New men’s basketball coach ready to take dream job with Bruins

Mick Cronin would lay in his bed at night, 2,000 miles away from Westwood, watching the Bruins.

He never thought he would have the chance to lead UCLA men’s basketball from the sidelines, but he wondered what he would do if he ever got the job.

“You’re saying to yourself, ‘What if I ever got that opportunity?'” Cronin said. “When it was coach (Jim) Harrick, coach (Ben) Howland, coach (Steve) Lavin or coach (Steve) Alford, I’m sitting there as a young coach and I’m watching. … What if I ever could get the opportunity to coach at the elite program in America with 11 national championships? How would I handle it? What would I do?”

The former Cincinnati coach was introduced as UCLA’s next coach in an introductory press conference in Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday, one day after he signed a six-year, $24 million contract with the Bruins. Cronin, who was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, said saying goodbye to the Bearcats was one of the toughest things he’s ever had to do.

“It’s the most difficult thing I’ve ever done in my life other than burying my mother,” Cronin said. “I mean, the most difficult thing in my life was yesterday, and I never thought I’d have to do it. But relationships are real. ‘Nothing great is accomplished without struggle’ – Frederick Douglass, not me. So it’s just part of it. It’s something that you have to be a big boy and handle it right, and I was appreciative of our administration there to let me handle in the right way. I was committed to making sure I was the one who told our players. That was really important to me.”

[RELATED: Mick Cronin leaves Cincinnati to join UCLA men’s basketball as new head coach]

Cronin graduated from Cincinnati in 1997 and earned his first collegiate job as an assistant for his alma mater. He went 296-147 with the Bearcats from 2006-2019 and has not missed the Big Dance since 2010.

Despite his affection for the school where he has spent 22 years, Cronin made it clear UCLA was his dream job.

“This is not a hard decision,” Cronin said. “Not when you’re Irish and you’re a little bold and you’re not afraid. You gotta embrace it, you only live once.”

Joining the search for the Bruins’ next coach was Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers, who played for UCLA from 1993-1997. Myers said he admired Cronin and what he had accomplished so far in his career but that the resources and branding of UCLA can help him do even more.

“(Cronin’s) had great success,” Myers said. “But now we’ve given him, I feel, a tool that he’s never had. So I’m supportive of him and I’m happy that I think we’re on our way back to a good place.”

Cronin’s teams have built up a reputation of running hard-nosed, defensive teams, backed up by the Bearcats’ annual high rankings in the defensive KenPom ratings. In the 2017-2018 season, Cincinnati ranked No. 2 in the country with an 86.8 adjusted defensive rating.

With a roster consisting of multiple former five-star recruits and several top-ranked incoming prospects, Cronin will have to instill his mindset in Westwood.

“Here’s how I spell fun: W-I-N,” Cronin said. “Culture is everything – on the floor, off the floor, who we are, what we’re about … whether you’re a one-year player or a four-year player.”

Cronin – outside of a handful of family vacations to Santa Monica over the past few years – hasn’t been around Southern California for too long, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t aware of the power the UCLA brand holds.

“If you get the chance to put the four letters on, you owe,” Cronin said. “You don’t get to shoplift the four letters, OK? Because the four letters, as we know, they do a lot for your life. And you have to pay back by the way you conduct yourself as a person, as a student and by playing to win.”

From this point on, Cronin won’t be watching the Bruins in his bed.

He’ll be wearing shorts to work, running practices, developing players and recruiting five-star athletes to play for UCLA – and he said he wouldn’t want it any other way.

“I’m overwhelmed a little bit, but trust me, I’m prepared,” Cronin said.

Women’s water polo uses lessons from last season to improve performance this year

It’s been deja vu for the Bruins in the pool.

No. 3 UCLA women’s water polo (21-4, 4-1 MPSF) has an identical record as it did at this point last season in coach Adam Wright’s second year with the team.

Wright said although his team may be in the same spot after its loss against No. 1 Stanford (16-1, 4-0), the players are getting better with each game.

“We had our opportunities,” Wright said. “We made our lives more difficult. Of course, it was disappointing, but there’s a lot to learn from it.”

The Bruins’ current record of 21-4 is the same as it was on this date last year, although the Bruins have played one more game in 2019.

UCLA was also coming off a narrow loss on the first Saturday of April in 2018, just as they are this year following the Stanford match. The Bruins fell to the Cardinal early in both of the two seasons in the Barbara Kalbus Invitational, conceding 10 goals each time.

