The visiting Trojans aced past the Bruins to a 4-1 victory Friday afternoon.
Dolores Huerta speaks at panel aimed for Latino students interested in business
A civil rights activist and a panel of business professionals spoke about cultural empowerment in business at an event Thursday.
Activist Dolores Huerta spoke about her experiences with labor issues at the inaugural event of the Association of Latino Professionals for America at UCLA, a national business organization for Latino students and professionals that recently re-established a chapter at UCLA during fall quarter. The event also featured a panel in which business professionals discussed the vital role their cultural backgrounds play in their daily lives and careers.
Jocelyn Perez, president of ALPFA at UCLA, said the event aimed to inform Latino students at UCLA about opportunities in the business field and solidify ALPFA’s presence on campus.
Huerta, a civil rights activist who worked alongside Cesar Chavez to fight for labor rights and social justice, spoke about labor issues she experienced while founding the United Farm Workers union and the struggles she went through to advocate for basic human rights.
“Some of these things that workers do, we take for granted. Like in the farm worker movement, the struggles that we had to go through just to get the basic human rights for workers,” Huerta said. “To get a toilet in the fields, can you imagine what it was like as a woman after working and not having any place to go to the bathroom?”
Several students said they attended the event because they were inspired by Huerta’s activism.
Marcy Flores, a fourth-year gender studies student, said she chose to attend the event because of Huerta’s influence on women’s rights.
“As a gender studies major, I think she was very influential for women’s rights in the workplace, and for coining the iconic, ‘Si, se puede’,” Flores said. “Most people don’t know that she coined it.”
Bryan Perez, a fourth-year history student, said he decided to attend the event because Huerta made a big impact on his hometown of Salinas, California with the United Farm Workers movement.
“She’s very well-known where I’m from,” he said. “She helped out along with Cesar Chavez to get better wages for workers, so that’s what really attracted me because I’m from there.”
After Huerta’s speech, panelists talked about how they integrate their cultural backgrounds into how they approach their careers and daily lives.
James De La O, ALPFA national ambassador and the event’s moderator, said people can draw from their cultural knowledge to enhance their studies, professions and personal strengths and weaknesses.
“I invite you to activate your cultural intelligence,” De La O said. “Take advantage of that tool that you have, the thing you were born with.”
He also said Latinos have played a key role in the United States’ growing businesses.
“Eighty-six percent of the growth in small businesses is driven by Latinos, Latino-owned businesses,” De La O said. “It is impossible to drive accelerated growth in businesses, small and big, across the U.S. without us, without Latinos.”
Roberto Basualdo, a risk assurance manager at the accounting firm PwC, said he thinks diversity in the workforce leads to organizational success because it promotes new perspectives.
“Good organizations, they thrive on diversity,” Basualdo said. “I know that the company that I work for cares a lot about different backgrounds because we all bring a different perspective to the conversation.”
Jason Lippe, a UCLA alumnus and former director of professional development for the Bruin Real Estate Association, spoke about the importance of having real passion for one’s career.
Lippe, a senior analyst at Entrada Partners, said his involvement with BREA as a student helped him with his professional development.
“The benefit that I derived from it had nothing to do with real estate, it had to do with being given the opportunity to be a leader and to work with a team, and that is actually the most fulfilling thing I have done in my life to this point,” he said.
Lippe added people should pursue endeavors because they are intrinsically passionate about them, not because they see them as means to an end. He added while he did get a job because of his involvement with BREA, he was only able to do so because he was genuinely passionate about the organization.
“I went into it because it was passion, it was a primary result that I was chasing after, and all these great secondary things came,” Lippe said.
Eleazar Lopez, co-vice president of ALPFA at UCLA, said he hoped the event accomplished ALPFA’s goal of educating UCLA students about the business field by exposing them to professional development and networking opportunities.
Jocelyn Perez added that a part of ALPFA’s mission is to create a safe space for students interested in business and to diversify the workforce.
“There just isn’t enough color and we all share that sentiment of, ‘Well I want to accomplish this, but there aren’t enough people that look like me, so is it possible?’ And that’s what we’re here for,” Perez said.
