Blockchain at UCLA provides information to students, leads to course on topic

A student group at UCLA helped create a new engineering course which will focus on a cryptocurrency technology called Blockchain.

The new course in the department of engineering was designed by Blockchain at UCLA, a student organization founded last year that offers events and discussions for students to explore blockchain technology. Blockchain is an encrypted way of storing a chain of transactional records that is publicly accessible and resistant to modification.

John Villasenor, a professor in electrical engineering, public policy and management, will teach the class, which is listed as Engineering 188 and will focus on blockchain programming.

Jason Huan, a co-founder of the club, and Andrew Battat, a second-year computer science student, will serve as teaching assistants.

“It’s going to be the first time the class is offered and we’re really excited to do it,” Huan said.

The class will be open to all engineering students who have taken Computer Science 31 and Computer Science 32.

Huan, a second-year computer science student who heads all technology projects for the club, co-founded Blockchain at UCLA last year along with students Andrew Musk, Adam Spar, Anthony Humay, Douglas Wong and Veronica Reynolds.

“I wanted to develop the ecosystem at UCLA because I think blockchain as a technology provides a lot of opportunities to students, and having a club would help grow that community here at UCLA” Huan said.

Musk, a third-year computer science student who heads consulting and communications for the club, said they founded the club because they felt students lacked opportunities to explore cryptocurrency.

“There wasn’t any formal space existing at UCLA at the time. A lot of other schools had existing clubs, majors or classes within the school but UCLA had nothing,” Musk said. “So we wanted to show UCLA students first what (blockchain) really is, and second what you can do with it.”

Huan said he hopes the club can continue increasing their membership in the upcoming year and help reach more students who share an interest in blockchain technology.

Huan highlighted his time as a leader of the club as one of his most rewarding experiences at UCLA.

“It sounds cheesy but the leadership experience Blockchain UCLA has given me is invaluable. It’s more in-depth than just telling people what to do,” Huan said. “It’s about executing tasks not just within your own ability but with a team.”

The club hosts multiple events each quarter including conferences, speakers and tech-talks open to anyone with an interest in blockchain technology. It hosted a 500-person conference in October that brought in speakers from the FBI, Microsoft and other big companies to discuss the applications of blockchain.

Huan said the conference was the club’s biggest achievement and that they are already planning another one for next year.

“Starting from a year ago, we had been building up to that moment and having that conference was a big milestone showing what we can achieve in the future,” Huan said.

Musk added that the engagement between students and professionals from major corporations and institutes that took place during the conference became one of his favorite parts of the club.

“People are just generally very open,” Musk said. “Last year there were people (at our cyber-day event) that were billionaires or had founded insane companies, but they were really open to speaking to undergrads about (blockchain) or presenting opportunities, which I feel like you don’t get everywhere.”

Blockchain at UCLA also provides an education series for students looking for an introduction to blockchain. The 10-week program offers weekly lectures for undergraduate and graduate students and informs students about the context and applications of blockchain.

Lulu Essoyan, a second-year cognitive science student participating in the series, said she joined the program to learn more about cryptocurrency in general. She attends a lecture each Tuesday where she eats pizza and learns about the basics of the technology.

Musk said he likes teaching students in the series about the different applications of blockchain.

“A lot of people hear about it and make assumptions without really knowing what goes behind it, so it’s cool showing them what more you can do with blockchain and bitcoin,” Musk said.

Musk said he hopes students will be able to learn about all the different opportunities that blockchain can offer through the club’s events and the new engineering course.

Ryan Gosling joins panel discussion on Congolese resistance to Western exploitation

Ryan Gosling stepped behind the camera to contribute toward the nonfiction book “Congo Stories.”

Actor and now photographer Gosling was joined by co-authors John Prendergest and Fidel Bafilemba and afterward author Chouchou Namegabe for a panel discussion hosted Monday afternoon at the Fowler Museum. Their book, central to the discussion, highlights five centuries of exploitation and the Congolese people’s subsequent resistance. Each panelist recounted either their contributions to the book or their personal experiences working in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Hosted by Kate Mackintosh, executive director of the Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA School of Law, the panel discussion covered human rights violations and Western exploitation of Congo’s natural resources to raise awareness of the atrocities occurring.

