The Los Angeles Unified School District has seen better days. Over the last decade, LAUSD’s enrollment has dropped by approximately 200,000, and the system faces a projected $1.46 billion cumulative deficit by 2019. Betsy DeVos, our current national secretary of education, has threatened to make matters even worse by voicing support for a school voucher […]
Category Archives: Opinion
Jasmine Aquino: City leaders must pursue sexual education reform
I was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley – also known as the porn capital of the world. The “San Pornando Valley,” just 10 miles north of Hollywood glamour, offers a different kind of setting for actors to try their skills. That is, until 2012. That’s when Measure B, better known as the […]
Chris Busco: City infrastructure could turn Los Angeles into a pedestrian paradise
With 300 days of sunshine a year, star-studded boulevards and a plethora of major cultural institutions, the City of Angels seems to have all the makings of a pedestrian-friendly city. However, LA infrastructure still prioritizes drivers over the safety of pedestrians. As overall traffic fatalities continue to rise, it’s clear that LA has a safety […]
Keshav Tadimeti: LA’s Silicon Beach must complement Silicon Valley, not replace it
The California technology industry has a bright future – a bright and sandy one, that is. For several decades, California’s Silicon Valley has been the global face of technological advancement. Everything from the genesis of startup culture to the creation of game-changing social media applications took place within the Northern California valley, and the technological […]
Guillaume Kosmala: Students must stand against proposals like Measure S
You would be hard-pressed to find a single UCLA student who doesn’t feel that their rent is too high. It’s no secret that renting in Los Angeles is ridiculously expensive, with the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment currently sitting at around $3,000. In Westwood, that number goes up to $4,200. Combine this fact with […]
Jacqueline Alvarez: Gentrification of LA detrimental to lower-income population
Stadiums, art museums, high-end restaurants, luxurious condos – the telltale signs of gentrification. Gentrification begins when wealthy individuals – gentrifiers – move into low-income neighborhoods and begin to invest in those areas for profit. The increased property values result in higher rent prices, which in turn force poorer residents out of the neighborhood. It’s become […]
Aaron Julian: Paul Koretz’s leadership needs to be more dynamic in final term
Los Angeles is changing now faster than ever, with new businesses, residents, neighborhoods, roads and other infrastructure. But with great changes come great challenges, and the city is already getting a good dose of problems. Westwood lies within City Council District 5, which is no stranger to tensions over development or traffic jams on freeways […]