Album review: ‘Weezer (Black Album)’ trades nostalgia for confused genre shifts and tired lyrics
Weezer’s 13th studio album is experimental, but not for the sake of experimenting.
Accurately embodied in their masked appearance on the album cover, “Weezer (Black Album)” is almost unrecognizable as a Weezer album. The band forfeits the characteristically gritty, unrefined tone of prior albums for an underwhelming attempt at conformity to an “experimental” modern pop rock sound. As for lyrics, Weezer struggles for content, as idioms and nonverbal vocalizations monopolize their intros and bridges. Despite departing from their classic style, the band still embeds a familiar creativity in the LP, reminding listeners that not all hope is lost – just most of it.
“Can’t Knock the Hustle,” the first song on the album, introduces the band’s new, unfortunately indistinct style. While the song sustains some of the band’s original garage-band energy, the menial chorus chants, “Hasta luego, adios,” and the other meaningless lyrics detract from the explosive bass line. The song could easily fit in the “Over the Hedge” soundtrack, or any other forgettable mid-2000s movie for that matter. The sassy, fun melody distracts from the lack of depth. In fact, “Can’t Knock the Hustle” establishes another crux of the album as it desperately struggles to find a genre.
“Zombie Bastards” and “Piece of Cake” both confront the same categorical issue. Although a lack of tone is not inherently bad, the songs’ intense antithesis between acoustic verses and electric choruses verge on discombobulation rather than art. The confusing contrast between acoustic chords and distorted synth in “Zombie Bastards” reaches for the stylistic sounds of Twenty One Pilots’ “Vessel,” but does not commit to the role.
Tedious melodies and an unoriginal clap-beat leads to a similar lack of emotion in “Piece of Cake,” while “The Prince Who Wanted Everything” appears to be an honorable tribute to the late artist Prince. But the second song populates its verses with overused filler such as “Once upon a time there was a prince/ He tried to save the world with funk rock riffs.” The derivative trope of saving the world with rock is one that would have fit better in an actual rock song.
And even though “I’m Just Being Honest” uses a cool, Coldplay-like intro, the song strips itself of any importance through lyrics like, “Don’t get mad at me, I’m just being honest (I’m just being honest)/ Whoa-oh-oh.” The honest truth about the song is that its lyrics say absolutely nothing meaningful.
One of the album’s first released singles, “Living in L.A.,” also fails to offer anything original within its lyrics. The dry acoustic guitar is a signature retirement from what once made Weezer great – perfectly executed belligerent garage-rock. Moreover, the trope of a being attracted to a girl in Los Angeles is so overused that it’s hard to believe the album isn’t really just the B-sides from “Pacific Daydream,” the band’s 11th studio album.
Similarly, “Too Many Thoughts in My Head” provides almost no evidence that any of those thoughts found their way onto the page. However, the song asserts evidence that the authentic Weezer style is not yet completely gone. The track’s fast-paced beat and deviating snare resemble the excessive, confident rock sound that once defined the band.
Songs like “High as a Kite,” “California Snow” and “Byzantine” all exhibit the trait of pure rock overkill as well. “High as a Kite” offers addicting crescendos into an intense chorus that would’ve been considered classic Weezer if not for the inorganic, electronic instruments. The other two exude similarities. Both reincarnate the band’s beloved catchy melodies and overdone choruses, but struggle through a tonal dissonance caused by trap snares and electric beats.
The snappy, exaggerated choruses of “Weezer (Black Album)” evoke nostalgia, but the charm is quickly diluted by an erratic fluctuation in genre and a void of lyrical sincerity. There’s no doubt Weezer will always hold a special place in fans’ hearts, but the album only acts as a reminder that this special place may be difficult to find again.
The Quad: Is the IFC doing enough? Analyzing recent policies to combat sexual assault at frats
UCLA’s Interfraternity Council banned fraternities from hosting events with alcohol a little over a year ago, on Jan. 16, 2018. This came in response to the alleged sexual assault by Benjamin Orr, a member of the Theta Delta Chi fraternity and the chapter’s former president.
The next month, the IFC lifted the ban and approved a new risk-management policy involving third-party security guards and bartenders and limiting parties to certain areas of the house. The IFC banned hard alcohol from in-house events in October and they also added some additional Title IX and sexual assault trainings for members of Greek life.