“Despite reliance on billions of dollars of humanitarian aid, Congo is not as dependent on the United States and Europe as (the U.S.) been on the Congo,” Prendergest said.

Congolese resources, such as tungsten, tin and tantalum, are used in phones and laptops today. Prendergest said the country’s mineral wealth gave rise to a long history of exploitation by the West, beginning with colonization by Portugal in the late 15th century. Though no longer colonized, Congo still falls victim to Europe and America in terms of resource extraction based on cultural demand, and supplies a range of raw materials including ivory and copper. The situation only became worse in the late 19th century, with the creation of the auto industry and manufacture of rubber tires in Ireland. King Leopold II of Belgium then began to send armies into Congo to extract the rubber from its rainforests, exploiting the nation even more.

But the maltreatment of Congo hasn’t been restricted to just national resources. Bafilemba, a Congo native, said some women and children work under deplorable conditions, often forced to do so at gunpoint. Through appeals made to the United States government, former President Barack Obama passed legislation to ensure companies selling their products in the United States source their materials from conflict-free mines. While President Donald Trump attempted to repeal this legislation, bipartisan support of the bill prevented him from following through. Though conditions have improved drastically as a result of this legislation, corruption is still prevalent, Bafilemba said.

Bafilemba’s contributions to the project were often based on his own experiences, but Gosling was inspired to shoot after watching movies like “Hotel Rwanda” and Angelina Jolie’s documentary “First They Killed My Father.” Both films feature other countries dealing with similar issues. Gosling said his photographs, shot before the book’s conception, exhibit a theme of hope, highlighting everyday moments such as a girl preparing for school, a mother bringing home newborn twins and a boy playing in a Spider-Man costume.

“(The pictures show) a refusal to be broken,” Gosling said. “(They’re) a visual window into a sense of hope.”

Namegabe, also optimistic about the nation’s future, spoke about the silent war on women in the form of rape and sexual violence. As a reporter, she collected stories of Congolese women being taken to the jungle and raped repeatedly. In one particularly gruesome instance, the rapists poured gasoline over a woman’s genitalia and lit her on fire; the woman survived and was then forced to eat the flesh of her murdered children, Namegabe said.

Though female audience members visibly teared up at Namegabe’s anecdotes, the panelist said 2018 Nobel Peace Prize Winners Nadia Murad and Denis Mukwege bring hope to the women of the region as civil rights activists advocating for these victims. More recently, some legislation has been passed in Congo to outlaw acts of sexual violence. Furthermore, she finds hope in the presence of the audience members engaging in their discussion. The panelists concluded with a call to action, encouraging audiences to openly support the people of Congo.

“You are the hope for us. You want to know the Congo story,” Namegabe said. “The first action is to talk about it – to talk about it is to act.”

The Quad: Retail therapy relieves stress, but may be taxing in the long term

It’s officially finals week, which means more stress and unfortunately less money in my wallet as I attempt to shop all my worries away.

Whenever the stress of studying for class, the disappointment of receiving a bad grade, or anxiety of balancing extracurriculars becomes unbearable, I never fail to crack open my laptop, browse the Sephora website, and walk away with at least $50 worth of makeup. Indulging in retail therapy is a common practice used in response to overwhelming situations.

According to TIME magazine, retail therapy is defined as shopping and spending money to improve one’s mood. While many of us recognize how good it makes us feel, why do we do it – and more importantly, does it work to relieve stress?

Whether you are a struggling college student or busy adult, retail therapy is a common coping mechanism to overcome our day-to-day anxiety and brighten our mood. Ebates.com, an icon for online cashback shopping, revealed in a survey that more than half of Americans indulge in retail therapy, which does not come as a surprise considering our culture of consumerism and the daily grind of life. Additionally, Americans are stress-prone – according to HuffPost, 77 percent of Americans admit to regularly feeling stressed, leading some to stress shop.

