Rocco’s Tavern can soon provide live entertainment, keep front door open at night

A local bar and tavern will soon be able to provide live entertainment and dancing following lifted restrictions.

The North Westwood Neighborhood Council approved a motion Dec. 5 to support lifting operational restrictions from Rocco’s Tavern, a local bar and tavern in Westwood.

The establishment has not been able to use its front door after 10 p.m., offer happy hour reduced drink prices, provide live entertainment and dancing or open the restaurant windows because of restrictions set by the California Department of Alcohol Beverage Control. The owners of Rocco’s Tavern inherited these restrictions when they bought the building from O’Hara’s, a local Italian bar and tavern that closed in 2016, said Michael Skiles, NWWNC president.

The owners of Rocco’s Tavern have been trying to get the restrictions lifted for more than two years. Alexander Manos, an owner of Rocco’s, said the appeals process caused many setbacks to their efforts. The owners needed approval first from the local neighborhood council and then from LAPD’s Vice Division.

The Westwood Neighborhood Council oversaw Westwood Village, including Rocco’s Tavern, until early last year, when the NWWNC was formed following an election to subdivide the jurisdiction of Westwood.

Rocco’s brought forth the motion to lift the restrictions to the WWNC in September 2016 and once more in 2017, but it was voted down by the council both times, said Marcello Robinson, chair of the WWNC Land Use Committee.

Robinson said the WWNC was primarily concerned about noise control and safety. The council felt having open windows and doors on Gayley Avenue would attract people to gather on the sidewalks, especially after UCLA sports games, causing safety concerns for pedestrians who would have to walk on the main road, he said.

“We felt like at the time Rocco’s did not present a solution to those concerns,” Robinson said. “I hope the NWWNC kept the issues and concerns of ours in consideration in mind before passing their motion.”

Skiles said the NWWNC Land Use Committee added a condition that stated entertainment should not be audible beyond the premises after 10 p.m. to address noise concerns. The council noted Gayley Avenue is already loud during the day, so noise from Rocco’s opened windows would not be louder than street traffic.

Rocco’s has considered using high-grade, soundproof glass so it can provide an open-air dining experience during the day and live entertainment in the evening by closing the windows at night to prevent sound disturbances, Skiles said.

Skiles sent a letter to the LAPD Vice Division on Dec. 6 with the council’s recommendations to further the appeals process. Both Manos and Skiles said they are not sure how long they will have to wait before enacting operational changes, but Manos said he is most interested in being able to use Rocco’s front door after 10 p.m., so that customers will not need to walk through the back alley to enter.

Manos said he believes lifting the restrictions would help the restaurant’s operations and increase revenue.

In addition, the council voted in support of Rocco’s because it aligned with Westwood Forward’s platform to bring entertainment to Westwood Village, Skiles said. Westwood Forward is a coalition of students, homeowners and local stakeholders.

Skiles said he believes community members should not need to leave Westwood in order to find entertainment. He added establishments with security and bartenders like Rocco’s can enable community members to have safe and responsible fun.

“All these conditions are only hurting our community and hurting a reputable business,” Skiles said. “Our council signals with the vote that we will be receptive to a few other places that want to provide responsible fun and entertainment within the community.”

Rocco’s Tavern is now appealing to the California Department of Alcohol Beverage Control to amend its license before making any changes.

UCLA swim and dive splashes back into competition after monthlong break

The Bruins will take to the pool for the first time in 2019.

UCLA swim and dive (3-0) kicks off the new year at Spieker Aquatics Center on Monday in a doubleheader meet, where it will face off against unbeaten Harvard (3-0) and the San Diego (4-3).

UCLA competed against Harvard in both swimming and diving events earlier in the season at the Georgia Fall Invitational, but has yet to face San Diego.

Harvard swim and dive earned its three victories over Ivy League foes Cornell, Dartmouth and Columbia. It finished sixth in the Georgia Fall Invitational behind fifth-place UCLA and recently wrapped up competition at the Wally Nakamoto Diving Invitational in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Friday.

“(Harvard) has some great swimmers, especially from the local Southern California area,” said swimming coach Cyndi Gallagher. “So they’re definitely going to be a tough challenge.”

San Diego stumbled early on, but rattled off four consecutive wins over Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount.

