A UCLA alumnus was appointed the new assistant dean for the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture, according to a press release Wednesday.
Michael Chung, who graduated from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in English, will take over for the current assistant dean, Guy Custis, on June 3. Custis is retiring after a decade in the position and 28 years at UCLA.
Chung has previously worked as the co-interim dean and vice dean for administration of the American Film Institute Conservatory and as the assistant dean for faculty affairs at the University of Southern California. He earned his doctorate of education in educational leadership from USC in 2018.
The UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture houses four departments: architecture and urban design, art, design media arts, and world arts and cultures/dance.
UCLA updated its animal access policy to clarify which animals are allowed in campus buildings after several students attempted to pass off their dogs as service dogs.
UCLA announced April 16 it had updated its Animals on Campus policy to specify distinct definitions for service animals, assistance animals and pets. While service animals are allowed to freely enter most campus buildings, emotional support animals must be approved by the appropriate office depending on the location in question.
The change is intended to help prevent conflict between working service animals and other unleashed animals students might try bring to campus, said Christopher Elquizabal, interim Americans with Disabilities Act/Section 504 compliance and grievance officer.
Elquizabal said the policy was updated following three recent incidents in which students and visitors passed off emotional support dogs as service dogs and disrupted classes or passing students.
“In one incident, an ESA dog was off-leash and started biting and nipping at a service dog,” Elquizabal said.
The term “service animals” can only apply to dogs or miniature horses who have developed a relationship with an individual to protect them from their specific health risk, Elquizabal said. Misrepresenting a pet or an ESA as a service animal is illegal and could result in a fine or jail time under California law.
Despite this, Elquizabal said passing off other animals as service animals is becoming more common.
Erin Rice, director of the People-Animal Connection program at UCLA, which brings therapy dogs to patients at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and to UCLA for stress-buster events, said she has observed an increase in the number of dogs wearing service animal vests in the medical center.
She said she thinks this might be because service animal vests can be purchased easily online for nonservice animals. She added separating real service dogs from fake ones is difficult because California state law prohibits directly asking service dogs owners certain questions about their animals.
“It’s tricky because you can (legally) only ask two questions: Are they a service animal, and then if so, what task are they trained to perform?” she said. “We train our team so that if they see another dog they just go in a different direction and don’t interact with other animals while we’re working.”
The policy update also clarified where students and organizations could go to register emotional support animals, depending on where the animals would be brought on campus.
The most restrictive areas on campus are laboratories, research facilities and food preparation sites, according to the new policy.
The policy would not affect organizations like PAC that bring therapy dogs to stress-relief events on campus, as long as they register dogs in advance of events.
Rice said she thinks the policy would make campus a safer environment for her organization’s therapy dogs by regulating the presence of untrained animals at UCLA.
“We love interacting with the students,” she said. “It’s a totally different energy going on campus after being with the patients. … It really gives our staff and our dogs energy to be surrounded by UCLA students.”
Lilybeth Domingo, a third-year sociology student, said she has taken several classes in which students brought unleashed pet dogs to the classroom but that these dogs were not usually disruptive.
“They’re chill, they’re cute, I want to pet them,” she said. “I don’t really have a problem with them.”
Elquizabal said he thinks the policy change will impact him personally as someone who has a disability and a service animal.
“As a person with a disability who has a service dog, the policy is generally one that is more flexible than you would find at other institutions,” he said. “The reason for that is partly due to having individuals with disabilities in the disabilities office who lend their perspective and really helped make this policy what it was.”
Holly Sullivan-Toole, a graduate student at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and one of the lead authors of the study, said people weigh costs like time, risk and effort against rewards when making a decision. While other researchers have studied how time and risk affect a teenager’s decision-making process, less is known about how teenagers assess physical effort, she added.
To assess the role of physical effort in decision-making, the researchers designed a video game in which teenagers and young adults pressed buttons on a computer keyboard to charge up one of six virtual laser guns called blasters. The subject could shoot cartoon aliens once the blaster was fully charged.