“I don’t do it often, but when I do, I binge,” said Lauren Mignogna, a first-year biology student. “It’s a stress reliever.”

The New York Post cites, in addition to stress, other top reasons people indulge in retail therapy: boredom, a busy schedule, relief from anxiety and relationship problems.

Nevertheless, an overarching psychological thread behind our shopping compulsion remains: When overwhelmed with the daily grind of life, we often turn to temporary distractions to mend our mind and soul. According to a report in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, researchers found that retail therapy can lend the shopper a stronger sense of control over their own lives, alleviating sadness.

When one experiences sadness and falls into a bad mood, it is commonplace to feel as if external forces are the source of our unhappiness and nothing is going the way we intended. Our sense of helplessness causes us to crave control and autonomy and find situations in which we can regain control. Interestingly, a report in Psychology & Marketing found that the benefits of making small, unplanned purchases when one’s mood is down are generally positive in managing one’s mood.

“Shopping gets us sensing and that gets us out of our own thoughts,” clinical psychologist Scott Bea said in an interview with Cleveland Clinic, a nonprofit academic center.

UCLA students are definitely no strangers to stressful circumstances and retail therapy.

“It just contracts the hectic nature of my daily life, and allows me to indulge in my temptations and have control,” said Adele Nguyen, a second-year biochemistry student.

Nguyen said the feeling of scrolling through clothing and other items and deciding what to buy was a therapeutic release and escape from her classes and responsibilities. Given all the opportunities, obligations and work a college student must endure, it is natural to find joy in something as simple as shopping.

Her perception of shopping is not uncommon. In fact, the view that shopping serves as a positive outlet dates all the way back to the postwar era after World War II. As industrial America emerged and the economy grew, Americans’ quality of life increased and businesses expanded, which allowed many to spend more and find pleasure in it. According to a study done by Swap.com, Americans revealed that more than 22 percent of their shopping was to fulfill pleasure, not need.

While retail therapy initially cures us of our emotional distress, there can be lingering implications of one too many purchases. For instance, buyer’s remorse is when one makes certain purchases and later wishes they had made a different decision, which is one of the first signs that the act of shopping has become detrimental to your wallet and emotional health.

Although a little retail therapy from time to time isn’t too consequential, continuously relying on shopping to reign in one’s emotions can lead to compulsive shopping, something 7 percent of American consumers participate in. Research conducted at Indiana University drew a direct correlation between the urge to shop and the desire for a rush or high exemplified by drug or alcohol users.

Retail therapy can definitely be a fun and relaxing time to blow off steam, but when too much time is spent on websites and in stores, your wallet won’t be the only thing that is drained. In moderation, however, retail therapy may just cure you of some of your finals week worries.

The Quad: Pump it up at Powell with our student-generated finals week playlist

According to Business Insider, the most effective music to listen to while studying lacks lyrics, features sounds of nature or has a specific tempo.

In general, music is a great way to get through repetitive and mindless tasks, like completing a problem set you already know how to do or memorizing important dates.

So we approached – perhaps a little bit awkwardly – students at Powell and asked them just exactly what they were listening to while they studied for their upcoming finals. Ranging from Charles Mingus to Travis Scott, with some boppin’ K-pop, bangin’ Taylor Swift and a song or two thrown in from us – Phil Collins was a must – this playlist represents the beauty and diversity that epitomizes the UCLA study experience.

While we cannot guarantee that the following playlist will help you focus on your work as well as a Bach composition would, we’re sure you’ll find something you enjoy on it. Here’s the Quad’s Finals Week playlist, made for UCLA students by UCLA students with a little flavor for nearly everyone.

Good luck on finals, Bruins.

https://open.spotify.com/user/landonnn24/playlist/7rRrpuEwtyvvXtw1xNWsBW?si=qklnGf4oQ7KFM1_WOKF5Uw

Women’s tennis’ Jada Hart clinches world championship for Team USA at BNP Paribas

Jada Hart does not take breaks.