Junior attacker Bronte Halligan said improvements against the Cardinal in both seasons show when the Bruins start to play as a team, they can compete against anyone.

“The big thing was confidence and team cohesion,” Halligan said. “It’s a big difference. We’ve proved to everyone else that we can take it to the best and play with them. We’re just going to build and progress from here.”

The similarities do not stop there. UCLA has split back-to-back games against California in both seasons. The Bruins also fell to the Trojans in the championship game of the Triton Invitational and had an overtime victory over UC Irvine in both years.

Senior goalie Carlee Kapana said the Bruins have worked on keeping the focus on their next opponent, which she believes is one of the team’s biggest improvements from the beginning of the season to now.

“Staying present throughout the whole game is what we’ve been striving to do,” Kapana said. “Not thinking towards the future or thinking about the past mistakes. Just going out to the game in the present.”

There are a few differences. The Bruins are ranked No. 3 in the country right now, while they were fourth in the same poll in 2018. Wright’s team is also guaranteed to have a better conference record this year, as they can now lose no more than two conference matches.

It is yet to be seen if these similarities follow them to the postseason. Last year, UCLA finished fourth in the MPSF Championship and bowed out in the semifinals of the NCAA Women’s Water Polo Championship.

“We have a long ways to go,” Wright said. “Our goal is to be the best at the end. That’s the way it should work if we grow the right way every day. There’s a lot of positives, but at the end of the day, there’s a long ways to go.”

History, African American studies professor appointed as director of Bunche Center

A UCLA history and African American studies professor has been appointed as the new director of the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies.

Kelly Lytle Hernández, the Bunche Center’s interim director and a leading expert on immigration, race and mass incarceration, will start the position of director this July.

According to the Bunche Center website, the Center’s research seeks to broaden knowledge of the history, lifestyles and sociocultural systems of people of African descent and study issues that affect their psychological, social and economic well-being.

Lytle Hernández’s research focuses on uncovering the leading causes of incarceration in Los Angeles. In 2016, she launched the Million Dollar Hoods project, which gathers data to show how much the LA Police Department and LA Sheriff’s Department spend on incarceration.

In addition to her work with the Bunche Center, Lytle Hernández is an award-winning author. Her works “MIGRA! A History of the U.S. Border Patrol” and “City of Inmates: Conquest, Rebellion, and the Rise of Human Caging in Los Angeles” have won the 2010 Clements Prize and the 2018 American Book Award, respectively.

Lylte Hernández assumed the role of interim director in October 2017. The position was previously occupied by sociology professor and current dean of social sciences Darnell Hunt, who acted as director of the Bunche Center from 2001 to June 2017.

Report finds debt distribution skewed toward students of color, low-income

A recent report showed low-income students and students of color graduate with a disproportionate amount of debt.

The study, published by University of California Student Association and The Institute for College Access & Success last month, showed student debt distribution is skewed toward low-income families and students of color, despite the UC’s extensive financial aid programs.

According to the study, 22% of students who took out loans came from families with incomes of more than $173,000, while students from families with incomes of under $29,000 made up 65% of those who took out loans. Furthermore, significantly more African-American graduates took out student loans than white graduates.

Laura Szabo-Kubitz, an associate California program director of the TICAS and a co-author of the report, said there is an association between race and income. Among undergraduates across the U.S., most African-American, Latino and Native American families make less than $30,000 a year, she said.

“Despite a relatively robust state financial aid program, low-income students in California are not receiving the financial aid they need to adequately cover their total college costs,” she said.

Amy Weitz, a UC spokesperson, said student demographics at the UC have evolved drastically for the last two decades. She added there is a growing population of transfer students, parents and veterans returning to school after an extended absence. These populations require a substantial amount of financial support.

Mitchell Chang, an education professor at UCLA, said minority groups may also have a disproportionate financial burden because they have drastically lower levels of cumulative wealth. Wealth is different from income in that it encompasses more assets such as estates, stocks and networks accumulated over generations, Chang said.

Because minority students tend to come from families with less accumulated wealth than white families, they may be more likely to take on more student debt. In addition, white students are more likely to receive financial support from multiple generations of relatives.

“Without adequate policymaking, this would put certain students at a disadvantage at a time when graduate education is becoming increasingly more important,” Chang said. “Certain groups would be less inclined to pursue further education, thus exacerbating the existing differences.”

