USAC recap – Jan. 15

The Undergraduate Students Association Council is the official student government representing the undergraduate student body at UCLA. Council meetings take place every Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Kerckhoff 417 and are open to all students. Watch a livestream of the meetings on the USAC Live! channel on YouTube.

Agenda:

  • USAC will hold a town hall in week four for student stakeholders to discuss how surplus funding should be allocated.

  • The council discussed surplus funding proposals from various student groups and USAC offices for four hours. They decided to vote on time-sensitive USAC-affiliated allocations only.

    • The council voted to allocate $2,620 to the general representative 3 office for a Washington, D.C., lobbying trip.

    • The council voted to allocate $6,000 to the transfer representative office for office renovations.

    • The council voted to allocate $7,737 for the UndocuSummit, a summit for undocumented students across the University of California system.

    • The council voted to allocate $6,000 for Good Clothes Good People infrastructure.

    • The council voted to allocate $5,000 for the internal vice president office’s UCLA Pride Week.

    • The council voted to allocate $10,000 to the Financial Supports commission’s Attire for Hire program.

  • The council allocated a total of $5,580 from contingency programming fund to USAC and non-USAC groups.

  • The council allocated a total of $1,568 from supplemental fund for service to non-USAC groups.

  • The council approved a bylaw change to list affiliations, including familial or organizational, that may quality as conflicts of interest.

Public comment:

  • A representative from the president’s office said there will be a Women’s Networking Night on Monday at 6 p.m. in the Bruin Reception Room.

  • A representative from the internal vice president’s office said applications to nominate students for the RAISE scholarship are open until Feb. 1. The scholarship gives money to students who have helped other students.

Reports:

  • The council decided to enter officer reports directly into the USAC minutes to make more time for surplus funding allocations.

  • External Vice President Jamie Kennerk said she will be meeting with the UC Student Association to discuss increasing the number of student advocates to the regents. She added that she also plans to advocate for a second student regent and the addition of student advisers to all regental committees. She added her office will host an event Friday to generate comments about the new federal Title IX policies.

Researchers develop device allowing easier detection of parasites in blood

UCLA researchers have developed a device that detects the presence of certain parasites in blood or other bodily fluids.

The device has the ability to detect small parasites, such as Trichomonas vaginalis, which can cause trichomoniasis, a common sexually transmitted disease. The device also detects a parasite responsible for sleeping sickness, a disease common in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America that can cause high fevers and later lead to death.

Aydogan Ozcan, the associate director of the California NanoSystems Institute, and Kent Hill, a professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics, discovered that it is more efficient to identify a parasite’s location in the blood by analyzing its movement rather than its image.

To identify a parasite’s location, researchers illuminate a blood sample with a laser light and record a video of the holographic patterns present, which contains the time-varying image pattern coming from the locomotion of the parasite. The movement of the parasites creates a signal, which is then analyzed by a 3D-motion analysis algorithm and machine learning to determine the number of parasites using artificial intelligence, which was developed by students in the Ozcan group.

Deep learning is used to analyze these “hot spots” and determine whether a parasite actually exists in a particular area.

Traditionally, researchers use a light microscope to detect the presence of parasites. However, because blood is very dense and difficult to see through, it can be difficult to detect such small organisms. Using the parasite’s movement rather than its image allows researchers to detect parasites in dense fluids with relative ease.

Yibo Zhang, a doctoral student in electrical and computer engineering, and co-author of the study, said it is very hard to see a small, often transparent parasite in a large volume of blood.

“Each milliliter of blood has billions of red blood cells and millions of white blood cells,” Zhang said. “If you look for a few tiny … parasites within all those cells, … it will be very difficult to see (them).”

The concentration of parasites inside blood can be very low, about 100 per milliliter or even lower, which makes the detection process slow and inefficient. Additionally, the fact that parasites can be transparent can make it difficult to detect them using an ordinary microscope.