Fast forward a few months to Aug. 10, 2018: A student files a sexual assault lawsuit against the IFC, the Zeta Beta Tau and Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternities, as well as a former ZBT member for incidents which occurred in the summer of 2016.
Clearly, change is needed to prevent incidents like these from occurring over and over again, and it is the responsibility of those with power to do something about it.
As the IFC announced Jan. 28 that they plan to introduce Breathalyzers to fraternity parties – yet another implementation targeting overconsumption of alcohol – it raises the question: Are the IFC’s new policies really helping to prevent sexual assault and making students safer at fraternity parties?
Joshua Kaplan, president of UCLA’s IFC, said in a written statement that the IFC believes banning hard alcohol will lessen instances of alcohol poisoning and other alcohol-related complications. He added that third-party bartenders and security are another measure to protect students’ safety.
“Having third-party security overseeing events is an excellent measure to further strengthen the risk management that begins with the risk management teams of each respective chapter,” he wrote. “Additionally, third-party bartenders serve as a direct check on party attendees’ drinking, refusing to serve underage persons and cutting off legal drinkers when they are palpably inebriated.”
Third-party security guards at the door have two essential jobs: checking BruinCards and IDs to determine someone’s age, and then marking the hands of students who are not yet 21. These guards stay at the door all night, and they don’t actually enter the party itself.
Avyay Kuchibotla, a third-year statistics student and a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity, said he hasn’t noticed a big change in the party environment since the implementation of the new rules, such as the third-party security guards.
“I think security is mainly just for outside and controlling access to the party,” he said. “I don’t think they’re specifically policing, that’s still left to the students.”
Once inside the house, parties are very similar to how they were before the new rules, except for the presence of a hired third-party bartender who will not give drinks to girls who are marked as under 21.
Nikhita Vivek, a third-year economics student, said she feels safer at fraternity parties with a professional pouring the drinks.
“I know the drinks that I’m having, if I decide to have any, are completely safe. I think that’s probably the best part,” she said. “It definitely feels a little more monitored.”
On paper, having a hired bartender would seem to add order to the consumption of alcohol at a party, as these individuals can avoid giving alcohol to people under 21 or to those who appear to be too intoxicated.
However, some students have found ways to get around this obstacle to free-flowing booze. Niaz Sassounian, a second-year pre-human biology and society student said the third-party hires don’t make a big difference to the party, as it is easy to get alcohol from someone in the fraternity even if you’re under 21.
“(Guys) have all their hard (alcohol) and they keep it in their rooms and you see them walking up and down to go drink and come back,” she said. “They also take girls with them and drink hard (alcohol) so it’s like everyone just does it in secret, there’s always a way to do it.”
So even though hard alcohol is officially banned at IFC-member fraternity parties, students who attend these events have options: They can still drink beforehand, sneak alcohol in or access it from other people aside from the bartender. Heck, they can even have an older friend order a drink for them.
If the new IFC policies were solely meant to limit overconsumption of alcohol, they would still have a ways to go. But this might not be the right aspect of fraternity parties to tackle. At the end of the day, excessive amounts of tequila don’t commit sexual assault, people do.
“I understand the place that (the regulations) come from, in terms of alcohol (as) a facilitator of sexual violence, but it’s not what is conducting the sexual violence, it’s not a being that has agency,” said Sophia McMurry, a co-director of Bruin Consent Coalition and a third-year philosophy student. “So I think it picks out the wrong thing and we’d like to see it pick out the right thing, which is the values and attitudes of its members.”
Looking beyond alcohol, is the presence of these third-party bartenders and security guards doing anything to change the culture of fraternity parties?
In his statement, Kaplan wrote that the new policies had “significantly increased safety at IFC-events and have had the additional effect of a positive cultural change to fraternity life at UCLA.” Kaplan added the IFC has more in store to further protect students, such as incorporating iPads into the check-in process in order to track entry and exit of students at fraternity events.
Vivek said the new policies have made parties feel more monitored and toned down.
“It definitely affects the vibe of the party when you have a lot more security around,” she said. “But I think it would help to have at least one or two upstairs.”
