the erroneous r’s) are performed at UCI’s New Swan Shakespeare Festival this summer after two years that the theater was dark because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “This summer we have a theme of families and loved ones lost, searched for and reunited,” says New Swan founding artistic director Eli Simon, Chancellor’s Professor of drama. “It’s a big season to return for our 10th anniversary. We can feel the great energy from our company of artists and from the community that supports us.”
“Despite broadly adopted measures to protect workers and the general public, exposure to radon remains a leading cause of lung cancer,” says David B. Richardson, UCI Program in Public Health associate dean of research, professor of environmental and occupational health and a corresponding author of the study. Image from Twitter/@UCIPublicHealth
UCI-led study finds prolonged, low-level radon exposure still a leading cause of lung cancer
There is a strong relationship between prolonged exposure to low levels of radon and lung cancer, indicating a need for enhanced protection measures, according to a UCI-led study. Radon gas in the air decays into tiny radioactive particles that can damage lung cells and lead to cancer. Findings from the study were recently published in Environmental Health Perspectives.
The meaning of Juneteenth: freedom without safety
Juneteenth commemorates the freedom of enslaved Black people in Galveston Bay, Texas, on June 19, 1865 — nearly two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. “While Congress recently designated Juneteenth an official holiday, the meaning of Juneteenth for Black people has been a lived reality for 156 years: freedom without safety,” writes Doug Haynes, vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion, in Forbes.
UC NEWS AND GENERAL NEWS
‘SpeechMatters’ podcast explores self-censorship on campus
“What Does the Data Tell Us? Exploring Self-Censorship on College Campuses” is the topic of episode 5 of “SpeechMatters,” the official podcast of the UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement. Host Michelle Deutchman, the center’s executive director, speaks with two experts: Elizabeth Niehaus, senior fellow at the center, and Sean Stevens, senior research fellow in polling and analytics at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. Click on the image or link above for the page with the podcast, or listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or TuneIn.
State COVID-19 cases remain elevated as wave continues
The number of newly reported coronavirus cases remains elevated across California as health officials continue to wrestle with the pandemic's latest wave. Statewide, health officials reported an average of about 15,900 new infections a day over the past week — roughly in line with the previous week’s rate, according to a Los Angeles Times analysis.
White House to unveil biodefense plan against future pandemic
Based on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, a new defense strategy against biological threats will soon be unveiled, Bloomberg reports. The plan, which puts the White House at the center of any future U.S. response, comes from more than a year of work by national security and public health experts paying close attention to research suggesting there's a 50/50 chance of another COVID-like pandemic — or a more deadly one — over the next 25 years.
EVENTS
Back to the Future: Looking Toward Sustainable, Equitable and Healthy Transportation
Friday, 9 a.m. (sponsored by Center for Occupational and Environmental Health)
Visit today.uci.edu to see and submit event listings. Events of general interest will be shared in UCI Digest two days before they occur.