A student speaker shared her friend’s experience with bipolar disorder at an event Tuesday night. Shrita Pendekanti, a second-year neuroscience student, and Active Minds hosted “Know the Signs, Know the Science” in Carnesale Commons. About 15 people attended the event, which featured a discussion on the science behind bipolar disorder and the stigma surrounding it. […]
Author Archives: Emily Merz
Emily Merz: Task force should expand student access to Sage Hill
Sage Hill is located off Bellagio Drive by the Krieger Center. The four-acre space is covered with rolling hills of small native shrubs, such as the coastal sage scrub and California sagebrush, which are dotted with flowers in the springtime. Laurel sumac, a species of small tree, rises above the other shrubs, providing light shade […]
Emily Merz: UC must focus on student food insecurity with long-term solutions
UCLA tour guides will tell you the campus has the best dining hall food in the country. But far from the comfort of 19 Premier meal plans and omelet bars, many students barely have enough nutritious food to get through the day. In fact, a survey of undergraduate students’ food security levels by University of […]
Emily Merz: Westwood council is responsible for preventing greedy real estate deals
Shady real estate deals are not just for presidents – they’re popular in Los Angeles too. The problem starts at the very beginning of the approval process: neighborhood councils. Developer influence in Westwood is not new, and it could continue to harm economic vitality in the Village. If developers can buy their way into approval, […]
Emily Merz: Westwood must learn from Measure S failure, promote housing projects
The failure of Measure S, which would have put a two-year moratorium on development projects in Los Angeles, is a victory in the fight for affordable housing for UCLA students. But there’s still a long way to go. It’s no secret Westwood has one of the highest rents in Los Angeles with an average of $4,200 per […]
Students, groups advocate making UCLA a sanctuary campus at town hall
Students chanted “Hey, hey, sanctuary campus UCLA!” and “Not one more … deportation!” in a crowded Haines Hall room Thursday night. About 150 students, labor union organizers and grassroots organizers attended a town hall about making UCLA a sanctuary campus for undocumented students. The Student Labor Advocacy Project of UCLA, labor union organizers and other […]
Emily Merz: Westwood needs to protect the rights of the Village’s street vendors
While walking around Westwood Village, many UCLA students will pass a couple street vendors selling fruit. Little do students realize that these vendors could face deportation if charged with a misdemeanor for street vending. Thanks to President Donald Trump’s new executive order, immigrants with minor criminal charges or “perceived charges” can face deportation. In response […]