“San Diego is a smaller team, but they still have some talented swimmers that are going to make us work,” Gallagher said. “We’re going to have to win the really close races in order to win this meet.”

This will be the Bruins’ first action after a month of hard winter training and preparation for the upcoming year.

Despite the lengthy gap, Gallagher said she remains confident in the team’s ability to compete.

“When you train for 20 hours a week, that amount of focus really helps those basic, fundamental techniques become automatic habits,” Gallagher said. “I have lots of confidence in where we’re at right now. The girls are in a very competitive mode.”

Among the Bruin standouts from the Georgia invitational was freshman swimmer Claire Grover.

Grover – riding a top-13 finish of 22.44 seconds in the invite’s 50-yard freestyle and a team-best eighth place time of 1:1.08 in the 100-yard breaststroke – praised her coach’s ability to keep the girls fundamentally sharp, as well as the team’s desire to return to the pool.

“Coach (Gallagher) has given us a lot of time to reevaluate and work on our technique with starts and finishes, and also helped us take care of our bodies, rest and recuperate,” Grover said. “We’re definitely confident and eager to get back into it.”

Senior diver Traci Shiver finished second overall in the platform diving event in Georgia with a score of 241.00 and is set to participate in both the springboard and diving events during Monday’s doubleheader.

Shiver echoed Gallagher’s and Grover’s optimism heading into Monday’s meet.

“The Georgia invite was helpful because we got to see elite teams that we don’t normally face,” Shiver said. “Our coaches have been able to pinpoint more specific issues with our technique and allow us focus on them.”

The matchup will also feature the return of senior diver Eloise Belanger and redshirt senior diver Maria Polyakova to the Bruins’ arsenal.

Second Take: ‘Aquaman’ is a somewhat stale superhero story with unparalleled box office success

“Aquaman” should have floundered. Yet it seemingly has swum to success.

The film, released Dec. 21, has since become the DC Extended Universe’s most prosperous action flick, bringing in over $940 million worldwide. The last DC film to garner such success was the 2016 release “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” which grossed a total of $873 million. Much of the new film’s popularity, however, stems from international ticket sales; it remains unlikely that, domestically, it will surpass films such as “Wonder Woman” and “Batman v Superman.

Though the amphibious superhero’s international success may indicate that DC films are improving, the franchise still has a long way to go if it intends to make such success a lasting phenomenon. Sure, box office numbers are significant, but they are rarely the true marker of a film’s cultural significance. Outside of ticket sales, will “Aquaman” really leave a mark in DC’s history? In general, DC movies tend to fall flat; after all, there seemed to be more buzz on the Internet surrounding Marvel’s short “Avengers: Endgame” trailer than this entire movie.

There were many key ingredients that made “Aquaman” a recipe for success. For one, the casting was spot-on and star-studded. Nicole Kidman and Willem Dafoe both had significant roles, portraying the wily queen of Atlantis and the deceptive vizier, respectively. Jason Momoa as the titular superhero was stellar; he not only looked the part but acted it, seeming both gruff and soft at the same time, often adding necessary levity to the decidedly grim film.

The film also managed to successfully flesh out the fairly bland character first introduced in “Justice League.” In his first film, Arthur (Aquaman’s real name) was nothing more than a lone wolf – sarcastic and separated from the others. His spotlight successfully expands DC’s slow-growing cinematic universe, as it adequately adds complexity to the character. Audiences see him interact with Mera (Amber Heard) and care for his aging father, and the complex nature of his identity – being from land and Atlantis – is a notion many viewers likely will relate to.

And yet Momoa cannot fully free the film from the trap DC has created for itself. Like almost all the previous films in the DC universe, “Aquaman” was incredibly long, clocking in at 2 hours, 23 minutes. The film certainly could have been shorter if the creators had tightened up the narrative. As with many DC films, the plot was convoluted and lost to seemingly pointless, over-dramatic battle scenes. The fighting didn’t feel earned but instead thrown in for the mere sake of having action. Villains were either unconvincing or lost to the rest of the twisted plot. And who could take one look at Black Manta’s (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) ridiculous costume and not laugh as he and Aquaman sparred?

