Alumnae produce absurdist rom-com to reflect queer experiences in dating

This post was updated May 8 at 11:27 a.m.

Graduate acting student Chelsea Giles directed the kind of short film that hasn’t really been produced, she said: an absurd, feel-good romantic comedy about queer women.

“Grapefruit,” her absurdist comedy, attempts to subvert typical romantic comedy tropes. Giles said her aim was to portray a romance that felt sweet, charming and hopeful, but also reflects her experience as a queer woman. When it comes to queer dating, she said there’s a magical quality she feels that she wanted to translate into the film.

“There’s a lot of joy and cheekiness that you can fall in love with a woman when you are a woman,” Giles said. “The people who live these romances don’t necessarily get to feel complete in the typical script.”

Giles approached alumna Zoe Yale to write the screenplay for “Grapefruit,” which Yale said came from the idea of flipping a common rom-com trope on its head: the meet cute. The trope tends to involve the two leads meeting in an unlikely or zany fashion, but Yale said she was interested in doing one that felt modern, fresh and personal. While most rom-coms depict their leads as exceptional, Yale said she wanted two very ordinary people to meet in a strange way.

“I wanted to capture the life of our main character without feeling like we were fetishizing or justifying her,” Yale said. “I didn’t want to start off as, ‘She’s a babe and she also happens to read.'”

Giles said most queer women meet on dating apps, but rather than tell a commonplace story, Yale’s script has the two meet through an introduction by a mutual friend at a location most banal: a park bench. The location belies a simplicity that’s made complex by Yale’s tonal choice.

The story utilizes an omnipotent narrator who creates the two leads, Rhea and Alex, and observes them from an ethereal distance, asking questions both about them and of them. Rather than the cheerful, beguiling characteristics common of leads in rom-com films, Yale said the narrator of “Grapefruit” examines Rhea’s idiosyncrasies. They comment on what she usually smells like – coconut, illustrated by a quick cut to a jar of coconut oil – and the sounds she makes – a conglomeration of laughs, coughs and other bodily noises. Yale said she wanted to capture Rhea’s character as a whole person, not as a romantic ideal.

“Those are the sounds that she makes in a day, that’s her scent and how it changes,” Yale said. “Sometimes they’re great and glamorous and sometimes she’s just a sweaty mess.”

When the narrator asks aloud what it’s like to be around Rhea, they direct the other lead, Alex, into meeting her. Their park bench encounter would look mundane in any other film, but the narrator playing puppet master is odd enough to make the audience pay attention, Yale said. The manner in which dialogue is employed, with quick cuts to illustrate the imagery of what each character is expressing, is not something one would typically see in an archetypal rom-com.

“For me, it was taking these great romantic tropes that make movies beautiful, but making them resonate more with me and my queer experiences,” Yale said.

The film was produced by Violent Pink Productions, a production collective that focuses on intersectional feminist filmmaking. It was founded by Yale with fellow alumnae Maggie Jorgenson and Lauren Henning, who respectively serve as the supervising producer and executive producer of “Grapefruit.” The aim in establishing Violent Pink Productions, Jorgenson said, was to move the industry forward by creating a platform for work of queer women filmmakers. Giles said after asking Yale to write the film, it only made sense that Violent Pink Productions should be the company to produce it.

“(Giles) came to us and asked if we wouldn’t mind coming aboard the project,” Jorgenson said. “We’re very much into … producing and building platforms (for queer people) and helping people put forward their ideas.”

Giles said Yale’s original script was titled “A Fig,” and the central fruit that was to be shared between Alex and Rhea was the titular fig. Yale said the original use of the fig was meant as a cheeky symbolic representation of female anatomy, but they were out of season, so they utilized grapefruits instead.

“I just wanted to show those fragments of life that say, “‘There’s a little magic in romance that we get to experience and others don’t,'” Giles said.

Comparing the tone of the short film to contemporary queer cinema and television, Giles said her goal was closer to “Wynonna Earp” rather than “Blue is the Warmest Color.” She said she wanted to create a queer film that was far more representative of a lighthearted romance between two women, rather than the emblematic tale of two women who must endure strife due to their illicit relationship.

“Queer women are usually in period pieces, which implies a level of subtlety and modesty,” Giles said. “(Those stories) usually end up being about the suffering and the struggle.”