In what was supposed to be time off from competitive tennis, the redshirt junior teamed up with Duke’s Maria Mateas and went 3-0 last week in Grenoble, France, to help the United States claim the Master’U BNP Paribas championship. The title has now gifted Team USA its eighth win in 10 appearances at the tournament, which has been labeled “The World Event of University Tennis.”

“It’s always an honor to represent your country no matter what opportunity you get,” Hart said. “It’s also a great tournament to end the year on.”

The Master’U BNP Paribas tournament differs from most traditional tennis competitions. In order for a country to advance, it must defeat its opponent in a best-of-seven series consisting of a variation of singles, doubles and mixed doubles events.

Hart was selected to compete in doubles events for second-seeded Team USA.

“We are honored that she was chosen to participate,” said coach Stella Sampras Webster. “We love to hear that our players are going out to compete in other tournaments (because) it just shows us that they’re really committed to their sport.”

The American duo began its campaign with a win over Mathilde Devits and Chelsea Vanhoutte of Belgium, contributing to Team USA’s 6-1 series victory over the Belgians.

The pair went on to face Amy Bowtell and Sinead Lohan of Ireland, and its 8-1 victory over the Irish duo contributed to another 6-1 scoreline for Team USA.

Victories in the first two series of the tournament pitted the Americans against defending champions Great Britain in the final. After Team USA won three of its first four events of the series, Hart and Mateas found themselves in a championship-clinching match against British pair Maia Lumsden and Laura Sainsbury.

“Everybody showed up in all the singles,” Hart said. “And when it came time for me to actually play, I was able to step up and do well in doubles.”

Hart and Mateas fell behind early on, surrendering the first set 6-0. But the American duo came back to claim the second set with a 7-6 (7) tiebreaker.

Hart and Mateas secured a 10-8 win in the third set, rallying behind their second-set momentum to clinch the series and a championship for the United States.

The Bruins are currently not conducting practices, per NCAA rules, but Sampras Webster said her players are still staying fit for the upcoming season.

“At this point, we can’t be out there with them,” Sampras Webster said. “Luckily we’ve got a very committed team and we trust that they will be doing the right things.”

UCLA will kick off dual matches on Jan. 26, welcoming opponents Florida International, Loyola Marymount and Minnesota to the Los Angeles Tennis Center.

Battle of the Editors: Predicting success and pitching New Year’s resolutions for winter sports

This post was updated Dec. 12 at 3:43 p.m.

While some teams made the postseason, UCLA Athletics only had one of its six fall teams make the Final Four. With a new year right around the corner, the Daily Bruin Sports editors gave four teams New Year’s resolutions for 2019.

Women’s water polo
Joy Hong, assistant Sports editor

Adam Wright gets no break.

Even though the coach finished the men’s season empty-handed, Wright will have another chance.

After leading UCLA men’s water polo to a semifinal finish at the NCAA championship, Wright has about a month to dedicate his full attention to UCLA women’s water polo in his second season with the program.

Last year’s Bruins were disappointing.

Despite never losing to a lower-ranked opponent, UCLA only defeated a Big Four team – Stanford, USC or California – once in nine total matchups. The Bruins consistently ranked No. 4 during the majority of the 2018 season.

But returning core players and welcoming a talented incoming class should give the second-year coach some more hope to bounce back.

The Bruins will return four of their top five scorers – led by junior attacker Maddie Musselman. The All-MPSF First Team and Team USA member logged 53 goals, 31 assists and 41 steals last season and led UCLA in all three categories.

UCLA will also bring back junior attacker Bronte Halligan – who registered 30 goals, 30 assists and 51 steals last season – and sophomore attacker Lexi Liebowitz, a standout lefty who had 20 goals in her first year.

Six California natives will bolster the Bruins’ roster in their first collegiate seasons. The newcomers include players with USA Water Polo National Team experience, Junior Olympics gold medalists and California Interscholastic Federation champions.

