Several uncontested and unrepresented positions in USAC elections this year

This post was updated April 17 at 11:54 a.m.

There are not enough candidates to fill all the undergraduate student government seats next year.

The Undergraduate Students Association Council election board announced the candidates for the spring election of the 2018-2019 council last Tuesday. There are 17 candidates for 15 positions, with no one running for the financial supports commission and two general representative offices.

Thirty-nine people ran for 14 USAC positions last year, with eight running for the USAC presidency alone in the 2018 election. The Bruins United slate, which has run candidates since 2004, did not put forward any candidates.

Roy Champawat, the Associated Students UCLA director and an administrative representative to the council, said there has not been a shortage of candidates this extreme in at least the last few decades.

Kyana Shajari, the election board chair, said she thinks there has been a lack of publicity about this year’s election. Since replacing former election board chair Richard White, Shajari said she has been working to learn who to reach and how to reach them to better publicize the election.

Current council members said they think complications with the election board and difficulty engaging students in certain roles contributed to the shortage.

Ayesha Haleem, general representative 1, said she thinks students have a negative perception of USAC.

“People genuinely want to create change on this campus but they don’t want to do it through USAC because there’s like this negative idea that it’s so bad for your mental health, so bad for this and that,” Haleem said.

She added she thinks the council and election board have been negligent in reaching out to students, in part due to internal personnel issues and a lack of experience on the election board.

“We’re the number one public university in the U.S., but our election board (email) accounts got hacked?” Haleem said. “I don’t even know what was happening. At this point, it’s not professional at all, which undermines everything USAC has stood for and the integrity that comes with these seats.”

Jessica Kim, transfer student representative, said she thinks a variety of factors contributed to the candidate shortage.

“I think it’s just a mixture of, starting in the beginning, getting late to installing a chair, having a noneffective chair, switching out of chairs, and then just everything that’s happened (with) communication,” Kim said.

Kim added she thinks USAC could be made more accessible to the student body by establishing an external publicity board.

Jessica Nguyen, a second-year microbiology student, said she could not name anything USAC has accomplished. She added she thinks students prefer other clubs to student government.

Shajari said she hoped the election will be more smooth going forward.

“I know this has been, like, a total shitshow. I’m really trying to solve it,” Shajari said. “I inherited a lot of problems from the previous chair, but yeah I’m really trying to claw my way to the surface right now.”

Shajari said USAC will likely hold a special election in fall quarter to fill remaining vacant positions.

UCLA announces revised policy for animal restrictions on campus

UCLA is further restricting which animals are allowed inside campus buildings, according to a university email statement sent out Tuesday.

The revised version of Policy 135, titled “Animals on University Property,” aimed to clarify the definition of animals allowed on campus and how animal owners’ responsibilities differ depending on how their animals are classified, Michelle Sityar, executive officer of the Office of Environment, Health and Safety, said in the statement.

The policy will categorize animals as assistance animals, pets and service animals.

Assistance animals and pets will be restricted from entering most university buildings or vehicles, but assistance animals may be permitted in university housing or employee work areas upon request. The policy will allow service dogs to enter any building, with the requirement of a case-by-case assessment to enter places like laboratories, research facilities and food preparation areas. All owners must also ensure their animals act appropriately and safely.

Assistance animals, also referred to as therapy animals, provide services for those with disabilities but mainly provide emotional or mental support, whereas service animals are trained to directly perform tasks related to an individual’s disability.

Comments and feedback on the report will be accepted by the Office of Environment, Health and Safety until May 16.

Chemical explosion occurs in lab in Molecular Sciences Building

One student sustained minor injuries in a chemical explosion Tuesday night.

The Molecular Sciences Building was closed for the night after a chemical explosion occurred around 8 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. LAFD crews responded to the incident and rinsed the student to prevent chemical contamination. She was taken to a hospital in good condition.

LAFD Battalion Chief Robert Carpino said the explosion occurred in a lab on the top floor of the building.

UCLA Parking enforcement closed off streets adjacent to the building at 8:15 p.m., said Tuan Lang, a parking enforcement officer. Charles E. Young Drive South was closed from Tiverton Drive to just north of Manning Drive.

LAFD HazMat experts determined the situation had stabilized, and turned the scene over to UCLA officials for cleanup and further investigation.

