Community Briefs

Rotary scholarships available for students

The Rotary Club for District 5280 is offering scholarships of up
to $25,000 for students to spend an academic year abroad.

The awards cover round-trip transportation, academic fees,
living costs and an intensive language course at the beginning of
the recipient’s academic studies.

“We are looking for what we consider to be the
“˜all-around’ individuals, someone who can stand on his
or her own two feet,” said Dick Littlestone, chair of the
Outbound Scholars for the rotary district.

Littlestone said about 20 students apply from UCLA each year,
and he hopes more students will take advantage of this opportunity
this year.

He recalled the success of one UCLA student, Brian Boxer
Wachler, who received a scholarship to study at the University of
Edinburgh, Scotland, and was invited to be part of the Edinburgh
crew team during his stay there.

At UCLA, Wachler had been a member of the crew team as well as
the debate team. Upon his return, he earned an M.D. and is
currently an assistant professor at the Jules Stein Eye Institute
as chief of the Laser Surgery Clinic.

There will be an informational session about the scholarship
Tuesday Nov. 21, at EXPO Internship & Study Abroad Services at
the UCLA Career Center.

Study links health and strong ethnic
identity

A new UCLA study examining the relationship between obesity and
depression in African American women links good mental and physical
health with strong feelings of ethnic identity for the first
time.

The study, supported by a National Cancer Institute grant and
published in the September edition of the peer-reviewed journal
Preventive Medicine, surveyed 429 Los Angeles women from a
culturally tailored program promoting healthful eating and
exercise.

Researchers found an inverse relationship between depression and
strong ties to the African American community, independent of other
demographic and health factors. The survey found the lowest levels
of depression among women with strong ethnic identity and less
excess weight.

“Poor health likely contributes, over time, to both excess
weight and depression,” said lead author Judith M. Siegel, a
community health sciences professor and associate dean at the UCLA
School of Public Health. “Apparently, ethnic identity
maximizes feelings of well-being among women who are making efforts
to protect their health.”

Principal investigator Dr. Antronette K. Yancey, director of the
Division of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion in the
Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, said the research
paves the way for more effective health-promotion programs.

Berkeley adopts star system before game

At the Big Game football match this Saturday between the
University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford University, Cal
students will literally have their own star to wish on.

Following in the footsteps of the school colors blue and gold,
the Golden Bear and Oski, the campus mascot, comes UC
Berkeley’s very own star system.

Located in the Cygnus constellation, the double star Albireo
““ consisting of one blue and one gold star that circle
endlessly ““ has been adopted by UC Berkeley’s Student
Senate.

“We’re calling it the Cal Star,” said Lauren
Bausch, a UC Berkeley undergraduate and author of the recent UC
Berkeley Student Senate bill resolving to officially adopt the
star.

Compiled from Daily Bruin wire reports.

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