This is not the first device that uses the concept of motility to detect parasites in the blood. Daniel Fletcher, the chair of the bioengineering department at UC Berkeley, developed a similar device in 2015. However the device developed at UCLA may be more cost-effective.

“Some of these devices have similar performance, but they take longer to prepare the sample and get to the answer. Others are very expensive or bulky,” Ozcan said. “This device is mobile, cost-effective, nonbulky and rapid.”

The prototype of the device is priced at around $1,800. Hatice Ceylan Koydemir, a postdoctoral researcher and co-author of the study, said the low cost could make it more accessible in areas of Africa that are affected by parasites this device can detect.

The device’s simple setup also allows people who are not trained as parasitologists to recognize a parasite in the bloodstream, Hill said.

“You don’t need an expert, you don’t need electricity, and so it is reasonable to use it in Africa,” Koydemir said.

Additionally, the buffer solution used for the device does not need to be refrigerated, so it can be used in the field at room temperature.

“You basically take the sample, mix it with another buffer, put it into the tubes, place it into the tubes, click go and it will analyze,” said Michelle Shimogawa, a research scientist and co-author of the study.

Hill said he also thinks this device could help improve diagnostics of certain diseases.

“It could have an impact on diseases where organisms are in the blood, so diagnosis is the key to keeping things under control,” Hill said.

The device could also be used for research purposes to help people understand exactly how the parasites move, allowing researchers to develop new ways to treat diseases.

“To have the ability to interconnect like this and to join forces from different perspectives is very powerful,” Hill said. “And I think that’s one of the things I take home from the entire interaction.”

City groups to open parklet on Glendon, repurpose parking spaces as public space

Visitors in Westwood Village will soon have new places to sit outdoors in a small park that will replace several parking spots.

The Glendon Avenue Parklet project received support from the North Westwood Neighborhood Council on Jan. 9. The proposed parklet would expand the sidewalk and extend into Glendon Avenue, removing four parking meters outside of the Ministry of Coffee, a local coffee shop.

The Westwood Village Improvement Association, a nonprofit organization tasked with improving the state of Westwood, has partnered with Los Angeles Department of Transportation People St program to plan the project. People St is a program dedicated to transforming underused city streets into public spaces through community plaza and parklet projects. The program helps initiate projects by providing preapproved designs so that applicants will not have the hassle of working with multiple city departments, said LADOT planning assistant Kevin Ocubillo.

The association began the proposal process in September, making it the newest addition to People St’s six parklets across Los Angeles, Ocubillo said. There are currently two parklets in West Los Angeles, he added.

If approved by People St, the association would have a one-year contract with Los Angeles to maintain and operate the parklet, Ocubillo said. After one year, People St would assess the condition of the parklet, and the association can consider reconfiguring aspects of the space before renewing their agreement for another two to three years, he added.

“Really they’re meant to be a catalyst for larger investment in the neighborhood,” Ocubillo said. “For the space that holds two or four cars, we’ve made it a space for people.”

The project was inspired by the 2018 PARK(ing) Day, a worldwide annual event, in which the association set up a pop-up park in front of Ministry of Coffee similar to the proposed parklet. The temporary installation converted the outdoor space to include seating and lounge areas for pedestrians in place of the four parking meters, said Megan Furey, marketing and communications manager of the association.

During the event, Furey received over 45 signatures for a petition in support of creating a more permanent parklet in the area. The association and Ministry of Coffee then teamed up to apply for a longer-lasting parklet, Furey said.

The association has not chosen a layout for the parklet yet and plans to get public input on design elements, Furey added. Through People St, applicants can choose from preapproved designs or combine elements from various designs of other parklets. While Furey said she plans to focus on seating and pedestrian-friendly additions, the final design depends on community feedback.

“The design depends on funding and what the community wants,” Furey said.

The association is currently surveying the community to assess support for the parklet.

