Week seven: Regents may raise tuition, UCLA preps for centennial, SAA rescinds award

This Week in the News serves as The Quad’s space for reflection on current events at and around UCLA. Every week, Daily Bruin staffers will analyze some of the most significant stories to keep readers up to speed.

With summer break just around the corner, week seven has seen both highs and lows. From a controversial tuition hike for nonresident students and the withdrawal of Spring Sing’s annual lifetime achievement award to UCLA’s centennial celebration, here’s a breakdown of the latest happenings from the past week.

UC Board of Regents to vote on $762 tuition increase for nonresident students

During the University of California Board of Regents meeting two months ago, the Finance and Capital Strategies Committee authorized to potentially enact a 2.6% increase in nonresident tuition, bringing up tuition to $29,754.

Opinions on whether to raise out-of-state tuition are divided. UC President Janet Napolitano explains that the tuition increase would produce an additional $28.9 million in revenue, prevent other cuts in the university budget, and align with the UC’s mission of prioritizing California resident students and advancing their access to education. According to the agenda, the financial gain would go toward covering costs such as housing and food, as well as wider access to mental health care.

Regents such as Hadi Makarechian and Lark Park disagree, stating that the tuition increase would not only have little to no impact on the UC’s $36.5 billion budget but also prevent low-income students outside of California from attending UC schools.

Spring Sing committee rescinds award from Don McLean due to domestic violence charges

Going from celebrated to dropped in the span of three days, Don McLean, the singer of the 1971 song “American Pie” was awarded and then lost the 2019 George and Ira Gershwin Award given by the Student Alumni Association at UCLA after his domestic violence conviction was brought to their attention.

Presented annually at Spring Sing, the award is given to successful musicians who have greatly contributed to the music industry. In a statement, the SAA firmly condemned violence and stood by their decision.

McLean took to Twitter to express his anger at UCLA for taking away an award that was originally presented to him. He denied the charges and has requested a public apology.

Nevertheless, this experience has taught the Spring Sing Executive Committee to establish more thorough background research on their award recipients. With no plans to replace McLean yet, the committee hopes to dedicate the event to survivors of violence and voice their support.

NWWNC wastes over a thousand dollars in attempted business event

Due to disorganized planning and miscommunication, a local neighborhood council failed to carry out an event to promote local businesses in Westwood, blowing $1,015 in expenses.

At the January meeting, the council initially introduced “Next Friday,” a monthly event to spotlight Westwood businesses. They eventually struggled to obtain the correct permits, submit a budget by the deadline and gain approval from the city. The council had not yet fulfilled the city requirements to host an event. Yet, without the board’s approval, council members already invested in payments for services such as the design of the banner, permits and insurance for the permits.

“This was an absolutely horrible, incorrect, inappropriate process and use of money,” said Amir Tarighat, treasurer of the council and owner of WV Investments.

Michael Skiles, president of the council, said that a recent change in management made it difficult to coordinate on the project. Moving forward, Skiles advises the council to not only learn from previous mistakes but also preapprove projects three months in advance to avoid wasting money.

UCLA celebrates its Centennial

With the launch of UCLA Alumni Day this weekend, UCLA celebrates 100 years of higher education and ground-breaking research.

UCLA’s centennial year launch kicks off with Alumni Day, a day-long series of events and performances ranging from TEDxUCLA talks to a light-and-sound projection show at Royce Hall to end the evening. The theme of the celebration is “lighting the way,” illuminating a century of opportunity, discovery and progress.

In celebration of its own centennial milestone, the Daily Bruin released the Centennial Magazine this past week, documenting 100 years of reporting stories and capturing moments at UCLA from a student perspective. The magazine can be found on Student Media stands across campus, and features stories on the history of Westwood Village and its relationship with the school, as well as profiles on the Getty Museum and gymnastics coach Valorie Kondos Field.

UC Regents recap – May 16

This post was updated May 17 at 4:03 a.m.

SAN FRANCISCO — The governing board of the University of California met for the third day of its May meeting at UC San Francisco on Thursday. The Board of Regents voted to raise nonresident student tuition and discussed a potential partnership between UC San Francisco and a Catholic hospital system.

