Black, LGBTQ organization offers healing space to share about identity, experiences

This post was updated Feb. 13 at 1:38 p.m.

A student organization aims to provide healing spaces for students to discuss issues within the pan-African LGBTQ community.

BlaQue runs programming through the LGBT Campus Resource Center to host study halls and other outreach events throughout the year, and participates in an annual conference that aims to unite black students across the LGBTQ spectrum through workshops, keynotes and activities.

Azisa Todd, a third-year gender studies student and BlaQue co-chair, said she thinks students need spaces on campus to have intimate conversations about their identities and experiences.

“Visual eye contact, when you see someone changing (their expression) – that’s very affirming, so that’s a form of healing,” she said.

She added that small group discussions can allow students to share personal stories they do not necessarily want to share with larger crowds.

Nyala Tringali-Carbado, a co-chair of BlaQue and fourth-year African American studies and history student, said BlaQue has given them a space to express themselves to a diverse and supportive community.

The organization recently teamed up with the Bruin Consent Coalition to present a joint event, Cross Cultural Healing Space, on how to heal from sexual and gender-based violence in their communities. The discussion, which was held Jan. 29 in Pauley Pavilion, centered around recent events, such as transphobia in the current political climate, a documentary about the alleged predatory behavior of R&B singer R. Kelly and U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ proposed changes to Title IX procedures.

Participants discussed how the proposed Title IX changes, which would provide greater protections to those accused of sexual misconduct, could affect members of their communities.

Tringali-Carbado said although they believe UCLA will not implement the suggested rule changes, it’s still important to identify how their community can push back and support groups who might be affected by these changes.

Paulette Orhii, a second-year human biology and society student and BCC co-director, said the goal of the event was to inform students about these recent events and show solidarity with members of BlaQue’s community.

“People took away a sense of hope because that’s really what the event was about. Their experiences are valid and sharing them can be healing as well,” she said. “Being able to be vulnerable in that type of space has value, it’s activism in and of itself.”

BCC is an undergraduate student organization committed to raising awareness of and educating students about sexual violence while creating a supportive environment for survivors of sexual violence and sexual assault.

Todd said she thinks it is important to have a safe space where people can open up without feeling judged and learn the tools necessary for healing.

“Whatever’s said in there, stays in there,” she said.

Todd added that BlaQue has historically provided a safe space at UCLA in which being black, queer and transgender do not have to be separate identities.

Orhii said despite the traumas that she thinks people of color, queer and genderqueer people are facing under President Donald Trump’s administration, coming together to discuss and unpack them can give the community hope.

She said she hopes BCC continues to collaborate with other organizations on campus, specifically historically marginalized communities because they are disproportionately affected by sexual violence. She added BCC would like to replicate these types of events in the future.

Todd added BlaQue hopes to continue growing its community and fostering a strong sense of solidarity within the group.

“We want to open it up to our allies who want to know more,” Todd said. “We invite folks who reached out to us who don’t necessarily identify as queer or trans to just come in and see what we are about.”

Campus Queries: Are flowers on the Hill toxic, dangerous to students?

This post was updated Feb. 12 at 3:15 p.m.

Campus Queries is a series in which Daily Bruin readers and staff present science-related questions for UCLA professors and experts to answer.

Q: The yellow flowers near Sproul Cove are poisonous. Are they dangerous to students?

A: The Brugmansia, or angel’s trumpet, is toxic and can induce hallucinations and unconsciousness – but only if ingested.

The plant, characterized by its upside-down, trumpet-shaped and brightly colored flowers, can be found outside of Rieber Hall and Sproul Hall.

Matthew Richard, a second-year political science student, cut a couple of the flowers in fall and put them in a mug in his room for decoration. He threw them away after a friend visiting from UC Berkeley told him they were poisonous. Richard said he told his resident assistant about the dangers of the plant.

However, the plant is not harmful if simply touched, said Wayne Dollase, a professor emeritus in the earth, planetary and space sciences department. Picking the flowers and storing them may not necessarily be dangerous.

“I’ve been here for 52 years and never heard of anyone on campus ingesting a plant,” Dollase said.

He said a doctor once told him he treated many patients for ingesting or smoking parts of the angel’s trumpet. The doctor said while none of the patients died, they all needed substantial medical care. Every part of the plant is toxic, especially the seeds and leaves, Dollase said.

The plant contains scopolamine, a compound that is used in medicine to treat motion sickness but can be toxic in high doses. The compound blocks small molecules in the brain that help carry signals from neuron to neuron.