Furey said funding for the project will be crowdsourced from businesses, partners and Westwood stakeholders. They are aiming to raise $40,000 to install the parklet, and hope to have the parklet installed within six months to a year from now, she said.

Although the project would remove four parking spots, Furey said she does not believe the parklet would impact parking because the location is close to a parking structure already.

Ryan Snyder, chair of the NWWNC transportation and safety committee, said the loss of parking and meter revenue would be negligible. Snyder said he thinks the businesses surrounding the parklet cared about having seating areas more than the loss of parking. He also said the parklet would increase street safety.

“There will be more eyes on the street and there won’t be people pulling in and out of parking spaces, which will calm the traffic on the street,” Snyder said.

LADOT People St and the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs conducted a study on parklets along Spring Street in Downtown Los Angeles in 2012 and 2013, with findings consistent with Snyder’s statements. The study found 74 percent more pedestrians walked on the street in the evenings after the parklet was installed. It also found that respondents felt safer in the park than in the street.

Ocubillo said the study did not find any conclusive impact on economic activity. Regardless, business owners said they were open to renewing the parklets.

Nicole Rodrigues, manager of Ministry of Coffee, said outdoor seating would benefit all the businesses in the area.

“As a business owner, we don’t make any money when people come and sit down in our establishment, so we feel it would be best if there was a community area so people can eat food from all establishments in one area outside,” Rodrigues said.

Snyder said he thinks the parklet would benefit both nearby businesses and the Village community.

“This is an initial step to liven up the community,” Snyder said. “Many of us got elected with the idea that we wanted to get this type of life into the village, and this is consistent with this line of thinking.”

UC student leaders divided in opinion over whether to end student advisor position

The UC Student Association urged the UC Board of Regents to terminate the student advisor position Sunday, saying that other student-held positions are more effective in providing student representation.

Regent Richard Sherman sent a letter in December recommending the regents end the student advisor pilot program, saying that it did not add more student input than the other student positions on the board.

After criticism from students, the recommendation to end the program was replaced with one to continue it until 2020 and work on the program’s current issues.

The decision whether to keep the student advisor position on the Board of Regents has led to debate between student leaders.

UCSA voted Sunday in support of ending the program. UCSA President Caroline Siegel-Singh wrote on behalf of the UCSA that the regents should instead focus on expanding the roles of positions that existed before 2016, such as Committee Observers and Student Advocate to the Regents, or StARs.

UCSA recommended appointing the UCSA president as a permanent StAR and adding another StAR position. There are currently six StAR positions. It also recommended appointing student observers to every regent committee instead of its current limit of just three out of the eight committees.

“From my own experience, we’ve found the StARs to be very effective. Last year myself and Rigel Robinson, a UC Berkeley student, went around and started getting votes for the tuition vote delay,” Siegel-Singh said. “We also want to be able to bring more nonstudent-government students into these spaces so we’re working with our professional staff to improve our preparation of all StARs.”

Aidan Arasasingham, the director of legislative affairs in the Undergraduate Students Association Council External Vice President office and a second-year global studies student, said he thinks the position does not give the student advisor the resources necessary to succeed.

“The organization of the position, the real nuts and bolts of the position, doesn’t set up students to succeed in delivering the best feedback to the Board of Regents,” Arasasingham said.

Arasasingham said the student advisor position is not accessible to low-income students because it is unpaid. He added that the position only receives certain travel reimbursements and does not have access to all the connections the student regent does. The student regent is eligible for part-time UC-compensated employment.

“Because of the way that it’s outlined, the way it’s set up, students will inevitably fail … because of the lack of resources provided to the position,” Arasasingham said.

He added that UCSA is in support of other positions that students already have access to, such as the StAR program. The program allows students from any UC campus to receive resources and funding to attend regents meetings to advocate for certain causes.

“What we’re advocating for is really more student representation on the Board of Regents,” Arasasingham said.

Arasasingham added that the student advisor has to speak on a variety of issues ranging from student engagement to investments, but no one student should be expected to have the knowledge or resources to speak on all these issues.