Each blaster required a different number of keystrokes to charge, and blasters that required more keystrokes to charge would shoot more aliens, Sullivan-Toole said.
Since each blaster had different charging requirements, the researchers could measure how much physical effort each subject was willing to put in to get a reward by measuring a subject’s preference for a blaster, said Samantha DePasque Swanson, a former postdoctoral scholar in the Galván lab and the study’s co-lead author.
Teenagers and adults both recognized that some blasters took more effort to charge, Sullivan-Toole said. Adults preferred blasters that took a low or medium amount of effort, but teenagers had no preference between low- or medium-effort blasters, DePasque Swanson said.
These results suggested the amount of physical effort needed to complete a task mattered less to teenagers, Sullivan-Toole said.
“Teenagers seem less affected by (physical) effort costs when compared to adults,” she said.
DePasque Swanson said even though the study used keystrokes as a measure of physical effort, she thinks the results apply to broader physical activities, too.
One possible explanation for this observation is that the area of the brain that considers the cost of physical effort is still developing in teenagers, so a teenager might not consider physical effort as thoroughly as an adult would, according to the study.
Bailey Holt-Gosselin, a former research assistant in the Galván lab and an author on the study, said another explanation could be that adults have less time and energy than teenagers, so adults have to be more strict about how they spend their efforts.
DePasque Swanson said the study highlights the teenage years as a formative time in development. Since teenagers are more willing to put in physical effort into their work, they may try new experiences or develop new skill sets that can foster a sense of growth and independence, she added.
The study demonstrates how human psychology changes during development and how the teenage years play a role in personal growth, Holt-Gosselin said.
“If we know (teenagers) are willing to expend extra effort, it’s a good time to (give them challenges to grow),” Holt-Gosselin said.
Sullivan-Toole said she hopes the study can help change the common perception of teenagers as being troubled or rebellious.
“A lot of work has cast adolescents in a negative light,” Sullivan-Toole said. “(Our work suggests) adolescence is just a different time in development.”
Residential student officials can receive increased retroactive pay this year following constitutional changes to officials’ stipends.
The On-Campus Housing Council and the Resident Government Council, which oversee student representative governments on the Hill, approved the retroactive pay increase when ratifying their new governing document Feb. 26.
The OCHC is an executive board that oversees UCLA Residential Life governments on the Hill. RGCs are councils under the OCHC which govern individual buildings on the Hill.
Stipends for RGC members increased by $100 per quarter to $400 per quarter, and $500 in the fall if the representative was present at fall quarter trainings.
However, OCHC stipends for some of next year’s representatives decreased. Changes to the OCHC executive board stipends varied per position. The president and director of programming salaries will remain at $2,000 per quarter. The finance director, sustainability director and communications coordinator will receive $250 to $500 less per quarter.
Kameron Carr, president of the Hedrick Hall RGC, said the council will not retract stipends retroactively for this year’s OCHC representatives because the council did not think it would be fair.
Carr said the council increased RGC stipends because the council does not have to pay as many student representative position stipends as it used to.
He also said the OCHC decreased stipends for some of 2019-2020’s representatives because the council thought the positions would not have as many responsibilities as before.
Although the councils ratified the constitution during winter quarter, council members can request retroactive payment if their new stipend is more than their initial stipend. All stipend increases are effective retroactively as of fall 2018, according to the constitution.
Youssouf Djellouli, a second-year mathematics student, said he was not aware of the constitutional changes.
“It’s obviously not a good thing that I didn’t know that this was happening,” Djellouli said. “So I don’t know if that says something (about) me or maybe just the lack of transparency.”
Thomas Brinkop, the treasurer of the Dykstra RGC and a second-year biochemistry student, said the councils held open meetings prior to the constitutional changes and said he thinks the changes were communicated to students on the Hill adequately.
“It’s as public as it can possibly be, but I don’t know, there’s really not that much interest,” Brinkop said.