A report published in 2014 in BioMed Central Research Notes said symptoms can start developing within five minutes of ingestion. At lower doses, people can experience incoherent thoughts and hallucinations, while at higher doses, people can experience paralysis and convulsions. According to the report, eating 10 flowers can be fatal, although the concentration of scopolamine can vary from plant to plant.

The authors said a 64-year-old woman garnished her breakfast with angel’s trumpet petals without knowing its toxicity. After eating the petals, she immediately had difficulty speaking and experienced confusion and disorientation. A day after eating the petals, she only partially remembered the events following ingestion.

In the 1920s, the CIA used the plant and the hallucinations it induced to draw confessions from people, Dollase said.

“Apparently the trip is so terrifying that they will tell the interrogators anything,” he said.

Evan Meyer, the assistant director for the Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden, said the plant evolved these toxins to prevent bugs from eating it.

Mayer said the flowers are planted to decorate the landscape, not to be eaten.

Nurit Katz, the chief sustainability officer at UCLA, said landscapers consider many variables such as aesthetics and drought tolerance when selecting plants for the Hill.

She said many plants native to California are toxic, and she hopes students will have enough common sense to research a plant before ingesting it.

UCLA Housing and Hospitality Services to combat slow Hill Wi-Fi in future

UCLA Housing and Hospitality Services officials plan to continue building Wi-Fi infrastructure on the Hill to improve internet slowed down by increased device use and building designs.

An increase in the number of Wi-Fi-enabled devices on the Hill in recent years has negatively impacted Wi-Fi speed, said Valerie Vahling, the director of information technology for Housing and Hospitality Services.

“Students who previously brought one computer now may have five or 10 wireless and wired devices each,” Vahling said. “More devices sharing the same Wi-Fi signals divides the capacity and makes internet response slow or choppy.”

Vahling added that some residence halls were built before computers and wireless devices were created, so the Hill needed to adapt construction plans to include infrastructure for personal computers and Wi-Fi-enabled devices.

Patrick Zhang, a first-year undeclared student, said he originally thought his Wi-Fi connectivity problems stemmed from his computer but later found he has connectivity problems specifically while at UCLA.

“I think it’s just UCLA because when I go everywhere else, it connects fine which is why (UCLA) Wi-Fi is just annoying,” Zhang said.

Vahling said The Study at Hedrick is one of the hot spots on the Hill where Wi-Fi is typically faster.

“We saturated the space with Wi-Fi signal to provide an excellent experience for UCLA students,” Vahling said.

Zhang added he wishes Wi-Fi was more consistent across the Hill.

“It’s just certain networks are spotty and … it’s annoying how you have to log in to UCLA Wi-Fi,” Zhang said.

Vahling added that wireless signals are broadcast from multiple wireless access-point devices, which connect to a central point in each building and may broadcast networks, including UCLA_WEB, UCLA_WIFI and eduroam.

Some networks require a UCLA logon and password. Vahling said these networks are more functional and secure than an unsecured network like UCLA_WEB.

Some applications, including Apple’s default mail application, only work on secured networks like UCLA_WIFI or eduroam, she added.

Natalie Andersen, a second-year cognitive science student, said she thinks the Wi-Fi is fine but added that her roommate bought a second router to boost connectivity.

Marline Valencia, a second-year economics student, said she thinks the Wi-Fi is unpredictable.

“Sometimes it’s good and it’s fast and it works, but then sometimes it’s really slow and I don’t know if that’s because of finals and stuff,” Valencia said.

Vahling said her office is continuing to improve infrastructure on the Hill, including network devices and cabling.

“These projects can be very intrusive to the residents, so one of our greatest challenges is scheduling extended time in the buildings that does not interfere with residents,” Vahling said.

Vahling added that students can help to improve Wi-Fi on the Hill by communicating any connectivity problems to the Policy Review Board or the Student Technology Center in Covel Commons.

Platform for student feedback could improve ASUCLA’s restaurant selections

Democracy is dead, especially when it comes to UCLA students choosing the food options they have on campus.

While the Hill boasts nationally acclaimed dining halls, the rest of the eateries on campus hardly live up to that standard. The array of options in the North Campus Student Center includes small, expensive pizzas that aren’t worth their value, a seemingly not-so-fresh salad bar and a panini place that has all of about three below-average options. Lu Valle Commons, which somehow manages to outdo the terrible options at the Student Center, provides grim Mexican food and tasteless burgers.