Instead, he said UCSA is asking to allow for committee observers in each regents committee to allow students who have a strong understanding of issues discussed by the committee to provide feedback.

“Instead of having one position that doesn’t have all the tools necessary for a student to succeed, we’re going to give a much more broad set of positions to more students and have more student representation and more student voices on the board, because ultimately diversity in voices and diversity in student opinion is much more beneficial to the regents and much more beneficial to the process,” Arasasingham said.

Several student leaders have said they think the position should remain in place, including Edward Huang, the current student advisor, Claire Fieldman, co-chair of the UC Council of Presidents and president of USAC, and Michael Skiles, co-chair of the UC Council of Presidents and president of the Graduate Students Association.

Huang said in a letter to the regents Monday that he thinks the position should not be eliminated because it was not given a proper evaluation and it has fulfilled its initial goal to provide more student representation.

Rafi Sands, former student advisor and UCLA alumnus, said he does not think UCSA’s statement is reflective of most UC student leaders’ opinions on the program.

Sands said the student advisor has helped with multiple initiatives, including launching the UC Advocacy Network student ambassador program, which gives students the opportunity to travel to Sacramento and meet with state legislators. He added that he was able to host a UC budget forum at UCLA which around 75 students attended.

He added the student advisor successfully created a database with contact information of student leaders from each campus who could help the regents with specific policies, a system that was used multiple times during his year as student advisor.

Huang added in an additional email statement Monday that he thinks there was a lack of transparency on the part of UCSA, suggesting the student association was participating in private negotiations with the regents in an attempt to change or remove the item to extend the student advisor position from the regents’ meeting agenda this week.

Siegel-Singh said in response to Huang’s statement that UCSA does not have the ability to change the agenda.

“We have no power over the agenda,” Seigel-Singh said. “It’s at the discretion of the regents.”

The position, which was created in 2016, answered calls for more student representation on the board.

However, unlike the student regent, the advisor cannot attend closed meetings and does not have voting power. The California Constitution only allows for one student regent, requiring a state ballot measure to add a second student regent position, which would require a costly statewide campaign.

Former Gov. Jerry Brown opposed the idea of a second voting position in 2016, so the compromise of a student advisor pilot program was formed. Former Student Regent Avi Oved first proposed the idea for the program in 2015. Sands, who was Oved’s director of policy at the time, became the first student advisor in 2017.

The regents are set to vote on whether to extend the position Wednesday, with their most recent statement recommending the extension of the program.

With family history of UCLA athletics, thrower Jacob Wilson prepares for debut

Despite a deep-seated family connection, redshirt freshman thrower Jacob Wilson forged his own path to UCLA.

“Both my parents went to UCLA and were athletes; they definitely wanted me to come here but never forced me,” Wilson said. “I was pretty set on (California) actually but then I went on my official visit here; in the end I just knew that (UCLA) was the place I wanted to be.”

Kerry Wilson, Wilson’s mother, was a member of the gymnastics team in 1986 and 1987, when the team finished seventh and third in the nation, respectively. Jacob Wilson’s father, David Wilson, also competed for UCLA’s track and field team as a thrower. He is still No. 3 and No. 6 all-time on UCLA’s Outdoor Top-10 list in the hammer throw and discus, respectively.

Coincidentally, Jacob Wilson’s attendance at UCLA has been a reunion of sorts. Wilson’s father competed for the Bruins alongside assistant coach John Frazier, who is the primary coach for throwers on the team.

“(Wilson) is a pretty well-rounded kid; I’m actually even more impressed with what he’s doing in the classroom, which carries over to his training,” Frazier said. “I have a really good relationship with (Wilson) because it’s almost like reliving when I competed with his dad.”

Wilson bulked up by nearly 40 pounds during his redshirt year in preparation for his debut this season. Wilson said UCLA’s dining halls played a big part in his ability to accomplish that feat.