“Aquaman” continues DC’s trend of taking itself too seriously. Almost every scene is literally dark; it is often hard to discern exactly what’s going on because of the washed-out tones. Though DC likely does so to reflect the bleak superhero films they continue to create, it frequently feels forced and unnecessary. And the script didn’t do the film any favors – what were likely meant to be lines full of gravitas instead felt overly pretentious and predictable. How many times can someone declare oneself “ocean master” before the audience understands their motives? Though Momoa’s performance successfully lifts Aquaman from joke of the comic book world to a momentous hero, attempts at amusement are lost within the dim scheme of things.

So though the box office may indicate that DC is finally doing something right, it is unlikely that “Aquaman” will actually have a lasting impact. Clearly, the franchise hasn’t changed that much – it’s still too grim and convoluted for audiences to enjoy it fully. And DC can’t rely on a shirtless Jason Momoa to save every film.

Viewers must consider the broader cultural influence to determine whether DC is actually taking steps in the correct direction. Their last big hit was “Wonder Woman,” which filled a necessary gap in the genre’s lack of diversity, and the upcoming sequel, “Wonder Woman 1984,” likely will be well received. Though the original was by no means a perfect film, its mere existence warranted discussion because it was the first large superhero film to star a female champion. To be fair, Momoa’s Polynesian descent is certainly of note, as further representation in media should be celebrated. However, such representation is not being applauded by viewers and has instead gone fairly unnoticed. In this case, even enhancing diversity within the genre has not pushed the film into the cultural canon, as DC’s tropes overshadowed the rest of the film. Maybe if the film had done more to highlight his background, the film could have achieved greater cultural importance.

“Suicide Squad” also had a seemingly wide impact – with a multitude of youths donning Harley Quinn and Joker costumes since its release – but was generally mocked and ridiculed instead of praised. Whether this trend will continue with the 2020 film “Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” is yet to be determined, though Margot Robbie may be able to uplift the film. However, both “Wonder Woman” and “Suicide Squad” featured the same pitfalls as “Aquaman” – long plots, questionable villains and an overemphasis on dark, gritty shots.

Though DC has discovered its elusive treasure chest with “Aquaman,” the film likely will be lost to the depths of time.

Music Preview: A theme of bold development among 2019’s winter albums

2019 marks the end of last year’s viral music pandemic, from “Taki Taki” to “thank u, next,” but more songs are on the way. With a strong year for music behind them, artists are gearing up to drop new albums this winter. Below is a list of Daily Bruin’s top picks for before the quarter ends.

“Don’t Feed The Pop Monster” by Broods

After touring Australia and New Zealand with Taylor Swift and Charli XCX, New Zealand alt-pop duo Broods returns with a new album.

Broods will release their third album, “Don’t Feed The Pop Monster,” after a two-year hiatus following the release of their sophomore album, “Conscious.” The brother-sister duo took time to focus on their solo careers before reuniting for their upcoming album, featuring already-released singles “Peach” and “Everything Goes (Wow),” with the latter having an upbeat sound likely from being written in a treehouse.

Lead vocalist Georgia Nott said the upcoming album stays true to the duo’s artistic voice, as indicated by their two singles. After their time apart, their new album allows Broods to trust one another and return to the circuit as one cohesive unit. The album seems to be a passion project for the siblings, and if the first two singles are any indication, “Don’t Feed The Pop Monster”, dropping Feb. 1, will be a lively take on the electropop genre.

– Alyssa Wheeler

“Head Above Water” by Avril Lavigne

Avril Lavigne is making a return after basically disappearing from the music scene for almost five years.

Lavigne’s sixth studio record, “Head Above Water,” is set to be released Feb. 15 and totes twelve new tracks. The album’s singles so far, “Head Above Water” and “Tell Me It’s Over,” dropped in the later months of 2018.

Lavigne strays from the typical pop-rock style of her older anthems, such as “Here’s to Never Growing Up” and “Girlfriend,” as her new, slower, stripped-back tracks let her vocals shine. She stated in a press release that her new album will be much more vulnerable than her past hits, as it tells the story of her battle with Lyme disease since her 2014 diagnosis. The break may prove to be beneficial if the remaining tracks on the album match the released singles, which fit well into the current sound of pop music.

With a possible sonic shift in Lavigne’s future, it should be interesting to see if “Head Above Water” attains the same popularity as the singer’s post-grunge hits of the past.

– Brooke Cuzick

“Can’t Say I Ain’t Country” by Florida Georgia Line

Country music duo Florida Georgia Line is releasing another album, and in regards to its genre, it isn’t not country.

