In Response to the UC Davis and UC Berkeley Incidents — UC President Mark Yudof, UC Regent Sherry Lansing, and other UC leaders have vowed to review the recent incidents to ensure the rights of students, faculty, staff and others to participate in peaceful protests. Read more.  Chancellor Henry Yang sent a message to the campus community reaffirming UC Santa Barbara's commitment to civil discourse, freedom of expression, and nonviolence. Read more. UCSB Holds In Solidarity Event — The UCSB community held an open forum and a candlelight vigil at the In Solidarity event on Nov. 30 at Corwin Pavilion and Storke Plaza. Following recent reactions to nonviolent protests across the nation, students, staff, and faculty expressed their concerns about the way such demonstrations might be handled at UC Santa Barbara. UCSB Falls to Creighton in NCAA Third Round, 2-1 — In a battle between one of the country's best offensive teams and its best defensive team, defense won out on Sunday afternoon as No. 2 seeded Creighton defeated No. 15 seeded UC Santa Barbara, 2-1, at the Bluejays' Morrison Stadium. With the loss, the Gauchos finish their 2011 campaign with a 15-7-1 overall record. ‘Tower Heist’ Screened at UCSB Pollock Theater — Screenwriter, director, film producer and Gaucho Jeff Nathanson hosted an exclusive prescreening of his upcoming movie, “Tower Heist” at Pollock Theater. Nathanson spoke with students in a Q&A session that touched on his ascent to success and the experiences at UCSB that drove him to pursue his current career. Winner of $1 Million X Challenge Has Roots at UCSB — An innovative piece of oil-spill recovery equipment that evolved from a design created by a UC Santa Barbara Ph.D. student and her faculty advisor has won the $1 million top prize in the 2011 Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X Challenge. Women’s Volleyball Wins Seventh in a Row Before Falling to TCU— The UC Santa Barbara women's volleyball team continued its push for a postseason berth, winning its seventh straight match with a 25-23, 22-25, 26-24, 25-19 victory over San Diego State on Nov. 25 in the Turkey Time Tournament. Physicists Dive into Oscillation Frequency of Coffee — At a recent math conference, UCSB fluid dynamacist Rouslan Krechetnikov watched his colleagues gingerly carry cups of coffee. Why, he wondered, did the coffee sometimes spill and sometimes not? A research project was born. Graffiti Linked to Isla Vista Foot Patrol Arson Investigation — Santa Barbara County sheriff’s detectives released photos of graffiti that they hope will lead them to the person or people responsible for an arson attack on the Isla Vista Foot Patrol office. Sheriff’s Department spokesman Drew Sugars said the first of two “Molotov cocktails” was thrown about 7:45 p.m. on Nov. 15 at the office on the 6500 block of Trigo Road. Gauchos Defeat Pepperdine, Take Seventh at MPSF Tournament — Staked to a 4-0 lead after the first quarter, No. 5-seed UC Santa Barbara held on for a 10-8 victory against No. 6-seed Pepperdine in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament's seventh-place match on Nov. 27 at UCLA's Spieker Aquatics Center, before falling to TCU on Nov. 28. UCSB Middle East Ensemble Concert — 8 p.m., Dec. 3 at Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall at UCSB. The UCSB Middle East Ensemble presents its formal Fall Quarter concert featuring a variety of music and dance from Arab, Armenian, Persian, Sephardic, and Turkish cultures. Special guest Fawzi Allanqawi, visiting the U.S. from his native Kuwait, will lead the ensemble in two Kuwaiti songs. Cost: $15 general, $7 students; tickets at the door only. Find out more. Santa Barbara Gaucho Holiday Celebration — 6-8 p.m., Dec. 8 at Mosher Alumni House, UC Santa Barbara in support of the UCSB Associated Students Food Bank. Enjoy live music, hors d'oeuvres and assorted beverages at the festively decorated Mosher Alumni House! In the spirit of the holiday season, we are asking our alumni to support our students and contribute to the UCSB A.S. Food Bank. Register now. UCSB vs. UCI (@ Irvine) Men's Basketball Pre-Game Reception — Feb. 15, 2012. Reception: 5:30 p.m., Steelhead Brewing Company, Irvine. Game: 7 p.m., UCI Bren Events Center. Enjoy complimentary appetizers with UCSB alumni and friends before the big game against the UC Irvine Anteaters! RSVP now. UCSB vs. Cal Poly (@UCSB) Men's Basketball Pre-Game Reception — Feb. 25, 2012. Reception: 5:30 – 7 p.m., Mosher Alumni House, UCSB. Game: 7 p.m., UCSB Events Center. Join alumni and friends for a free pre-game reception at your alumni house. Guests are responsible for purchasing their own parking permits and tickets to the game. Members of the UCSB Alumni Association receive a complimentary ticket as a benefit. Annual Advocacy Dinner with the Chancellor, in Sacramento — March 6, 2012. Reception, with dinner to follow, 6 p.m. Chops Restaurant, Sacramento. The UC Santa Barbara Alumni Association invites you to join Chancellor Henry T. Yang, Assistant Vice Chancellor George Thurlow and UCSB Alumni for the annual Advocacy Dinner. The dinner provides an excellent opportunity to hear exciting campus updates. 6th Annual All Gaucho Reunion — Announcing the official launch of the All Gaucho Reunion registration! Revisit your college memories of being at your best with lifelong Gaucho friends — being Better Together! Featured this year at the second annual Taste of UCSB are Municipal Winemakers, Au Bon Climat, and more. Register now. UC Santa Barbara, a campus of national and international distinction, is actively engaged in expanding its comprehensive Campaign. Please join us as we prepare our students to be the leaders of California in our 21st-century global society, and as we work to increase cultural understanding, and to find solutions for the most compelling problems of our time. To get involved, click here. An Event to Remember — After a wedding ceremony on the beach, Jenny, ’01, and John, ’00, M.A. ’10, celebrated at the Mosher Alumni House, surrounded by family and friends. “Thank you for all of your efforts in making our wedding party such a memorable evening. Everything went seamlessly: the venue looked great and we had many compliments on how beautiful the setting was,” John said. Find out more on holding your special event at Mosher. More than 2 million Derby Car kits are sold in the U.S. each year — Come to the Family Vacation Center on the campus of UCSB, and don’t forget to pack your creativity. Prepare to design and race a custom derby car during your week at our all-inclusive beachside family camp. Southern Italy & Sicily — April 17-May 1, 2012 — Explore fascinating Southern Italy and Sicily, a place of legend and antiquity. The South is a region unlike any other part of Italy in terms of food, history, culture and landscape. From Sicily to Amalfi and the historic troglodyte churches that dot the terrain, it offers something for both the first-time and returning visitor. AuthentiCity in Greece: A Celebration of Mediterranean Life — September 17-29, 2012 — In a small group of no more than 16, see glorious antiquities, dip into island life, and discover the cultural threads that tie today’s Greek society to the ancient world in a unique way that provides immersion and quality contact with locals beyond other tours and access to Greece’s amazing treasures and glorious landscapes. Do you want to prevent the Gaucho eNews and other e-mailings from the UCSB Alumni Association from being routed into your junk file?  Place this email address in your address book... alumni.webmaster@ia.ucsb.edu.