Board of Regents

  • The board voted to increase nonresident student tuition by $762 per year, raising tuition for out-of-state and international students from $28,992 to $29,754 per year.
  • Caroline Siegel-Singh, the vice president of external affairs of Associated Students at UC San Diego and president of UC Students Association, said students from certain UC campuses and racial backgrounds take on more debt than others. Siegel-Singh said low- and middle-income students are facing increasingly high tuition costs. She urged the board to consider the effects of raising nonresident tuition, adding she thinks the UC should not rely on the revenue generated from nonresident tuition for funding.
  • Sarah Abdeshahian, a UC Berkeley student and vice chair of the Fund the UC campaign, said she opposed the tuition increase for nonresident students. She said she thinks students from all backgrounds should be able to afford a UC education.
  • American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299, the UC’s largest employee union, protested the outsourcing of UC worker’s jobs. A few AFSCME members were arrested for illegal assembly, said Eric Partika, captain of the UC San Francisco Police Department.
  • Sahiba Kaur, a senator in Associated Students of UC Davis, said pesticides used on UC grounds are harmful to groundskeepers and community members. Kaur said the UC continues to use chemicals and pesticides prohibited by the state of California and added she thinks the UC should let groundskeeping workers, scientists, experts and student government representatives sit on the committee overseeing the issue.
  • Patricia Robertson, a perinatologist at UCSF, said she thinks UCSF should not partner with Dignity Health, a Catholic hospital system because she thinks hospital operations and services such as abortion would be restricted by local bishops. Robertson said there are other ways to add beds without having to affiliate with a Catholic institution.
  • Kathleen Jordan, the chief medical officer at St. Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco, said many allegations against Dignity Health, such as the claims the hospitals will limit access to care for LBGTQ individuals, are not true. Jordan said the hospital discusses all treatment options with patients and does not discriminate against any patients. She also said bishops are not involved in the decision-making process of the health care system.
  • Dana Gossett, an obstetrics, gynecology and gynecologic professor at UCSF, said she supports the partnership with Dignity Health. Gosi said Dignity Health has a gender-affirming program for its transgender patients and no care would be taken away from patients.

Columbia professor discusses issues involving refugees, asylum seekers

This post was updated on May 17 at 5:36 p.m.

A Columbia University professor said Americans should show greater compassion toward refugees and asylum seekers coming to the United States at an event on campus Wednesday.

Mae Ngai, a history and Asian American studies professor at Columbia, gave a lecture about the history of refugees and asylum seekers in the U.S. and around the world as a part of a two-part lecture series on asylum and deportation.

The lecture marks the 50th anniversary of Asian American studies at UCLA, as well as other ethnic studies centers like the Chicano Studies Research Center, said Karen Umemoto, a professor of urban planning and Asian American studies and the Helen and Morgan Chu Endowed Director’s Chair of the Asian American Studies Center.

Umemoto said the center held the event because immigration is an issue that is relevant to UCLA students, especially Asian and Pacific Islander students.

“The issues of immigration and asylum have been in the headlines … for the last several years in ways that have caused a lot of anxiety for a lot of students,” she said. “So we thought that given the degree of political controversy over this hot-button issue, that it would be good to bring in some scholars who can give us a little bit more of a historical context to understand what’s happening today.”

Ngai’s research focuses on questions surrounding immigration restrictions and undocumented immigration.

“I call (undocumented immigrants) impossible subjects because they are people who are here and yet they legally have no identity,” Ngai said.

Ngai said she became more interested in refugees and asylum seekers because of a rise in refugee crises around the world, such as the displacement of Syrian refugees during the Syrian civil war.

She said she thinks everyone should care about these issues and that she has dedicated her life to educating people on the difference between immigrants and asylum seekers, who flee their home countries to seek protection or refuge in another.

“I feel that what is happening today with refugees and asylum seekers should be important to everybody because what we see happening around the world, it’s not just the United States; what we see around the world and on our southern border is a real emergency,” Ngai said.

Ngai said she thinks President Donald Trump’s administration has created this emergency through border policies that limit the number of asylum seekers who can enter the country each day, which she said violates national and international law.

“The emergency is how this administration and how this government is treating people,” she said. “Who has a lawful right to enter the United States and to make a claim for asylum and have their case heard? … They are not allowed to come in except for a few a day.”

Once asylum seekers enter the U.S., they often need support with adjusting to life in a new country, Ngai said.

“How can we help people start a new life in a new home without pressuring them to give up themselves and their cultures, without pressuring them to assimilate? We’re recognizing their agency and respecting their own strategies for survival, healing and adjustment,” she said.

Sophia Neman, a fourth-year sociology student, said she thinks this event could inspire other UCLA students to look into the legislation and policies behind the asylum process.

“I think there’s a lot of misconception about what goes on when people enter through a port of entry, and the difficulties and the process they go through to get here, so I think it would just really encourage people to become more educated on the topic,” Neman said.