According to the report, UC Berkeley and UCLA have the lowest numbers of students in debt, while UC Merced and UC Riverside have the highest.

Chang said this is because highly selective universities such as UC Berkeley and UCLA attract wealthier students who can afford to go to college in a big city away from home. In contrast, UC Merced and UC Riverside attract more students who choose to live closer to home because they do not have the means to move farther away for school, he said.

While the University provides need-based grants to students, they are often not sufficient, the study found.

For example, students have a difficult time covering their total cost of attendance even with the Pell Grant, a need-based federal grant given to low-income families, according to the study. The study also found students living off-campus, who make up the majority of the UC student body, need to work at least 17 hours a week to cover their total cost of attendance. Working these many hours could put them further behind academically, the report said.

“Without sufficient need-based financial aid, students face many challenges including food and housing insecurity, difficulties paying for necessary books and supplies, and affording transportation to get to class,” Szabo-Kubitz said.

However, Weitz said student debt does not have an immediate effect on students. Weitz cited data suggesting UC graduates’ debt takes away only about 6% of their monthly paycheck at the start of the career and gradually decreases afterward.

The report recommends increasing the amount of need-based financial aid to students. Weitz said the UC has co-sponsored legislation with UCSA to extend Cal Grant support for summer school students. It has also voiced support for greater investments in the Pell Grant federally.

TICAS is also advocating for financial aid reforms that target Californians most in need. It encourages the state to invest more in its financial aid programs and for the UC to target its student pool more accurately. TICAS also advocates for increasing the number of available grants and the size of awards given to students.

“Academic achievement alone is not enough to ensure a successful college career; students must be able to afford paying for college in the first place,” said the UCOP statement.

USAC announces ballot, 17 candidates running with another’s eligibility pending

Undergraduate student government officials announced the election ballot for the upcoming student government elections during their meeting Tuesday.

This year’s ballot features 17 candidates, with one additional candidate’s eligibility pending. For the People was the only slate to present candidates. Bruins United, who appointed three candidates last year, including Undergraduate Students Association Council president, Claire Fieldman, did not place any candidates on the election ballot.

The most competitive seat this year is president, for which three candidates are running.

Internal Vice President Robert Blake Watson, who is running for president, is the only current council member running for a seat next year.

There will also be a special election for one general representative seat and the financial supports commissioner seat, as there are currently no candidates for those positions.

The USAC judicial board is determining the eligibility of a candidate intending to run for general representative. At the USAC meeting Tuesday, Fieldman said specific details of the petition to the judicial board could only be discussed in executive session. Should the board determine the candidate ineligible to run, there will be an additional special election for that general representative seat.

All candidates are allowed to spend up to $600 on campaign expenses.

According to the 2019 USAC election calendar, voting will start April 29 and the election board will announce results May 3 by 7 p.m.

President

  • Furkan Yalcin (Independent)
  • Millen Srivastava (Independent)
  • Robert Blake Watson (Independent)

Internal Vice President

  • Kimberly Bonifacio (For the People)

External Vice President

  • Johana Guerra Martinez (Independent)

General Representatives

  • Eduardo Velazquez (For the People)

Academic Affairs Commissioner

  • Naomi Riley (For the People)
  • Oscar Macias (Independent)

Campus Events Commissioner

  • Tara Steinmetz (Independent)

Community Service Commissioner

  • Jonathan Wisner (Independent)

Cultural Affairs Commissioner

  • Kelechi Nunny Iheanacho (For the People)

Facilities Commissioner

  • Lily Shaw (Independent)

Financial Supports Commissioner

No current candidates

Student Wellness Commissioner

  • Mihika Sridhar (Independent)
  • Ty Pearson (Independent)

International Student Representative

  • Shahamah Tariq (Independent)

Transfer Student Representative

  • Isabel Carmen Oraha (Independent)
  • Melica Khorassani (Independent)

In a modern Westwood, neighborhood opposition to The Agora relies on flawed logic

This town isn’t big enough for all of us.

But that hasn’t stopped the members of Little Holmby in their fight against commonsense housing density – and also common sense.

Two physicians recently announced a plan to build a 16-story residential building, known as The Agora, on Hilgard Avenue, on the east side of UCLA. The building would be in close proximity to the W Hotel and a street across from the single-family neighborhood of Little Holmby.