Farther down campus in Ackerman Union, students are forced to choose between eating at Panda Express, dropping a pretty penny at Veggie Grill or deferring to a greasy fast food option in Taco Bell or Carl’s Jr. The other eateries – which include a sushi restaurant no one knows about and a serve-yourself restaurant that sometimes sells eggplant Parmesan that looks like caked vomit – don’t seem to provide much in the way of nutrition.

All of these venues are operated by Associated Students UCLA, which oversees campus food options and the UCLA store. The union is overseen by a board of directors that consists of graduate, alumni, administrative and faculty representatives. Four undergraduate students also serve on the board.

The ASUCLA Board of Directors has the ultimate say in deciding what options are on campus, said Cindy Bolton, ASUCLA restaurants director. In other words, food options on campus are at the mercy of a select few, despite serving the many. Without a sound method to give feedback about the food services, students are forced to cave in, look elsewhere or face the consequences of not eating.

ASUCLA should amend its restaurant selection process and give Bruins a deserved say on what food options are brought onto campus by offering them a survey or poll.

The board’s four undergraduate representatives are appointed and confirmed by the Undergraduate Students Association Council. Only a narrow group of students likely knows about these positions, making the selection process far removed from the average student.

Hadar Amran, a third-year gender studies student, said she often eats on campus because she has to commute. Amran said she isn’t a big fan of the food options partly because of poor management and lack of freshness.

“There are certain little things that are bad – fresher food would be nice,” Amran said.

When options are unsatisfying, not fresh and run-down, the campus experience is ruined for many students. Ackerman Union should strive to be more than something students simply tolerate on campus.

Bolton said ASUCLA brings in vendors by requesting they come to campus, narrowing vendor options and allowing the Board of Directors to make a final decision following a recommendation from student union managers.

But undergraduate students most likely will be the ones eating at the restaurants ASUCLA procures, so they should at least have a say in it. Four unelected representatives on a body of 14 cannot speak effectively for the student population and should not have to.

Students seem to agree. Ana Pineda, a second-year biology student, said while the overall quality of food is good, students should have more power in determining what food options there are.

“Essentially, it is the students who are going to be the ones buying the food,” she said. “So if they want to incorporate something, they should be able to tell someone what kind of food they would be interested in.”

This feedback loop is especially impactful for students with dietary restrictions.

Isabelle Ick, a fourth-year human biology and society student, said she has dietary restrictions and that ASUCLA offers few good options.

“Veggie Grill is probably the thing I eat on campus because I don’t eat red meat,” Ick said. “I think there could definitely be more vegetarian, vegan and healthier options.”

Certainly, ASUCLA has tried to solicit feedback. Bolton said the student union’s restaurant partners are usually very successful and that the Board of Directors has discussions about renewing contracts whenever they expire. If a restaurant decides not to renew, ASUCLA may have focus groups, or surveys about what new restaurants to bring in.

But many students do not know that they even have a way to voice their concerns. These methods are clearly flawed since there are still subpar food places on campus that students are unsatisfied with. ASUCLA needs to give students a voice in determining which new food places it brings in.

And it’s not enough to just look at how many students are visiting campus eateries, since the numbers fail to distinguish students who genuinely want to eat there from those who eat grudgingly because they have no other options. Student feedback, such as email surveys or polls of the undergraduate population, would be effective in reaching a larger audience and soliciting qualitative feedback.

Students recognize there are nuances that accompany the process of inviting vendors to campus.

But they can tell a quality eggplant Parmesan when they see one.

Editorial: Student leaders should keep the powerful in check, not cut them a check

UCLA’s student leaders recently have come under the illusion they’re playing a game of catch with their vested power.

The thing is, administrators don’t pass back.

The Student Fee Advisory Committee, a body of students, faculty and staff that advises the chancellor on how to allocate tens of thousands of dollars in student fees, rejected a proposal three weeks ago to cap salaries for administrators, a motion put forward by the Graduate Students Association to ensure more university money was spent on students.

The students on the committee didn’t reject the proposal based on its merits, though. Instead, one member said he believed they voted against the proposal based on fear of damaging their relationship with administrators, despite feeling personally the cap would help students.

The sudden, hard cap of $202,000 on the salaries of administrators is no doubt an inelegant solution compared to more substantive ideas such as advocating for changes in the administrative structure of UCLA. But students once again ceded their power when they could have sent a message that cutting checks for administrators wasn’t a priority.

Once again.