If the presence of third-party security and bartenders makes the party feel more monitored, perhaps extending the terrain of security guards within the house could help rid people of the idea that other areas are somehow undetectable and without consequence.
“I know there’s staircases that go up to the bedroom, so they could put security there. You can tell if a girl or guy is not aware of what they’re doing,” Sassounian said. “Just (ask), ‘Hey are you okay? Do you want to go with this guy?’ And usually when you say that a girl gives an honest answer.”
It’s also worth looking into the approaches that other colleges use to keep fraternity parties safer. For example, the University of Virginia, as of the 2017-2018 school year, requires IFC-approved security guards at the door for major fraternity events with a list of guests who can enter. As the guards stay at the entry point, this policy is similar to UCLA’s.
Chris Hopkins – a member of a fraternity at the University of Virginia and contributor to the university’s newspaper The Cavalier Daily – wrote in November that fraternity parties were still not safe spaces for women and needed increased security.
“More sober brothers, restricting access, caps on alcohol and willingness to remove belligerents need to become the norm,” he wrote.
The University of Southern California also requires security at events with alcohol, as of the 2017-2018 school year, and they have a policy that hosts – also known as fraternity members – cannot bring guests to private areas of the house if they or the guest have consumed the equivalent of two alcoholic drinks in the last four hours.
Alma College in Michigan requires alcohol-related greek life events to have security guards from a specific vendor. These guards generally stay at the entry point to party but also conduct five-minute interior checks for student safety.
As fraternities face mounting pressure to prevent sexual assault, universities across the nation are attempting to improve their policies and ensure students’ safety. There does not appear to be a magic formula as of yet, but UCLA and the IFC can certainly continue to observe and learn from other universities’ approaches as they hone their practices.
As for the hard alcohol ban, the IFC’s policy barks up the wrong tree.
“(We) felt like (the alcohol ban) was a poor short-term solution to a systemic issue, said McMurry. “What needs to happen in order to combat sexual violence on campus and ensure a safe and protected community for our students requires education and advocacy at the level of changing values that we hold.”
The IFC should certainly scrutinize its member fraternities and the parties they throw, especially in response to sexual assault cases, but our students deserve more than a one-time, Band-Aid fix. They must feel safe at fraternity parties, and that does not mean banning alcohol, it means banning acts of sexual violence and a culture that allows them.
The Quad: What’s your horror story about when a finals-week nightmare became reality?
Week eight has arrived and you know what that means: Finals week is just around the corner.
Even when we think we’re ready, we are always afraid of a wild card to send us over the edge around this time. Oversleeping by an hour, forgetting your BruinCard or going to the wrong location only to miss the start time – these are every student’s worst nightmares during finals season.
We all know the feeling; that 11th week stretch comes when your body finally catches the cold you have been studiously avoiding, when your brain deletes every file under “must remember” and when sleep is just a distant memory.
During my first finals week at UCLA, I went through an entire box of Kleenex the day before my economics final, and my roommate spent the whole night looking for her lost BruinCard, eventually biting the bullet and forking over $25 to get a new one before her English exam. No matter what has happened in the past 10 weeks, our actions during that last stretch are the ones that matter most.
Does this strike a chord? Do you have a finals week horror story? We want to hear it all from you: the bad, the funny and the ugly. Tell us the worst stories that have ever happened to you during that last week of the quarter. Give us another reason to partake in the Midnight Yell by reliving your worst finals study session. Submit a brief story up to 250 words long about time you lived out your biggest finals-week nightmare and we might publish it in a future article.
Finals week – it’s the gift we never wanted.
Week eight: Title IX policy panel, telescope controversy, YouTube pranksters interrupt class
This Week in the News serves as The Quad’s space for reflection on current events at and around UCLA. Every week, Daily Bruin staffers will analyze some of the most significant stories to keep readers up to speed.
Classes might be slowing down as the quarter draws near an end, but one thing’s certain: The news cycle is still moving as fast as ever. From a panel discussing the Title IX policy to YouTubers interrupting a chemistry class for a keg stand, here are some of the top stories of the week.
Panel held by USAC and Bruin Consent Coalition discusses Title IX policy
The Bruin Consent Coalition and the Undergraduate Students Association Council Office of the President held a panel this week to discuss the Title IX policy and its relation to student life.
