We know you’re all out of school, but we’re going to attempt to keep you abreast on UCSB news this summer with a new feature. Similar to Fresh Cream, Ripe Produce will feature local Santa Barbara news that’s “ripe for the reading.” Here are five summer stories you must know.

* Don’t ask, don’t tell? A UCSB research institute has new data showing lesbian discharges climbed last year to 627, revealing the ouster of women was far out of proportion to their numbers in the military.

* A group of California physicists (UC Santa Barbara's J.M. Stephens) have made an accidental discovery that has potential to change how information in computers can be transported or stored.

* Kudos!  UCSB just received a $600,000 gift from alumnus Anton Vonk and his wife, Diane Boss, to establish an endowed chair in political science.

* Men's basketball hasn’t played a home game against a top-ranked team since February of 1990. That’s all about the change this fall when the Gauchos host North Carolina, next year’s likely preseason favorite

* Where will they put them?  4,725 students plan to enroll as freshmen at UCSB this fall, about 200 students more than anticipated.