Former Bruin Terry Donahue has been diagnosed with cancer.
Donahue was the coach of UCLA football from 1976 to 1995, spending a total of 25 years on the sideline for his alma mater. During his time at the helm, Donahue won 151 games – the most in UCLA history – while losing only 74. He guided the Bruins to three Rose Bowl victories and 98 conference wins, the most in Pac-12 history.
Donahue started his UCLA career as a player and won a Rose Bowl with the team in 1966. In 1971, he joined coach Dick Vermeil’s staff as an assistant before succeeding Vermeil in 1976.
Donahue was the first coach in NCAA history to win seven straight bowl games. His teams finished in the nation’s top 10 five times, and he coached future Hall of Famers Troy Aikman and Kenny Easley during his tenure.
He received two Conference Coach of the Year honors and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000, as well as UCLA’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001.
After his college coaching career, Donahue worked as the director of player personnel of the San Francisco 49ers from 1999 to 2000, before a four-year run as general manager.
UCLA issued a press release Tuesday that Donahue, 74, will start chemotherapy following his recovery from surgery at UCSD’s Jacobs Medical Center on Friday. Donahue was released from the center Tuesday morning.
Gymnastics Coral Smith, Daily Bruin staff
(Amy Dixon/Photo editor)
The Bruins are keeping it in the family.
New UCLA gymnastics coach Chris Waller has made his first hire as head of the program, bringing former UCLA gymnast Kristina Comforte on board as assistant coach.
Comforte was a five-time All-American and U.S. National Team member when she competed for the Bruins from 2006 to 2008. Comforte took second place in the vault at the NCAA championship in her freshman year, and also claimed runner-up at NCAAs on uneven bars in her junior year.
After being plagued with injuries in her sophomore season, Comforte ultimately retired from competition at the beginning of her senior year and moved to a role as undergraduate assistant coach, guiding UCLA to the NCAA championship in 2010.
Since graduating, Comforte has spent time as an assistant coach at University of Illinois, and most recently coached at the Illinois Gymnastics Institute.
“From the moment I set foot on campus my freshman year in college, UCLA has held a special place in my heart,” Comforte said in a statement. “I had the privilege of being mentored by Miss Val and (Waller) during my time at UCLA, not only as a student-athlete but well into my coaching career. I am looking forward to using all that I have learned and the wisdom I have gained to continue the great tradition that is UCLA gymnastics.”
Men’s tennis Jared Tay, Daily Bruin contributor
Arthur Ashe, Jimmy Connors and Bill Ackerman – these legends of Westwood are all members of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Hall of Fame, and another Bruin is about to join them.
The ITA announced May 19 that former UCLA men’s tennis player Roy Barth was among the six inductees into the ITA Hall of Fame Class of 2019. Barth played for UCLA from 1967-69 and posted a combined record of 44-5-1 over his three years as a Bruin.
Barth’s first season as a Bruin was also the inaugural year of former tennis coach Glenn Bassett’s career at UCLA. Bassett held the program record for the most wins until current coach Billy Martin surpassed him in April this year.
Barth and his doubles partner Steve Tidball were named All-Americans in both the 1968 and 1969 seasons. They were the runners-up to Stan Smith and Bob Lutz of USC in the 1968 NCAA doubles championship.
Barth turned pro upon leaving UCLA and competed in the 1969 US Open. He advanced to the fourth round and was eventually defeated by No. 9 seed Roy Emerson, 6-3, 6-0, 6-3. That result was the best of his professional career.
The induction of Barth pushes the number of Bruins in the ITA Hall of Fame to 22.
The Bruins have one last regular season series to play, but according to sophomore right fielder Garrett Mitchell, the team already has a playoff mentality.
“It’s important to win every pitch, every at-bat, every inning,” Mitchell said. “We have to do that next weekend and through the rest of the postseason.”