Representatives from administration, legal services, Campus Assault Resources & Education and the Title IX office discussed the implications of Title IX policy on student life.
Federal changes in Title IX policies prompted the discussion – the new changes will not be followed at UCLA, as they would decrease the need for university involvement in Title IX proceedings. At the panel, people discussed concerns regarding the past conduct of UCLA employees and administration in response to sexual assault or sexual harassment issues on campus, though all employees are required to report such incidents.
Ultimately, organizers of the panel intended to start an open dialogue on the issues of sexual violence on campus. Students agreed that they hoped that the panel would provide a platform to talk about these issues.
Town hall addresses UC involvement, controversy regarding Hawaii telescope
Students and activists alike are calling for the University of California to divest from the construction of a 30-meter telescope in Hawaii.
The telescope is set to be built at the summit of Mauna Kea, the tallest mountain in the world and a sacred Native Hawaiian site. The project is spearheaded by TMT International Observatory LLC, founded in part by the UC.
The Supreme Court of Hawaii has approved the construction permit for the telescope, but Native Hawaiians and activists are protesting in an effort to preserve the culture of Mauna Kea. Activists Liko Martin and Laulani Teale have visited several universities to encourage them to divest.
An alternative site for the telescope has been proposed in La Palma, Spain. While activists support the progress of science, they are concerned about the destruction of culture and what it could mean for Native Hawaiians.
The Pacific Islands’ Student Association plans to bring their concerns to the UC Board of Regents in March, discussing the implications of the telescope and encouraging them to divest from the project.
Five men disrupt chemistry class by performing keg stands
A number of YouTube pranksters disrupted a chemistry lecture at UCLA on Feb. 20 to do a keg stand in front of the class. The Chemistry 30C lecture was interrupted by five men, including Kristen Hanby and Evan Eckenrode, both YouTubers with more than 1 million subscribers.
The men entered Young Hall CS 76, proposing a “study break” and spent less than two minutes in front of the class performing the keg stand and filming the incident.
Ohyun Kwon, the professor, did not have time to protest and was upset that the brief interruption disrupted the focus of her class. Students also expressed their discontent as they were preparing for an upcoming midterm.
Kwon suggested that the UCPD work to prevent such incidents, though the event went unreported as it was unclear to those involved if such a thing actually qualifies as a crime. This is not the first time that something of the sort has happened at UCLA, with YouTuber Vitaly Zdorovetskiy having pulled several stunts on campus in January 2018.
Tocaya Organica puts down roots in Westwood, offers healthy Mexican dishes
Tocaya Organica, a restaurant that serves modern organic Mexican cuisine, recently opened a new location in Westwood, after already having eight other locations in Los Angeles.
Tosh Berman, CEO of The Madera Group, which owns Tocaya Organica, said that Mexican cuisine is a very important part of the California culture. The Westwood location was intended to provide healthy food options to UCLA students, as well as the entirety of the Westwood community.
Students are excited to have healthy options in the Village, and Tocaya Organica has already been catering to the UCLA basketball team for several months.
Associate head coach Rance Brown fosters diversity, brings passion to tennis court
Earlier this week, The Bruin published a feature on associate head coach of the women’s tennis team Rance Brown. Brown’s colleagues and players said he has helped to nurture a strong sense of diversity on the team.
Brown originally worked as a volunteer assistant coach for the team, commuting 66 miles from Laguna Beach to work with the players.
In 1996, Stella Sampras Webster elected Brown as her assistant coach, from which he was then given recruiting responsibilities. Since then, the Bruins have had a top-10 recruiting class in nine of the last 14 years.
Growing up, Brown told The Bruin he was inspired to take up tennis by Arthur Ashe, the first African-American to be ranked No. 1 in the world. Brown said he faced adversity as one of the first African-American students in his school district.
In last year’s season, four African-American Bruins played consistently in the lineup. Brown added that the he appreciates the increasing diversity in tennis, and that he may be able to help these players. He was vital in recruiting UCLA’s current top singles player, Jada Hart.
Sports Video: Week in Review 2/22-3/1
Daily Bruin Video takes a look at this week’s highlights in UCLA Athletics.