Residents of Holmby Hills in opposition to the plan have formed the Save Hilgard Avenue group in conjunction with students and other residents. Like every other urban single-family neighborhood, this group has pulled every excuse from the playbook of NIMBYs – or those who take a “Not In My Backyard” approach to new housing: It has complained about everything from lower property values to the fact that students are loud and noisy.

Everyone has an inclination to preserve the way things are, especially when they’re already happy with their neighborhood. But a lot of the opposition to Agora is illogical and these organizers need to accept the reality that preserving the aura of single-family neighborhoods is no longer sustainable.

This is 2019, not the 1980s. Westwood, with its unaffordable housing prices, needs to build upward to contend with the massive demand in housing.

Let’s take a step back: Little Holmby, on the east side of Hilgard, is a relatively affluent Los Angeles neighborhood. It has a reputation for harboring a number of extravagant single-family homes. A lot of its residents will, for the rest of their lives, never have to deal with LA’s renting market.

Compare that with the housing crisis just streets away in the part of Westwood surrounding UCLA. For a measure, 37% of UCLA students have in some way experienced food insecurity, and the insanely high price of renting here can play a role in that. This neighborhood has a median one-bedroom rent of over $2,600.

The main complaint from those against a high-rise is that it would violate the zoning of the strip of land east of Hilgard Avenue, governed by the Westwood Community Multi-Family Specific Plan. That’s why the group is against even an eight-story building and wants nothing taller than 45 feet.

“Owners of properties in that area don’t get by right: They don’t deserve necessarily all builds to the height of the W Hotel because the zoning and the specific plan is the reality that the city is bound to, at this time,” said Esther Magna, an organizer behind Save Hilgard Avenue.

But those zoning rules were set by the city way back in 1988. Much like zoning rules across America, they’re outdated and don’t reflect the increased demand in housing across the decades. LA has some of the lowest-growth, highest-extent sprawl in the world. If we have any chance at meeting Westwood’s housing demand, the zoning plan has to be overridden via spot-zoning.

The only seemingly worthwhile argument detractors of The Agora have is that property prices in Little Holmby would drop, because the area would be next to a high-rise building. However, regardless of how the residents of Little Holmby feel about property values, the data and facts don’t support them.

“I think the existing evidence is not enough to say definitively whether having a new tall building near the Holmby Hills (would reduce property prices),” said Paavo Monkkonen, a professor at UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. “Given my many years spent reviewing statistical models of housing prices I would say that the impact would be very, very, very, very, very small, if any.”

When its members aren’t using flimsy excuses, the group has used outrageous ones. For example, the website mentions noise from the building as a concern since UCLA doesn’t own the property. And that view explains a lot about what Little Holmby residents think of students: Students are caricatures from “Animal House,” not normal community members who deserve a right to affordable housing.

This isn’t to say that The Agora is flawless. Those opposing it have argued the housing isn’t particularly affordable and that the developers are acting in their own interests. And they’re right – the developers after all are charging up to $1,200 for room spots that in Westwood usually go for around $850. They’ve used misleading advertising tactics to garner public support for their building. And they’re probably in this for the money.

However, people’s argument about affordability also ignore a huge reason behind why the owners of The Agora get to place such high prices on renting: the suffocation of new housing in Westwood by restrictionist community members over the years.

Moreover, regardless of whether The Agora fails to serve students adequately, residents are barely affected by it. It’s evident from the reasoning members of Save Hilgard Avenue have used that they’d be against even an affordable housing project that went against the zoning code. After all, the group’s website indicates it’s against SB 50 as well – a sensible statewide attempt to ease California’s housing crisis. This group appears to have no understanding or care for affordable housing.

Westwood’s housing crisis demands more housing, even if even if it comes in the form of The Agora. So Little Holmby residents need to get out of their way before they exhaust their NIMBY playbook.

Tree falls on Kelton Avenue, damaging apartment building

A tree fell onto an apartment on Kelton Avenue early Wednesday morning, damaging the exterior of the building.

The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a call on the 500 block of Kelton Avenue at 12:44 a.m. The tree broke through the scaffolding on the outside of the building and broke through an apartment window.

LAFD was on scene for about an hour, an LAFD spokesperson said.

Paul Gomez, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Works, said public works began clearing the tree in the morning and was unsure when it would be fully removed.

Contributing reports by Phoebe Miller, Daily Bruin Contributor.