“I put on about 25 pounds last year; Covel and (Rendezvous) were two very big factors in my weight gain,” Wilson said. “On a more serious note, the training really picked up so much; the competitive environment on this team really is ‘sink or swim,’ I had to put on weight to stay competitive so I did.”

Wilson joins a throwing group that includes veterans such as redshirt senior shot putters Dotun Ogundeji and Ashlie Blake, redshirt sophomore shot putter Nate Esparza, senior hammer thrower Justin Stafford and sophomore thrower Alyssa Wilson. Each of these athletes have earned All-American honors apart from Stafford, who missed earning All-American honors by one place last season.

“Honestly, I think that’s a huge reason why we’re so good; we get to compete against some of the best people in the nation every single day,” Wilson said. “It’s almost like you have to rise to the occasion; if you’re going to be a part of the throwing squad at UCLA you just have to be good.”

Wilson’s teammates said that they feel he is ready to take on that challenge.

“Jacob Wilson has really surprised me this year,” Alyssa Wilson said. “Last year, he barely threw like 18 meters; this year he’s primed to throw 19 to 20 meters, if not further, and really make a run at his first NCAA appearance, if not on the podium.”

Frazier shares the excitement of his athletes for the newest addition to the team.

“(Jacob Wilson) is like a chip off the old block,” Frazier said. “His dad was one of the great all-around UCLA throwers, and (Wilson) is better than his dad.”

Women’s basketball loses two games over weekend, sets sights on deep NCAA run

Cori Close said the Bruins experienced two different shooting performances in their two losses this past weekend.

“It was totally different,” the coach said. “I didn’t think shots were hard to come by on Friday (against Oregon State) … (but) I didn’t feel like we ever got in an offensive rhythm (against Oregon).”

UCLA women’s basketball (9-8, 2-3 Pac-12) was outdone by No. 10 Oregon State (14-2, 4-0), which shot 68 percent from the field in the second half. Two days later, UCLA recorded its worst rebounding margin of the season against No. 5 Oregon (15-1, 4-0).

The Beavers improved on their season’s 50 percent field goal shooting – good for second-best in the Pac-12 – by hitting over half of their shots against the Bruins.

UCLA recorded a then-season-worst 18 defensive rebounds against Oregon State. The Bruins followed up with just 15 rebounds against the Ducks.

The Bruins scored only eight fast break points against the Beavers, a problem coach Cori Close said affected the offensive tempo.

“When you have to take it out of the net that much and have to go against anyone’s set defense,” Close said. “It’s going to be to their advantage.”

UCLA shot sub-40 percentages from the field against the two highest-scoring teams in the conference – its worst performances in nearly a month.

“I thought we didn’t reward ourselves with some of the times we played the good defense and (when) we did get the rebound,” Close said. “We turned it over and had too many empty possessions.”

The Bruins entered Sunday averaging 43 rebounds per game but only pulled down 29 against the Ducks. Six of UCLA’s 10 turnovers came in the second quarter against Oregon.

“Typically the Bruins dominate the rebounds,” said Oregon coach Kelly Graves. “(But) tonight we did, and that’s a testament first and foremost to (forwards Ruthy Hebard and Satou Sabally).”

Hebard and Sabally matched UCLA’s rebound total with 18 and 11, respectively.

The Bruins’ three starting guards combined for only four defensive rebounds against a Ducks lineup that exhibits three forwards of at least 6-feet-2-inches.

“We just have to know we have to get out to shooters and then we have to end it with a box out,” said senior guard Japreece Dean.

UCLA opened its Pac-12 schedule defeating two 10-win teams and played a tough first half against then-No. 6 Stanford.

Close said the Bruins’ early Pac-12 performances have shown their competitors that her squad has the potential to extend their season far into March.

“I think we’ve proven to a lot of people that we’re a top-half team in this conference,” Close said. “And a top-half team in this conference gives you an opportunity to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament.”