This kind of what-if decision-making has become a trend in the realm of student leadership. Student leaders recently have seen fit to outsource their power to administrators, or make decisions based on administrators’ preferences. That’s an especially troubling trend since these leaders are elected or appointed to make choices based on student interests, which do not necessarily align with those of university leadership.

The sorest example of deference to administration was during last year’s undergraduate student government elections. The Undergraduate Students Association Council Election Board decided to disqualify a candidate for coercing voters to vote for her. But the election board chair overruled his board’s decision, admitting it was because of administrative pressure not to reopen what was seen as an already settled case.

[Editorial: Administrators have overstepped role in USAC election process]

In fact, USAC members have deferred on a number of occasions over the past few years to administrators when it comes to crucial decisions. Members have, in the midst of discussion, asked administrative representatives for their opinions on an issue. Seeking guidance about procedural issues from university leaders versed in bureaucracy is justified, but basing decisions on those same members’ opinions is a dereliction of duty.

After all, these are the same administrators who sought to exclude students from participating in the Student Conduct Committee – which hears cases of student misconduct and must include student representatives – and who said monetarily settling with those found to have committed sexual harassment or sexual assault can be beneficial to victims of the crimes.

This pathetic trend continued at the recent SFAC meeting. Student governments recommend their respective undergraduate and graduate members for appointment to the committee. Ostensibly, as appointees of elected student officials, they have a responsibility to represent and protect student interests.

Instead, they cowered in front of administrators. If these student representatives are going to make decisions based on what administrators want, there’s no purpose in actually having student representation – there would be no difference between the status quo and letting administrators call the shots unilaterally.

Student SFAC members might have felt that passing the salary cap would affect their working relationship with Chancellor Gene Block. But when you’re in a position of power, you’re going to have to make the hard decisions. Making a decision just to please administrators doesn’t cut it.

It also ensures you drop the ball every time.

Q&A: Filmmaker Astra Taylor explores democracy in documentary to be shown at UCLA

Astra Taylor discovered that democracy takes on different meanings depending on whom you ask.

The Regents Lecturer and filmmaker of the documentary “What is Democracy?” will showcase her work to UCLA students at the Broad Art Center on Tuesday. Taylor said she used her background in political activism against student debt as her inspiration for the project. The film explores the titular question by engaging with Black Lives Matter protesters, refugees and the works of classical philosophers. It takes on the goal of starting a conversation about the complexities of the issue of the successes and failures of democracy in the past as well as today, she said.

Taylor discussed her filmmaking process and her own definition of democracy with the Daily Bruin’s Brooke Cuzick.

Daily Bruin: How would you describe “What is Democracy?”

Astra Taylor: The film asks the question, “What is democracy?” And it’s not a film that then says, “Okay, democracy is elections, democracy is the rule of law, democracy is the constitution, democracy is the rights of minorities,” even though democracy does contain all of those things. The film instead is philosophical in its purpose and its whole structure. … And so I go around in the film and ask this question of all sorts of people. … It looks at the problems of economic inequality and racism in the United States, and it looks at the global financial crisis and the refugee crisis in modern Greece. But then it also goes back to democracy’s ancient roots in Athens. … There are interviews with famous philosophers: Cornel West and Wendy Brown and Silvia Federici and Angela Davis. But then there are also interviews with all sorts of regular people, including kids. And so you get this sort of very kaleidoscopic portrait of a world in crisis, but also a world where there’s still a lot of democratic potential.

DB: What inspired you to make a film about this topic?

AT: For me, it was being an activist myself and thinking about why democracy is such a difficult principle to put into practice. It’s also a word that a lot of people say. So political leaders – whether they’re right wing or left wing – will say it. … The majority of countries in the world right now actually describe themselves as democracies, even if they don’t live up to that standard, even according to official measurements. … So it’s just this word that is everywhere, to the point where I felt like was almost meaningless. And I knew that it was a word that should be meaningful. … So I wanted to make this film to sort of give myself an opportunity to think more deeply about the concept and invite other people to think with me about it.

DB: Would you say, after filming, that you redefined democracy in any way?

AT: Democracy is a Greek word and it means the people – the “demos” – rule; it’s “kratia” or “kratos,” (power), depending on how you translate it. And it’s the people (who) have the power. … It’s also got to be a system where the poor have power, not just a handful of rich people. That’s the meaning of the word that we seem to have forgotten today. … And so I think my definition of democracy goes way beyond the state. I look at workplaces and schools and healthcare systems. I talked to doctors and healthcare workers, so I think that democracy has to be something that is not just about a “box every four years” kind of activity. It’s got to be something we bring into other aspects of life. And the film ends with a sort of feminist call to democratize our personal relationships and our gender relationships too.

