Celebrities, UC employees, students and people from all across California are tapping into their social media networks and making promises to raise money for UC student scholarships.

VP Barbara Allen-Diaz has made her own daring promise. If she can raise $2,500 by Halloween, Allen-Diaz promises to wear a colony of bees, highlighting the importance of pollinators to the health of agriculture and the planet. If she raises $5,000, she promises to eat protein-rich insects, a plentiful and low-cost source of protein critical to meeting the world’s growing food demand.

Assistant VP Tu Tran is making a promise on the VP’s promise. “If Barbara does the bee thing, I will donate $500,” Tu said....