After a 10-6 semifinal loss to eventual champion USC in May, UCLA will probably still sit at No. 4 in the preseason polls.

But Wright – who has led the men’s team to three titles in five years – is no stranger to rebuilding a team.

Whether it’s coaching the men or the women, Wright’s system is still well-kept – and it’s no secret that he has what it takes.

Gymnastics
Angie Forburger, assistant Sports editor

The defending national champions are back.

UCLA gymnastics will kick off its season against Nebraska on Jan. 4 and will be under coach Valorie Kondos Field for the final time.

Kondos Field – who announced in September that she was retiring following the 2019 season – has led the Bruins to seven NCAA championships.

And she will do the same this year.

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(Daily Bruin file photo)

Returning from last year’s team are senior Katelyn Ohashi and juniors Olympic gold medalists Kyla Ross and Madison Kocian.

Ohashi finished last season ranked No. 1 in the nation on the floor exercise, taking home the NCAA title in the event. She was named a First-Team All-American in balance beam and floor exercise and earned the Pac-12 Specialist of the Year honor in 2018.

After winning the 2018 championship with the Bruins, Ross became the first female gymnast to ever win Olympic, World and NCAA championships. She was recognized as a First-Team All-American in the all-around, uneven bars and balance beam in 2018. In the NCAA Super Six, Ross scored 9.9875 on balance beam and 9.95 on the uneven bars to help the Bruins clinch the win.

Kocian, a four-time All-American, underwent shoulder surgery prior to the start of the 2018 season, but still competed in all but two of the Bruins’ meets. Kocian’s 9.9375 on the uneven bars in the Super Six also helped UCLA’s NCAA title comeback.

Despite the loss of former sixth-year senior Peng-Peng Lee – who scored two perfect 10s in the NCAA championship and was named the 2018 Co-Pac-12 Woman of the Year – UCLA is still the team to beat.

The Bruins have four All-Americans from last year in Ohashi, Ross, junior Grace Glenn and junior Felicia Hano.

And with Kondos Field saying goodbye to Westwood following this year, she will do everything in her power to get one last title.

Men’s volleyball
Gabriel McCarthy, assistant Sports editor

Volleyball fans have a lot to look forward to in the new year.

UCLA men’s volleyball returns in early January and has most of its roster from last season’s trip to the NCAA championship run returning.

The Bruins lost their leading point scorer in outside hitter Christian Hessenauer to graduation, who averaged 4.14 points per set and finished the 2018 season with 395 kills.

But, UCLA returns senior setter Micah Ma’a and junior middle blocker Daenan Gyimah, who led the team with 125 and 124 sets played, respectively. Both were recognized in the AVCA first team and VolleyMob All-America, as well as the All-MPSF first team.

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(Daily Bruin file photo)

Gyimah led the nation hitting for .528 and logged 151 blocks, and Ma’a finished fourth in the NCAA with 10.55 assists per set. The combination play and level of production between the two should continue next season.

UCLA came within points of securing its first NCAA title since 2006 in a 3-2 loss to Long Beach State in the NCAA championship final and will return half of the team that started the title match.

UCLA has the experience of a deep run in the postseason balanced with younger players on the roster. The schedule features exciting matches lined up against Ohio State and BYU and a championship rematch against Long Beach State – with the potential for the same drama as last season.

Baseball
Sam Connon, assistant Sports editor

The Bruins showed glimpses of greatness last year, but one thing held them back: injuries.

Losing players to injury is always going to be a part of sports, and it’s not as if UCLA baseball was the only team in the country to suffer because of them. But in the Bruins’ case, it was hard to watch sometimes.

The lineup remained mostly healthy for the majority of the season, besides some lingering issues for then-freshman outfielder Garrett Mitchell. Where the injury bug really bit hard, however, was in the rotation.

The thing is, UCLA still got good production out of its top starters. Its first three starting pitchers – then-senior Jake Bird, then-sophomore Ryan Garcia and then-freshman Zach Pettway – combined for a 2.60 ERA in the regular season and a 2.45 mark in the postseason.