“Can’t Say I Ain’t Country,” the band’s fourth studio album, is set to be released Feb. 15. With a 19-track record reminiscent of Drake’s song-packed “Scorpion,” fans of Florida Georgia Line already have a peek into what the LP will consist of. Five tracks are already on Spotify, though it’s worth noting four were released in a self-titled EP. “Can’t Say I Ain’t Country” has already faced criticism from some who think the duo’s music is not actually country, but the songs released so far certainly don’t sound like the pop music they are accused of catering to.

Though the band’s most-streamed song comes from a collaboration with pop singer Bebe Rexha, the current songs available from the album – and notably, the first single, “Simple” – have more folk and country influences than prior works, such as “Cruise.” Four of the tracks on the album also read “skit feat. Brother Jervel,” which implies that some of the tracks may not even include songs, but instead offer a strange change of pace for listeners as they work through the album.

What is unclear, however, is whether Brother Jervel is a real person or not, but until the album comes out, can’t say he ain’t.

– Eli Countryman

“The Black Album” by Weezer

Weezer’s long-awaited “The Black Album” will finally be released March 1.

The album is the band’s 12th LP and fifth in the series of color-coded albums. Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo first teased the album in April 2016, but the project was pushed back in order to release album “Pacific Daydream.” The upcoming album marks Weezer’s first collaboration with producer Dave Sitek of band TV on the Radio.

Reflective of the gloomy album cover, “The Black Album” will be a darker note in the band’s long musical history. Cuomo said the album will explore more mature topics than typical of the easygoing pop-rock band. He even went as far as to peg the album “Beach Boys gone bad.” Single “Can’t Knock The Hustle” reflects this newfound bad boy sound with its explicit label atypical of the band.

After years in the making, “The Black Album” continues Weezer’s musical maturation; although the divergent sound may cause weariness in the fan base, the album’s mature themes may resonate with fans who have lost touch with the veteran band.

– Alyssa Wheeler

“Sucker Punch” by Sigrid

Norwegian singer Sigrid’s upcoming album will start with a “Sucker Punch” and go out with “Dynamite.”

The collection of 12 tracks is titled “Sucker Punch,” after the first song of the album, which was released in October and will be Sigrid’s first full-length album. The four songs currently released from the record feature both upbeat and slower sounds, displaying the artist’s vocal capabilities in each musical style that likely will define her first album.

The “Strangers” singer also won the BBC’s Sound of 2018 title last year and has been on tour, despite having not released her first album yet. Even though the BBC 2018 title was bestowed upon her, Sigrid has kept the unreleased songs and their titles under wraps from everyone, including the British broadcaster.

With such secrecy surrounding the release of “Sucker Punch,” it is yet to be evident whether Sigrid’s album actually will pack a punch.

– Eli Countryman

Orthodoxy and spirituality in science clash in ‘A Misunderstanding,’ set around UC

Evolutionary Darwinism and spirituality face off in “A Misunderstanding.”

The play, which opened Jan. 4 and runs through Feb. 3 at The Complex, is centered around the fictional Dr. Bertram Cates, a former biology professor. Cates, who was dismissed from the University of California because of his teachings about evolution through a spiritual perspective, sues UC for wrongful dismissal. Playwright Matt Chait, a former UCLA and UCLA Extension professor of acting, dubbed the institution “UC” rather than a specific campus. “A Misunderstanding” follows characters grappling with their philosophical disagreements, while emphasizing that people can still love each other despite fundamental differences, said Dennis Renard, one of the actors and a UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television alumnus.

“I think people relate to it in how you deal with people you love, how you use forgiveness. Maybe when someone you love messes up, what do you do then?” Renard said. “When is the time to forgive them, and when is it unacceptable?”

The characters believe their viewpoints are correct throughout the play, Renard said, and multiple perspectives are established as the trial unravels. Renard plays Howard Blair, a graduate biology student at UC. During the trial, he testifies on behalf of Cates, who was his academic mentor and advisor. Both he and Cates believe there is a place for spirituality in science, Renard said. They feel that people don’t consider evolutionary theories outside of Darwinism, and hesitate to accept creationism.

One of the major disagreements in the play emerges during Cates’ battle for reinstatement, Renard said. Cates debates the UC chair of biology and fierce believer in Darwinism, Joshua Brownstein, played by Bruce Katzman. Their misunderstanding is essentially a scientific, philosophical dialogue during the debate, Renard said. Both biologists are debating their own approaches to evolution, while Cates tries to fight for his job back. He said the disagreement between the characters may challenge the audience’s own scientific perceptions, leading them to question what they actually believe about evolution. During one scene, Cates and Brownstein debate whether Darwin’s theory applies to the human eye – Brownstein uses natural selection in his argument, while Cates believes Darwin’s theory doesn’t fully explain the complexity and mechanism of the eye, Renard said.

A second major conflict is Blair’s disagreement with his fiancee, Melinda, who is also Brownstein’s daughter. When Blair chooses to testify on behalf of Cates, his mentor and advisor, and finally tells Melinda his true beliefs about evolution, he is also going against her father, causing a tremendous rift between the couple, Katzman said. Despite Blair and Melinda’s conflict, the couple is a representation that people can still love each other regardless of controversy. When Melinda confronts her fiancee about his testimony, and Blair explains his evolutionary beliefs and ideas to her. While she is extremely upset with him, Melinda still spends time trying to understand and the beliefs he is noticeably enthusiastic about.

“The play I think is trying to say … loving transcends those issues of politics and philosophy and religion, and I think it tries to make that point of view,” Katzman said.

Brownstein, who is initially rigid in his Darwinist beliefs, also starts to bend slightly and consider other possibilities to evolution, Katzman said. Throughout the trial, Katzman said Brownstein also starts to get his point across to Cates, and by the end, he even accepts some of the scientific possibilities that Cates suggests. Chait, who also plays Cates, said his character and Brownstein rekindle a friendship over the course of the trial, regardless of their continuous argument.

On a broader level, “A Misunderstanding” considers significant tensions in the world, Chait said. The most prominent cause of strife, he said, is between those who view the world in a religious and spiritual way and those who view the world in a material way. The divide leads to conflict, similarly to political discourse in the United States between right- and left-wing groups, Chait said. The play doesn’t follow two completely opposite belief systems, he said, but delves deeper to find a middle ground.

“Everyone has that one thing that they’re afraid that if they tell people about it, they’re gonna be misunderstood,” Renard said. “The play helps you realize that you’ll never get what you truly want, which is that understanding, unless you’re honest about what you’re thinking and feeling.”

Editorial: UC challenges costly research publishing methods, fights for open access

The University of California’s motto may be “Fiat Lux”, but administrators have rallied behind a different line: Let there be knowledge.

California’s premier research university system has been brawling since last year with Elsevier, a publishing giant, over open access to the company’s many journals. Research institutes rely heavily on journals to share findings and build on others’ discoveries, but have long been encumbered by the incessant costs that come with publishers’ journal subscription contracts. The UC itself forked over $10 million to Elsevier last year to give its researchers access to papers and journals.

The University, rightfully so, seems to have had enough of Elsevier’s subscription fees, threatening last month to not renew its five-year contract with the company if it does not adopt a more open-access approach to publicly funded research findings.

Specifically, the UC is demanding Elsevier and other major publishers make publicly funded research immediately available to the public upon publishing. All the while, administrators have asked University researchers not to publish in Elsevier-managed journals if possible, hinting at the prospect of limited journal access if it cannot strike a deal.

Open access to information, especially research findings, is the means to democratize and further knowledge – a fundamental mission of any higher education institution. The University is right to challenge the status quo of pricey contracts with publishers and should not back down in its negotiations with Elsevier and other publishing behemoths.

Publishers like Elsevier often tack on individual article-processing fees to the requested papers and also require authors to pay a fee to make their work accessible to the public. This system not only forces universities to pay huge sums to gain access to an extensive array of papers – not to mention to access work their own researchers publish – but also deters authors from making their work open access.

In other words, major publishers are stifling both ends of the knowledge transfer.

The UC has insisted on Elsevier offering a “read-and-publish” subscription model, in which institutions can pay an annual fee not only to get unfettered access to articles, but also to allow their researchers to make their work immediately available to the public. As administrators have rightly pointed out, this system offers a radical yet necessary change to the way scholarly information is shared between researchers.

And the University is arguably the best-poised research institution to wage this fight against Elsevier and the like. While other institutions have hesitated to enter into negotiations with powerful journal publishers, the UC carries a formidable clout, given its prestige and the fact that it contributes about 10 percent of the research produced in the U.S.

That’s not to say the back-and-forth hasn’t come at a cost. Elsevier boasts an impressive suite of journals, and researchers depend on these recognized spaces to share their work and establish credence. Failed negotiations could also result in the University having limited access to critical scientific journals – a handicap for researchers.

Still, the fight for open access is bigger than any one researcher or lab. Open access more readily facilitates academic breakthroughs, and institutions will only increasingly be motivated to jump ship on traditional publishers and seek, if not create, alternative, open platforms to publish their work.

It’s up to Elsevier and other publishers whether limited access is worth that cost.

Grade inflation: UCLA needs to address the problem hidden in plain sight

It seems the persistent war of words between North and South Campus students may point to a fundamental problem in UCLA’s grading policies.

Conventional wisdom holds that students seeking easy classes should enroll in the social sciences and humanities, which supposedly grant A’s at a much higher proportion than classes in the sciences. The supposed disparity has long infuriated students in the latter classes, who charge that North Campus students possess artificially inflated grade point averages. While there is no hard data to back up this persistent stereotype, the widespread intuition that it is far too easy to receive an A in such classes is not entirely baseless.

Though UCLA has not yet mounted a comprehensive study of grade inflation in its academic departments, there is evidence the university has joined other prominent institutions in looking the other way when academic departments give out a disproportionate number of high grades. Any cursory examination of BruinWalk.com, a website run by the Daily Bruin that aggregates grade distributions for courses offered at UCLA, indicates that anywhere from 20 to 40 percent of students in social science and humanities courses routinely receive A’s. Moreover, students in the social sciences and humanities regularly receive much higher grades than their counterparts in the hard sciences.

A bevy of evidence on the national level also suggests that grade inflation has become commonplace at prestigious universities. gradeinflation.com, a website dedicated to detailing the practice nationwide, has found that the average GPA in the humanities rose by about 0.15 against the average GPA in the hard sciences between 1959 and 2009. Grade inflation is not just objectionable as a matter of fairness and equity, it also robs transcripts of their value as indicators of student performance. When a disproportionate number of students receive A’s, it becomes harder to distinguish between excellent and mediocre performers. This, in turn, makes the task of professional recruiters and graduate school admissions officers all the more difficult. After all, if nearly every student has a high grade point average, distinctions made among them are bound to be unfair and arbitrary.

Given UCLA’s commitment to academic excellence, its failure to address grade inflation in the humanities and social sciences is somewhat perplexing. Although grade inflation clearly devalues student transcripts and discourages hard work, the university has not been sufficiently moved to investigate the issue – a troubling sign, to say the least.

Although Carla Pestana, chair of the history department, acknowledged that history department faculty had had informal discussions about the issue and she could not produce evidence for the existence of grade inflation.

“I don’t have any evidence that we have such cases in my own department, and indeed that article was discussing a national phenomenon,” Pestana said.

While it may be true that the history department possesses no evidence of grade inflation, the department will surely run into trouble if it attempts to procure evidence merely through informal discussion. Obviously, grade inflation will not make its way onto the agenda if social science and humanities departments refuse to investigate it in the first place.

Moreover, it borders on the ludicrous to argue that UCLA is somehow immune from the national trend toward grade inflation, given its standing as a leading national university.

To remedy the problem, the university must launch a comprehensive investigation that not only defines the extent of the practice in social science and humanities departments, but also recommends corrective measures aimed at restoring academic rigor. As long as department chairs and university administrators are allowed to ignore the problem, UCLA diplomas will only continue to be cheapened by grade inflation.

Although the university has investigative procedures in place to address these types of issues, they will not be sufficient to tackle the problem of grade inflation. UCLA spokesperson Ricardo Vazquez said the university initiates a campuswide review of academic practices every eight years, entailing an evaluation of instruction in each academic department.

But this periodic inquiry is not sufficient to uncover any possible disparity in grading among different departments. Under the current system, UCLA evaluates the grading policies of each department with respect to sister departments at comparable educational institutions. Because the evidence shows that grade inflation is a national phenomenon, such a comparison would probably not raise any red flags. In the end, UCLA needs to assess its academic practices with respect to objective standards of academic excellence.

There is no question that UCLA tolerates grade inflation. Whether it is prepared to address its consequences remains to be seen.