Harmony Becerra, a second-year physical science student, said she first heard about the explosion from her mother.

“I just got out of my lab and my mom called me and told me that there is an explosion at UCLA,” Becerra said. “I was surprised, curious what happened.”

Melissa Ledesma, a third-year biology student, said she was shocked to hear about the explosion.

“We think, working in labs, things like that won’t happen but this just proves that they do,” Ledesma said. “We have to be safe.”

Beach volleyball’s Izzy Carey finds air both on the court and across the world

Izzy Carey is used to getting air.

The 5-foot-11 senior spent the last four years with UCLA beach volleyball improving her vertical – but she’s gotten much higher than that off the court.

Carey climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest free-standing mountain in the world, in July 2017 as part of a service trip to Tanzania through a nonprofit organization called Give.

“I just thought it was the perfect opportunity,” Carey said. “(It was) one of the only years I’d probably be able to do something like that, and just get away for awhile, unplug the phone for a month almost and just get to see something that I might never get to see again.”

Carey said she appreciated the chance to step away from her overly busy schedule.

“We come from a place that’s so strict to time and being busy when you don’t even need to be busy,” Carey said. “It was really amazing to go somewhere where you could take your own pace and realize that there’s a lot more to life than just doing things for the sake of doing things.”

The climb took 4 1/2 days and the trail passed through five different climate zones – farmlands, forests, moorlands, deserts and arctic glaciers. Carey returned with a red water bottle marked with a thin black line to represent the trail, and labeled with the altitude of each climate zone.

The glaciers – shown in white – are what she remembers the most.

The ascent through the glaciers began at midnight on the fourth day. Carey and her fellow hikers trekked up the steepest part of the mountain in total darkness, with oxygen levels declining as elevation increased.

“It’s the longest, and the hardest, and the steepest – and you have to remember how much you liked the rest of the trip,” Carey said.

The senior said she remembers putting headphones in to march to the beat of the music, staring at the feet of the person in front of her on the narrow trail. She said she was too cold to even take her gloves off to grab food or water during the eight-hour stretch.

“That’s the highest altitude, and you’ve already hiked for six hours in that day,” Carey said. “You get to the top, and you’re in the glaciers, and there’s so much wind. It’s freezing, you’re exhausted and I hadn’t had any food or water.”

But Carey was no stranger to perseverance.

“It was definitely very relatable to volleyball’s mental challenges in that stretch of time – summiting – because you really just had to keep yourself going, remember why you’re doing it and just be able to push through for hours and hours,” Carey said. “Athletics has really helped me with pressure. When you’re facing physical challenges, being able to keep mentally calm and stable is very helpful.”

Senior Izzy Carey has lost just two matches this season, bringing her career record to 112-25 – good for the best in UCLA beach volleyball program history. (Alice Naland/Daily Bruin)
Senior Izzy Carey has lost just two matches this season, bringing her career record to 112-25 – good for the best in UCLA beach volleyball program history. (Alice Naland/Daily Bruin)

Coach Stein Metzger said Carey’s mental strength has allowed the All-American to emerge as a leader on the team – which is currently ranked No. 1 in the country.

“(Carey) is the perfect athlete when it comes to fortitude and discipline,” Metzger said. “Even though we don’t have official captains, she’s just organically been our team leader. … Without her, we don’t have a team performing at this level.”

Carey said the climb was not just about reaching the top of the mountain, but also developing new relationships. Then-beach volleyball team manager Kristen Phillipp heard about Give’s trip at the UCLA Enormous Activities Fair and encouraged Carey to come too.

Phillipp left the country for the first time in her life with Carey by her side.

“(Carey) was the best person I could have gone with,” Phillipp said. “Being stuck with someone for three weeks, you’re kind of afraid you’ll get annoyed with them, but she’s so easy to get along with and also fun to be around.”

The hikers bonded through nightly chats to talk about what they did that day or to learn about making sustainable change.

Carey completed her business economics degree winter quarter and said she is open to pursuing careers in impact investing – one of the concepts she learned on the trip.

“I’ve developed an interest in impact investing, which is a new big thing in the venture capital world – creating funds that are socially, economically and financially stable,” Carey said. “(The trip) really sparked my interest, and then coming back and going into the job search, I realized that that might be something I’d be interested in exploring down the road.”