Ngai said people in the U.S. have a moral obligation to vote for leaders who will advocate for the rights of refugees and asylum seekers.

“These things are outrageous. It’s horrible,” said Ngai. “So I think it is something every person in America has to stand up and say, ‘This is outrageous, we can’t do this.'”

Rowing oars to shore of Lake Natoma to face top-20 teams in Pac-12 championship

In each of the past four years, the Bruins’ season has ended at the Pac-12 championship.

UCLA women’s rowing (2-1, 0-1 Pac-12) will have another chance to make it past the Pac-12 and into the NCAA championship when it races for the conference title Sunday in Gold River, California.

The Bruins are coming off a Saturday loss to No. 15 USC – the only Pac-12 team that UCLA faced in a dual meet this season.

Earlier this year, UCLA took on No. 1 Washington, No. 2 California, No. 3 Stanford and Washington State in the San Diego Crew Classic. None of the Bruin crews were able to beat any of the top-three teams over their two days in San Diego.

The Bruins got another shot at the Huskies in the Windermere Cup on May 4, but finished behind Washington’s boats in every race.

Five of the seven Pac-12 teams competing are ranked in the top 20 – Washington, Cal, Stanford, USC and No. 19 Oregon State. Though they have yet to break the top 20 this season, both Washington State and UCLA have received votes in the weekly poll on a consistent basis.

The Huskies will head to the championship looking to defend their Pac-12 title for the third year in a row.

The Golden Bears – who finished second at the championship last year – matched up with the Huskies on April 27 and took home the victory in the varsity eight race. The two teams’ varsity eight crews have met twice this year and Cal has won both times.

The Cardinal enter the Pac-12 championship coming off a win against the Golden Bears on May 4. Stanford defeated Cal in four out of six races, with its first and second varsity four boats and second and third varsity eight crews all coming out victorious.

Prior to their win over the Bruins on Saturday, the Trojans won all three of their races on the final day of the Lake Natoma Invitational on April 14. USC finished in fourth place at last season’s Pac-12 championship.

Washington State and Oregon State finished outside the top three alongside UCLA at the 2018 championship.

Washington State most recently hosted Gonzaga on April 28 and defeated the Bulldogs in all five of their races. Against several Pac-12 opponents at the San Diego Crew Classic, the Cougars took home the win in the second varsity four race.

The Beavers have taken first place at three meets this season, defeating the Cougars on March 24.

The 2019 Pac-12 championship will kick off on Lake Natoma in California at 9:15 a.m. Sunday.

Kennedy Burke makes rookie WNBA debut, joining other former Bruins in the pros

The WNBA preseason is underway.

Former UCLA women’s basketball guard Kennedy Burke made her WNBA debut this week, while former Bruins, guard Jordin Canada and forward Monique Billings, enter their second seasons in the league.

Burke logged a team-high 11 points in 16 minutes of action off the bench in the Dallas Wings’ 82-59 loss to the Atlanta Dream on Monday. The guard played Billings – her former teammate – who registered six points and three rebounds.

Burke is part of a Wings rookie class that consists of former Notre Dame guard Arike Ogunbowale and former Iowa forward Megan Gustafson.

After leading UCLA to its fourth consecutive Sweet 16 appearance, Burke is continuing to produce in the pros. The 22nd overall pick notched 13 points and five rebounds to help Dallas to a 71-67 win over the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday.

[Related: Women’s basketball guard Kennedy Burke earns second-round pick in 2019 WNBA Draft]

Dallas will return home for its preseason finale against the Indiana Fever on Sunday. Burke and the Wings are scheduled to face Canada and the Seattle Storm in the regular season July 12.

Canada – who won a WNBA title with the Storm during the 2018 season – earned herself a starting spot in Seattle’s preseason opener. The former Bruin poured in 13 points and dished out five assists, after averaging 5.7 points and 3.3 assists as a rookie last year.

Canada cracked the starting lineup while 17-year veteran Sue Bird sat out to rest. The Storm will play the whole season without league and Finals MVP Breanna Stewart, who ruptured her Achilles tendon while playing overseas.

Canada, who was drafted fifth overall in the 2018 WNBA Draft, reunited with former California guard Receé Caldwell. Seattle signed Caldwell – who played her freshman year at UCLA – as a free agent.

Caldwell transferred to Texas Tech in 2015, and then played with Cal as a graduate transfer during the 2018-2019 season. Caldwell and Canada played on the same team for the first time in four years.

[Related: Friendship on point: Bruins’ new floor generals bond beyond basketball]

The Storm will wrap up preseason play on the road against the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday.