California Senate passes bill package aiming to create digital library of free textbooks

The California Senate today passed two bills aimed at lowering textbook costs by thousands of dollars for college students, passing the legislation to the State Assembly for a final vote.

The bills, introduced by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, will create a library of free or low-cost (!!!)digital textbooks for the 50 most widely taken lower-division courses at California public postsecondary institutions.

The first measure, Senate Bill 1052, was passed by a vote of 32-2.

State Assembly passes bill that may lead to middle-class scholarship, but funding remains uncertain

The State Assembly passed a bill on Wednesday that would establish a scholarship program for middle class college students, though it is unclear how funding for the program will be secured.

Co-authored by Speaker of the California Assembly John Pérez (D-Los Angeles), the Middle Class Scholarship Act hinges on two bills that must be passed in order for the scholarships to become available to students.

NAACP, UCLA Afrikan Student Union and UCLA Black Alumni Association members rally in support of UCLA surgeon

Members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the UCLA Afrikan Student Union and the UCLA Black Alumni Association gathered in Bruin Plaza today to show support for a surgeon at UCLA Medical Center who recently filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the university.

Dr. Christian Head, a head and neck surgeon at the UCLA Medical Center, filed a suit in April that claimed the university failed to prevent discrimination, harassment, retaliation and infliction of intentional emotional distress.

Participants in Black Tent Theatre’s “˜Hour of the Wolf’ bring emotionally disturbing play to life

May 28, 2012- Barons and demons and castles, oh my! Founded this spring quarter, the student-run Black Tent Theatre Company is staging a performance of an experimental two-act play, “Hour of the Wolf,” based on the movie by Swedish filmmaker Ernst Ingmar Bergman. It’s about a Swedish painter, Johan, who lives on a remote island with his wife. In the story, Johan experiences hallucinations of aristocratic ghosts in a medieval castle, which take a tremendous and fateful toll upon his psyche. Second-year theater student Casey Holmberg, the director of the play, discusses his vision for the project, his directorial techniques in working with actors and his musical inspiration for one of the most haunting scenes in the play. Committing to its “experimental” vibe, the “Hour of the Wolf” performance will take place in a parking lot of the Weyburn Terrace apartments off Gayley Avenue in Westwood Thursday through Saturday.

Second-year mathematics students Jacob Flatto is the only non-theater student in the Black Tent Theatre Company. Though he quit pursuing theater as his major focus of study, he still enjoys acting on the side, which is why he auditioned for “Hour of the Wolf.” Flatto plays the supporting role of Baron Von Merkens, a figment of Johan’s imagination. Though he has few lines in the play, Baron Von Merkens exercises mystical power over Johan by luring him into his castle. Flatto discusses the challenges he faces as an actor with emotionally connecting to the characters he works on.

Long Story Short streams online Mondays at 6 p.m. on UCLAradio.com. Listen to the whole episode here or visit our broadcast archive.

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Student Melinda West jams in the studio

May 28, 2012- Third-year English student Melinda West jams on the accordion live in the studio. She performs the theme song to the Pixar animated film “Up” and Nat King Cole’s ballad, “Love.” Last week, West performed with the Balkan Music Ensemble through the UCLA ethnomusicology department. She also regularly performs with Fusion Music Group, a network of student musicians that perform all types of music, from jazz to reggae, rock, soul and funk. West is currently scoring a piano-accordion ragtime piece for an undergraduate student’s silent film project.

Long Story Short streams online Mondays at 6 p.m. on UCLAradio.com. Listen to the whole episode here or visit our broadcast archive.

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