Metzger said the determination Carey shows in volleyball has the potential to translate into any professional setting in the future.

“Her accomplishments speak for themselves,” Metzger said. “Then when people get to meet her, people just fall in love with her ability and her work ethic.”

Carey’s work ethic got her to the top of Kilimanjaro – but her journey wasn’t over yet.

She flew directly to Dublin to train with the Irish national team after just one day of recovering from the climb. Carey then traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland, for her first international tournament, where she and her partner placed third in the European Volleyball Confederation zonal event.

Carey will return to the Irish national team again in June to compete in the first round of the Olympic qualifiers.

“She’s the kind of person that when she puts her mind to something, she’s going to accomplish it,” Metzger said. “Whatever career path she wants to do, it’s going to happen.”

 

Baseball’s strong bullpen helps pull Bruins ahead in tight games

While the Bruins’ offense ranks as one of the top in the country, its bullpen is not far behind.

No. 1 UCLA baseball (28-6, 9-3 Pac-12) has maintained its top rank for the past five weeks, and the offense has averaged 6.75 runs over the past 12 games. However, it is the relief pitching that has helped the Bruins stay in games and continue to come from behind and win. UCLA has won 10 of its last 12 games, and its bullpen has a 1.50 ERA over that stretch.

“It’s really comforting knowing that we have a strong bullpen,” said junior first baseman Michael Toglia. “It’s nice knowing that if our starters scuffle a little bit that they’re going to come in and they can slam the door when they need them.”

During that 12-game span, the Bruins have come from behind to win five times, four of which have occurred in the past week. In those five comeback victories, the bullpen has allowed just three earned runs over 16 2/3 innings.

Most of the bullpen appearances are given to the right-handed quartet that is redshirt senior Nathan Hadley, sophomore Holden Powell, freshman Jack Filby and junior Kyle Mora. Between the four of them, they have racked up 88 2/3 innings pitched and a combined 2.14 ERA.

“Those guys have been so dependable and reliable,” said coach John Savage. “That’s why our starters need to get through five innings and then turn it over to the bullpen.”

Though marked down as an infielder in game programs, Filby has come in more as a pitcher than hitter this season. His 1.46 ERA is the lowest of the four go-to relievers and his 2 1/3-inning appearance against East Carolina on Friday was his longest of the year.

Hadley has appeared in 20 games this season and – despite being a middle reliever – his six wins are the most of any UCLA pitcher so far this season. He had missed the entire 2017 season due to Tommy John surgery and was limited to just 16 appearances in 2018 after returning =.

“Last year wasn’t the best of years, but coach has always had my back and had the confidence in me,” Hadley said. “The more I pitched, the more I threw off the mound, I got more and more comfortable.”

Hadley owns a 1.74 ERA and a 0.69 WHIP in his first full season since 2016.

“It’s inspiring really, to see what (Hadley)’s had to go through,” Toglia said. “To see him come back and do well, I’m proud of him. We’re all proud of him, coach is proud of him, and it’s really exciting to see what he’s doing.”

The eighth and ninth innings are typically reserved for Mora as the setup man and Powell as the closer. Powell has not given up a run in over a month, and the duo has a combined for 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings on the season.

“Those are the guys behind you that you want to have in the game,” sophomore right-hander Zach Pettway said. “Whenever they’re in the game, you trust them.”

Moses Brown to decide whether to follow Hands and Wilkes to NBA Draft

Moses Brown may be on his way out of Westwood.

UCLA men’s basketball coach Mick Cronin appeared on The Jim Rome Show on Tuesday morning and said he believes the freshman 7-footer will be following guards Jaylen Hands and Kris Wilkes to the 2019 NBA Draft.

https://twitter.com/JonRothstein/status/1118216789794672645

Brown has potential, but his omission from a majority of mock drafts could indicate that scouts are worried about his NBA readiness after just one collegiate season. The former five-star recruit showed promise in his first year, averaging 9.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game, but he struggled to make an impact on a night-to-night basis.

Brown was held to 10 points or fewer in 18 of the 31 games he appeared in, and he failed to log over 15 minutes in each of the Bruins’ final three games. Brown also shot just 35.2% from the free throw line – 17.1% below UCLA’s next worst free throw shooter with at least 10 attempts.

