UCI Ranks Among Top U.S. Colleges
 UC Irvine recently placed 44 on the 2013 News and World Report’s ranking of America’s top colleges and universities, contributing to the top 22 percent of campuses recognized for offering a full range of undergraduate majors, plus master’s and Ph. D. programs.
In addition to the groundbreaking research that the chosen campuses are committed to producing, U.S. News and World Report uses a combination of SAT/ACT scores, scholarship and grant information, graduation rates, as well as other factors, to produce the yearly rankings.
The Report includes national and liberal arts schools, regional campuses, up-and-coming schools and schools that offer the best value.
Within the rankings, UCI shows a 94 percent retention rate, meaning a significant return of freshmen to the campus in the fall, as well as a sixth year graduation rate of 85 percent.
Improving by one place compared to 2012, UCI’s campus placed as the twelfth best public school nationally.
A top choice for undergraduate and graduate education, the campus is home to more than 500 student organizations, Division I level sports, and an extraordinary research institution that specializes in areas such as cancer and neuroscience studies, with a state-of-the-art embryonic stem cell research lab that is the first of its kind in California.
A young yet steadily improving campus, UCI provides a highly personalized college experience, while remaining a major research university.
Ban on Sugary Sweet Drinks…in NYC
In hopes of reducing the runaway obesity rates that have been on a constant rise in New York City for decades, the New York City Board of Health ratified Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s ban on sugary drinks in a unanimous open vote of 8-0 last Thursday, September 13.
Taking effect immediately after the ratification, this new ban which Bloomberg has been pushing for months would ban the sale of sugary soft drinks larger than 16 ounces. The ban, which will restrict the amount fluid ounces of beverages to below 16, is Mayor Bloomberg’s creation to curb obesity in the city of New York, New York.
Only establishments that receive inspection grades from the health department will be subject to the rules put into effect because of the ban—including movie theaters and concession stands at stadiums. Convenience stores and chains like 7-Eleven, with the famous Big Gulps, would be exempt from the laws, along with vending machines and some newsstands.
Tackling major health issues, through the use of ambitious public health policies, Mayor Bloomberg’s tactics have proven successful and often are seen taking effect in large cities nationwide. This time, Bloomberg is taking aim at diabetes and other weight-related health issues by tackling obesity and its underlying factors—sugars.
Meeting mixed emotions from New Yorkers, the ban may have been ratified by a unanimous vote, however, a recent poll shows that roughly 60% of New Yorkers polled found the ban to be a bad idea. But the evidence leading to the ban is there. With an estimated 5,000 New Yorkers dying annually from weight-related health issues, there is a clear need for change — the public is just skeptical to whether this is the change the city needs.