The Rundown: Jan. 16

Gymnastics
Angie Forburger, assistant Sports editor

The Bruins swept this week’s Pac-12 honors.

Freshman Margzetta Frazier, junior Kyla Ross and senior Katelyn Ohashi of No. 2 UCLA gymnastics (1-0) took home Pac-12 awards after their performances at Saturday’s Collegiate Challenge.

Frazier – who made her collegiate debut on vault and floor exercise Saturday – was recognized as the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week. She scored a 9.825 on vault and a 9.925 on floor. Frazier also led off for the Bruins on the uneven bars and recorded 9.925 – nearly a tenth of a point higher than the 9.875 she scored against Nebraska to open the year.

Ross recorded her first perfect 10 of the year on the uneven bars to win the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week honor. The score marked Ross’ fourth perfect score on bars and sixth overall. She also notched a 9.875 on vault, a 9.900 on balance beam and a 9.925 on floor exercise to win the all-around at the Collegiate Challenge.

Ohashi topped off the Bruins’ first-place win Saturday with a perfect floor performance. This week’s Pac-12 Specialist of the Week recorded the first 10 of the year on floor exercise. As of Tuesday afternoon, Ohashi’s floor routine had already garnered over 35 million views online.

UCLA will return to action Monday against No. 11 Arizona State.

Baseball
Sam Connon, assistant Sports editor

The regular season is still a month away, but hype is burning strong for the Bruins.

D1Baseball released its first rankings of 2019, and UCLA baseball came in at No. 5 – higher than any other Pac-12 or West Coast program – good for its highest preseason ranking since 2015. The nod from D1Baseball marked the third time the Bruins have been awarded a top-five ranking ahead of the 2019 season.

The only other Pac-12 teams in the top 25 are No. 8 Oregon State – the reigning College World Series Champions – and No. 12 Stanford.

UCLA now has three ranked nonconference opponents on its schedule this season. No. 17 Michigan and No. 18 Oklahoma State will come to Los Angeles for the Dodger Stadium College Baseball Classic in March. On April 23, UCLA will visit No. 25 Cal State Fullerton for a Tuesday night matchup.

D1Baseball wrote that the Bruins’ three preseason All-Americans – juniors first baseman Michael Toglia, second baseman Chase Strumpf and left fielder Jeremy Ydens – were going to be the foundation for one of the most dangerous offenses in the country. UCLA ranked 11th in doubles per game last season and is returning seven of its nine starters from a season ago.

On the mound, UCLA announced last week that former Bruin pitcher David Berg – a member of the 2013 championship team – would be returning to Westwood as a pitching coach.

Over a dozen other UCLA baseball alumni will return to Jackie Robinson Stadium on Jan. 26 for the team’s annual Alumni Game.

Men’s water polo
Joy Hong, assistant Sports editor

The Bruins may have fallen short of a national championship, but at least they’re doing well in school.

A program-record 11 players earned MPSF All-Academic honors for UCLA men’s water polo, surpassing the mark set in 2003 when the program had eight Bruins receive the accolade.

UCLA fell 8-7 to crosstown rival USC in the semifinals of the NCAA championship, but the eventual national champions only had two players receive MPSF All-Academic honors during the 2018 season.

With freshmen ineligible for the award, senior attacker Austin Rone earned the All-Academic honors for the third consecutive season after tying for sixth in scoring for UCLA with 31 goals.

Redshirt junior Alex Wolf earned the honor for the second straight year. The 2017 NCAA championship MVP logged 189 saves as the starting goalkeeper for the Bruins this season.

Senior defender Warren Snyder, senior attacker David Stiling, sophomore utility Felix Brozyna-Vilim, sophomore attacker Luke Henriksson, sophomore utility Evan Rosenfeld, sophomore attacker Nicolas Saveljic, sophomore attacker Chasen Travisano, redshirt sophomore attacker Peter Lovas and redshirt freshman defender Bailey Jarvis rounded out the list for UCLA.