Despite working to add muscle over the past year, Brown still measures in at 7-foot-1 and just 245 pounds. Due to his lighter frame, Brown struggled to match up with larger centers and often lost playing time because of it.

Given Brown’s inability to score from outside the paint and lack of strength, his draft stock will not be as high as some of the other prospects who have had similar builds in the past, such as former Texas Longhorns center Mohamed Bamba.

Bamba – who owned a 27.5 shooting percentage from 3 on 51 attempts and a 7-foot-10 wingspan coming out of college – measured in slightly below Brown at seven feet tall and just 225 pounds, but he was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic.

While Brown does not appear at all on most mock drafts, a scout that was interviewed by the Los Angeles Times in February said a team could be willing to take a late first-round flier on Brown depending on how he performs in team workouts.

As for UCLA, Brown’s expected departure will leave a hole at the center position, but it will also open the door for the other young players on the roster. Rising redshirt sophomore forwards Cody Riley and Jalen Hill will likely see boosts in their minutes, while rising redshirt freshman forward Shareef O’Neal will have less of a logjam to navigate through as he returns from injury.

However, none of those three players are true centers, which means Cronin may have to resort to small ball until he has someone to fill Brown’s role.

Brown has until Sunday to decide whether or not to commit to the draft.

As records rack up, track and field hopes to motor up as postseason creeps nearer

One Bruin thrower may be biased, but his squad backs him up.

“Throwers are the heart and soul of the UCLA track and field team,” said redshirt senior thrower Dotun Ogundeji.

UCLA track and field leads the Pac-12 with six throwers notching top 20 distances in at least one event. The Bruins have just three other athletes in the track and field program with national top 20 marks.

“We are pushing to make it similar to the old days when you couldn’t mention throwing without mentioning UCLA,” Ogundeji said.

Throws coach John Frazier – a member of the UCLA throwing team of the mid-1980s – said the onus shifts from qualifying to now scoring points.

“They can’t just say ‘Alright, we’re qualified,’” Frazier said. “They’ve got to get the attitude like ‘Okay, not only are we going to be there, (but) we’ve got to score points.’”

The men’s portion of the UCLA track and field team is ranked first among Pac-12 schools and 20th nationally by the NCAA track and field rating index.

Three UCLA throwers – Ogundeji, sophomore Nate Esparza and freshman Otito Ogbonnia – sit third, 13th and 15th, respectively, among the best distances thrown in the NCAA this year and are in qualifying position for NCAA West regionals. Junior Simon Litzell rounded out the top 20 male Bruin throwers at 13th in the nation with a javelin toss of 71.24 meters.

Ogundeji said his plan for this season is coming together after he missed last year’s NCAA championships.

“We have a great group of guys that have similar goals in mind which is to simply take over,” Ogundeji said.

Ogundeji’s shot put personal record of 21.05 meters from Saturday at the Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational would have defeated last year’s NCAA shot put champion – Georgia’s Denzel Comenentia – by roughly 0.44 meters. Comenentia’s best mark this season trails Ogundeji’s by just under 0.87 meters.

Despite improving two places and roughly 2 1/2 feet at the NCAA indoor championships in March, Ogundeji said he was expecting more. Frazier said he’s seen the success Ogundeji expected come to fruition outdoors.

“One thing I told (Ogundeji) was ‘Failure brings about success,’” Frazier said. “It was hard to not do well indoors and it allowed him to take a different mindset coming out to outdoors. What he should’ve done indoors, he sees it happening and I think that’s going to be part of his legacy.”

Sophomore thrower Alyssa Wilson was the only woman in the country to qualify for NCAA championships in three events. Frazier said consistency will be important for Wilson in the run-up to NCAAs.

“(It’s key) that she continually has a confidence that she can be the best,” Frazier said.

On Saturday, Wilson shattered her own record and the Drake Stadium record in the hammer throw, was an official’s ruling away from a new shot put record and defeated the next best competitor in the discus field by almost 10 meters.

Wilson is in the top 15 in each of her events – the shot put, discus and hammer throw – and could qualify for the NCAA championships in three outdoor events in the first two years of her college career.

“This point going forward I need to focus on the little cues in each specific event so that I’m able to perform in all three when the meets come up,” Wilson said.

Senior throwers Justin Stafford and Ashlie Blake are also in position to qualify for NCAA West regionals in the hammer throw and shot put, respectively.