[Currents headergraphic]

September 29, 1997

Awards and Honors

Porter College's Bob Giges has won top honors at the Canadian International Annual Film and Video Festival for his video documentary From Sleepy Lagoon to Zoot Suit: The Irreverent Path of Alice McGrath. In the half-hour video, Alice McGrath tells the story of the Sleepy Lagoon case, in which 22 young Mexican-American men, charged with conspiracy to commit murder, were tried en masse in Los Angeles in 1942; 12 were convicted, in spite of a lack of evidence, and sent to San Quentin, some with life sentences. McGrath describes the racism of the time and her ultimately successful effort to overturn the unjust convictions These events are chronicled in the play Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez, who is also featured on the video.

The documentary, made through Community Television of Santa Cruz County (public access television), will travel all over Canada after a Thanksgiving run in British Columbia and will air on TV as well.

Alice McGrath will be showing the video and speaking in the Porter Dining Hall at 8 p.m., October 15, sponsored by the Porter College Core Course. All are welcome and admission is free. For more information, contact Bob Giges at (408) 423-2093. For disablity-related accommodations, contact Deva Hymen in advance of the event at (408) 459-2857.

University Police sergeant Nancy Carroll graduated September 12 from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. The 11-week academy offers advanced investigative, management, and fitness training to upper- and mid-level law enforcement managers around the world. It also provides an opportunity for the officers to share ideas, techniques, and experiences. Carroll joined UC Santa Cruz as a police officer in 1984 after working for the UCLA and city of San Jose police departments. She was promoted to sergeant in 1989.

Officer Mike Kimura

University Police officer Mike Kimura was awarded the UC Police Distinguished Service Medal for Conspicuous Bravery in the Line of Duty at a ceremony on campus September 24 . Off-duty and with no safety equipment at his disposal, Officer Kimura stopped to assist a woman who was being violently attacked and strangled by a man. He was able to free the woman, throw the man's knife out of reach, and subdue the highly agitated and out-of-control suspect until other officers could arrive. The Santa Cruz Police officer investigating the case said the man was strangling the woman in such a violent way that in his opinion Officer Kimura had "definitely saved the woman's life." Officer Kimura is the first police officer at UCSC to receive the systemwide award.

University Police sergeant Jeff Powell has completed the Supervisory Leadership Institute sponsored by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. The training program involved 192 hours of classes over an eight-month period.


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