No. 1 UCLA baseball (45-8, 22-5 Pac-12) will play a three-game series at Oregon (27-27, 10-17) starting Thursday as a final tuneup before NCAA regionals. The Bruins also have a chance to win their first Pac-12 title since 2015.
UCLA holds the tiebreaker over Stanford and Oregon State. With a 1.5-game lead and only three games left, a series win against the Ducks will clinch the Pac-12 title.
Mitchell said these final regular season games are critical for UCLA.
“We control our own destiny,” Mitchell said. “We need to go out every day and play Bruin baseball, and if we do that we have a good chance of winning out.”
UCLA has won six straight conference games, including a three-game sweep of Washington last weekend. With a single win this weekend, the Bruins will break the existing school record of 22 Pac-12 wins in a season.
However, coach John Savage said he views the Pac-12 title as secondary in importance to preparing for the playoffs.
“Our goal is to keep improving and to play until there’s no more outs,” Savage said. “I think we hit a little bit of a stride (Sunday), but we’ve just got to keep getting better. We’re playing like it’s the postseason right now.”
Oregon has fallen out of the Pac-12 title race and sits at ninth in the conference, dropping two of three against USC last weekend. The Bruins have won eight of their last nine games against the Ducks, including a sweep last season, during which UCLA scored 37 runs.
At the plate, the Bruins will face an Oregon pitching staff that owns a 5.97 ERA this season and a 7.31 ERA in conference play. UCLA hitters have batted an average of .314 and hit 37 home runs in 27 conference games this season.
Junior right-hander Ryan Garcia will take the mound Thursday for the Bruins, owning a Pac-12-best 1.30 ERA. Redshirt junior right-hander Jack Ralston will follow Garcia on Friday, having not allowed any runs through his last 25 innings of work.
UCLA enters the game having won a school-record 45 regular season games. The Bruins have also won 17 of their 21 away games, good for their highest regular season road win total since 2012.
“Our strength this year has been coming out and being ourselves wherever we’re playing,” said junior third baseman Ryan Kreidler.
First pitch will be at 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
UCLA beach volleyball defended its 2018 national title with another victory in May.
This year’s undefeated tournament run proved the Bruins’ dominance – but last year, UCLA got lucky. Actually, the Bruins took advantage of a flaw in the NCAA championship’s double elimination format.
A double elimination bracket begins like a normal eight-team bracket, with teams matched up according to their seeds – No. 1 vs. No. 8, No. 2 vs. No. 7 and so on. The difference here is that a team that loses in the first three rounds is not eliminated, but rather sent down to the losers bracket, where it has a chance to play itself back into the final match.
In order to win the championship out of the losers bracket in most double elimination tournaments, a team must beat the winner of the winners bracket – which has yet to lose – twice to ensure each team gets the advantage of a second chance after a loss.
But not in the NCAA beach volleyball championships.
Double elimination – as carried out in the NCAA championships – allows a team to come through the winners bracket undefeated and then be eliminated by a single loss in the final without the cushion of a “second life.”
In other words, it’s not real double elimination.
In 2018, then-No. 1 seed UCLA lost to then-No. 4 seed Florida State in the second round and faced the Seminoles again in the final. UCLA triumphed in the rematch to win the title – but it didn’t have to defeat Florida State twice.
The Seminoles suffered just one loss to UCLA in the final which, in a double elimination format, should grant them another chance just like every other team. But not in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
It is true that winning the championship through the elimination bracket is more difficult than winning through the winners bracket, considering said team has to play additional games on its way to the final. But it is still not particularly fair that the tournament’s best team prior to the final can be eliminated after just one loss.
This is especially prevalent when, as in many cases, the teams competing in the final have already played each other in the tournament. If the teams split the matches 1-1, the title goes to whichever team happened to lose the first and win the second – even though the series is tied.
The NCAA beach volleyball championships’ fake form of double elimination needs to end. But for now, UCLA sports fans can revel in the Bruins’ back-to-back national titles – even if there was some luck involved.
And UCLA will need all the luck it can get to catch up to Stanford’s 122 championships.
