Author Archives: Caroline Chamberlain

Obama’s six hour visit reflects not only the acknowledgement that the country has made progress in the area of human rights, but also a shifting U.S. foreign policy that is more concerned with China’s influence in the region that the President signalled last year with the deployment of 2,500 troops to Australia. In recent years, Myanmar has eased many of its harshest restrictions on its population and released hundreds of political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi. Professor of Southeast Asian history Geoffrey Robinson discusses the country’s introduction of liberal reforms, the ethnic tensions that remain that makes this progress tenuous, and the larger historical narrative relevant to Myanmar’s current status.

The final days of the Presidential election were interrupted by an unexpected hurricane that devastated the East Coast. The death toll of Superstorm Sandy has reached at least 110 and the fiscal damages are in billions of dollars. Traffic jams, flooding, lack of public transportation and days without power have crippled the region and its residents. Sandy refocused climate change as a real political issue with costly implications. The role of the FEMA, the federal agency that manages disaster relief, also became a critical issue. Earth and Space Sciences Professor William Newman discusses how Sandy revealed many of the unique challenges our generation faces and how we have handled crises in the past.

July 9, 2012 – “The cage” is a section of UCLA’s Arts Library in the Public Affairs Building where many of the unique and valuable collections of books are held.

Located in what is nicknamed the “submarine library” because of its low ceilings and battleship-esque staircases, it’s where books are held under extra protection because of the risk of theft and damage.

Among the books kept in the cage is a selection of so-called “artist books” which are intended to convey an artistic message or be visually appealing in a way that sometimes has nothing to do with reading.

Robert Gore, a UCLA visual arts librarian, gave Daily Bruin Radio a tour of the cage and highlighted some of his favorite books.

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Read more about the UCLA Library Conservation Center here and here.

This story is part of the Daily Bruin’s Orientation issue.

July 9, 2012 – In recent years, social media has been the force dominating our communication with one another.

From rekindling connections between long lost elementary school besties on Facebook, maintaining current friendships through memorable Instagrams and forging new ones through the discovery of like-minded people hashtagging interests and trends, social media has become an important presence in modern society.

At UCLA, professors, TAs and students alike are utilizing this tool beyond its purely social dimensions and are integrating it in the classroom as an educational strategy aimed at widening the scope of academic possibilities.

Pictured: History professor Tobias Higbie’s Twitter page.

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This story is part of the Daily Bruin’s Orientation Issue.

June 11, 2012 – The 2011 to 2012 Academic year has been a turbulent one for history professor Teofilo Ruiz.

Between meeting President Barack Obama, visiting his native Cuba (for the first time since fleeing during the chaos of the Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961), publishing three books and severing his Achilles’ heel, Teo has had a year filled with personal excitement and emotion.

But amid these personal ventures, a feature that stands out this past year among others he has spent at UCLA is the current budget crisis affecting the UC system and its devastating impact on the humanities.

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This story is part of the Daily Bruin’s 2012 Graduation Issue.

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