The issue is that the Bruins’ production dropped off a cliff after that.

Because of season-ending injuries to then-junior Jon Olsen, then-junior Justin Hooper and then-redshirt sophomore Kyle Molnar, some inexperienced pitchers had to step into big-time situations. In the NCAA regionals, UCLA fell to Minnesota 13-8 when then-redshirt sophomore Jack Ralston got the start and allowed four earned runs in less than two innings.

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(Ken Shin/Daily Bruin staff)

Ralston, then-sophomore Nick Scheidler and then-freshman Michael Townsend were all ranked in UCLA’s bottom six for ERA and combined to allow all 13 runs in the game.

This year, Olsen and Bird have gone to the pros, but if the Bruins are going to make it past the first round, they’re going to need to solidify their depth throughout the season.

Obviously, preventing injuries is near impossible. But if there’s one goal I want to set for UCLA this season, it’s to stay healthy and lock down a deep and reliable rotation so the big moments don’t get too big when June comes around.

Friends, mentors remember student’s leadership, kindness after her death in Rome

UCLA faculty and students remember Olivia Shipp for her kindness, intuition and sense of agency.

Shipp, a third-year communication student, died Nov. 16 in Rome while studying abroad. While at UCLA, she was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority and interned for the United States National Committee for United Nations Women’s Greater LA Chapter. Shipp was 20.

Aileen Nguyen, a Daily Bruin staffer and a third-year economics and global studies student, carpooled with Shipp to their internship at U.N. Women. Nguyen recalled how Shipp helped her get through a particularly difficult day in the first few weeks of knowing each other.

“When (Shipp) picked me up, she realized something was wrong immediately, but instead of trying to make me talk, she decided that we should just grab some ice cream since we were early,” Nguyen said in an email statement. “This was exactly what I needed, and being her amazing self, she got me to open up to her what was wrong and just made me feel better about everything.”

Nguyen said their camaraderie only grew stronger after that day.

“From then on, I could always rely on (Shipp) for … life advice and food runs after our internship,” Nguyen said. “From the time we had to scramble around the car looking for coins to pay for parking, to blasting Christmas music to match the lights down the street, I’ll always cherish those car rides.”

Kerri Johnson, chair of the communication department, said in an email sent to all communication students that Shipp exemplified the best of the department and UCLA.

“She had an adventurous spirit, a keen intellectual curiosity, and a kind way with others,” Johnson said. “Her joy was contagious, and we will miss her tremendously.”

Shipp interned with Michael Suman, a senior continuing lecturer in the communication department, during winter quarter to study the usage and effects of new communications technology.

“She was responsible, conscientious, hard-working, intellectually curious, and ambitious,” Suman said in an email statement. “She was always pleasant, friendly, and got along with everyone.”

During her time as a communications intern at U.N. Women from Oct. 2017 to May, Shipp oversaw the chapter’s social media platforms and communicated with members and subscribers of the organization’s online content.

Brooke Scott, Shipp’s supervisor at the internship, said Shipp was passionate and had a strong sense of leadership.

“Her strong sense of advocacy followed her before she joined and was only strengthened when she joined the chapter,” Scott said. “She was not afraid to speak her mind.”

Scott recalled an incident involving Shipp and a fellow intern, who was epileptic. When the intern had a seizure, Shipp immediately brought the seizure to Scott’s attention to get help for the intern.

“Whenever someone wasn’t OK, she was the first one to let me know,” Scott said.

Chloe Burnitz, a second-year communication student and Shipp’s little in Alpha Phi, first met Shipp at U.N. Women at the beginning of Burnitz’s first year, prior to sorority rush. Burnitz said meeting Shipp was what made her want to join Alpha Phi.

“She was literally the nicest person,” Burnitz said. “She was actually (like) my big sister. She was someone I could always depend on in my first year of college.”

Pia Svenson, an undergraduate adviser in the communication department, also praised Shipp’s kindness and optimism.

“She just embraced life,” she said.