DB: What kind of connections does the film find between the past of democracy and the present?

AT: The film thinks about this question of what’s the past relationship to the present. … But what I do try to do in the film is show that the problems of our current society have really deep roots. … The film is very clear when Angela Davis says that slavery has not been fully abolished in this society. We’re still dealing with this legacy, and it’s something we haven’t totally grappled with. … So I think those are lessons from the past. It’s not things that we can just sort of apply in a cookie-cutter way to the present moment, but we can take inspiration from leaps that other people made and try to make a leap in this moment.

DB: Why did you choose to screen your film at UCLA?

AT: (The film) is made to start conversations. One of the best comments I got about the film was a (stranger) came up to me … and she said, “Hey, I saw your film. I met a random person waiting in line for it. Then we sat next to each other, and we watched it. And then we decided that there was so much to talk about that we went for a drink afterward, and we just talked about the ideas.”

And so that, to me, was the best praise that I could ever get for this movie … people were inspired; that they understood the film is actually not about giving them answers. It’s about people continuing the conversation among themselves and thinking things through.

Upcoming art installation projects shadow of journalistic suppression

Projected silhouettes will illuminate the issues of corruption and persecuted journalists.

Graduate design media arts student Zeynep Abes’ exhibition at the Broad Art Center will feature interactive video projection technology. The interactive projections are triggered by the presence of a viewer, revealing hidden text when activated. On display Tuesday, the artwork aims to raise awareness of journalists’ rights and struggles in various countries.

Abes said the abuse of laws, like stringent censorship, in her homeland of Turkey led her to pursue artwork with political connotations. Berfin Ataman, another graduate student and Abes’ friend, said Abes’ artwork has dealt with topics like issues Muslim women encounter, but usually focuses on the political issues in Turkey. For example, because of the Turkish government’s strict policies on censorship, Abes had to be secretive with her work, so she created, instead, augmented reality graffiti images that can be viewed only on a mobile app in select locations of the country, Ataman said.

“She does these AR graffiti with your phone that you can see around Turkey in certain locations that have different connotations. It’s hard to be political about it if you’re Turkish,” Ataman said. “You always have to find clever ways of doing it.”

Even now, Abes said Turkey remains a dangerous country for journalists. Both the government officials’ abuse of the laws for their own benefit and the silencing of journalists inspired the exhibit’s pieces. After a 2013 protest in Turkey decrying the government’s stance against freedom of speech, a blogger released a document online criticizing how the government “fairly” imprisons people without backlash from the populace, Abes said. Abes said her text, along with names of imprisoned journalists, were included as part of the interactive projection. The text aims to broaden the issue of imprisoned journalists to government corruption, Abes added.

“(The text is) basically related to unjust imprisonment of people,” Abes said. “It’s just questioning the ethics of how the government has this control over people, saying it’s the law, but it can be so unfair. And journalists are people who get hit by this a lot.”

On the two side walls, projectors will cast prerecorded videos of human silhouettes, said Devin Embil, who helped Abes with the video projection. Demarcated with a white outline, the silhouettes pace back and forth only within the boundaries of the wall, giving the feeling of being trapped, Embil said.

“(The silhouettes) move around. They look even distressed,” Embil said. “They feel trapped. … In a way, if you look at it long enough, it almost feels like you’re looking at someone even though it’s just a projection.”

On the main wall, an interactive projector seemingly projects nothing onto a screen. However, when someone stands in between the projector and the screen, names of journalists who have been imprisoned are revealed in the person’s digital shadow. The text scrolls horizontally across the wall, so to track the texts, the viewer must move, matching the speed of the text with their shadow. Abes said she incorporated the feature of movement to create a dichotomy between the silhouettes looking trapped and the viewers being able to move freely.

“I wanted to contradict that sort of feeling trapped of those with you,” Abes said. “I wanted to create that contrast between you as a viewer noticing your freedom, your movement.”

With all three projections, Abes said she aims to bring awareness to the censorship and arrests journalists face, especially in countries like Turkey, China and Mexico. Additionally, Abes said she hopes viewers will reflect on the freedoms, like freedom of speech, they possess in the U.S.

“(I want people to) think about what it would be like if no one was allowed to talk about what was going on in the country,” Abes said. “What if that happened in the States? That feeling of not having the freedom to say anything about an issue and why the job of journalists is so important because of this.”