Sandra Lee’s pimple-popping videos boost others’ self-esteem, spread skin care tips

Editor’s note: The following piece contains graphic depictions of dermatological and surgical procedures.

Pimples and blackheads and cysts hard as seeds – these are a few of a popaholic’s favorite things.

“Popaholic” is the term ascribed to the fans of Dr. Sandra Lee, a UCLA alumna who has garnered over 10 million followers across her social media platforms by posting videos of her minor dermatologic operations. Although Lee has been a dermatologist for 15 years, she did not begin posting videos of her procedures on Instagram until 2015. Four years later, Lee – more popularly known as Dr. Pimple Popper – now has a skin care line, a skin care book and a TLC reality TV show.

“For some reason, when I posted a blackhead extraction early on, it got a noticeable increase in attention,” Lee said. “I quickly realized that there was this subculture, (or) population of people on the internet that shared popping videos with each other.”

Since Lee had always considered dermatology to be a visually interesting field, she said she imagined her posts being shared with makeup and travel videos. Now that her clips reach millions of viewers, Lee said her unexpected exposure has heavily impacted her lifestyle. Dermatology is a profession that is highly sought after by prospective physicians because it is less stressful and demanding than most other specializations, she said. But now that she has become a YouTuber and TV personality alongside her career as a full-time physician, Lee said she is sometimes easily overwhelmed while juggling her jobs.

Lee’s place in the medical community has also changed alongside her image in the public eye. While she initially feared other dermatologists would view her cheeky screen name and videos as an exploitation of their profession, Lee said many have come to respect her work and are impressed by the attention she has brought to the field. Although Lee is not at the forefront of her specialty, she said her popularity has inadvertently turned her into a representative for the field.

“I feel a lot of pressure … because I know I’m not the front of dermatologists. I’m not the most talented,” Lee said. “But I feel like I represent them, and I definitely don’t want to make anyone think negatively upon dermatology because it is a great specialty.”

Catering to over 5 million subscribers, Lee’s YouTube channel features lipoma and blackhead extractions, as well as other minor operations. Lee is most known for her blackhead removals in which she uses a comedone extractor to push up and scrape out sebum – an oily substance naturally secreted from the skin – from clogged pores. In her lipoma extractions, Lee pops out benign, fatty growths that sometimes grow to be larger than grapefruits.

Sonja Kobayashi, a second-year psychobiology student, said Lee inspired her to pursue a career in dermatology. As the daughter of a surgeon, Kobayashi said she was used to the unpleasant side of medicine and soon became drawn to pimple-popping videos. As opposed to using dermatology as a means for publicity, Kobayashi said she believes Lee makes videos to spread awareness and knowledge concerning skin health.

“People do get weirded out by anything like pimples or anything dermatological,” Kobayashi said. “But (Lee) makes it normal, and she’s kind of the first one to break into this field of not publicizing medicine, but making it more accessible for everyone else to see.”

Julia Holsinger, a second-year biology student, also decided to pursue the pre-dermatology track after discovering Lee’s videos. Although she never ruled it out, Holsinger said she did not consider a career in dermatology until she found Lee’s videos. While others may find pimple-popping videos unsettling, Holsinger said she finds the clips oddly satisfying. Holsinger said her favorite Dr. Pimple Popper video is one in which Lee pops out a seed-like cyst from deep underneath the patient’s skin.

While the clients featured on Lee’s YouTube channel remain anonymous, her show manages to include the patients’ perspectives, she said. Each episode of her TV show includes three or more procedures, adding backstory for each patient to show how their skin has affected their lives. A season one episode of “Dr. Pimple Popper” featured the treatment of a 63-year-old woman suffering from neurofibromatosis – a genetic condition in which tumors develop around nerve cells and form bumps on the skin. The patient said her appearance greatly diminished her confidence and garnered stares from others when she was outside her home. After undergoing treatment to help smooth the skin on her face, the patient said Lee had restored the self-esteem she had lost.

Dermatology is about more than pimple popping, Lee said, and her show demonstrates how her minor procedures can be impactful.

“It’s a reality show, but it’s not a show about throwing tables or fighting,” Lee said. “It’s actually about changing people’s lives in a better way, so I feel really proud to be a part of something like that.”

Westwood theaters must be preserved to connect community, protect cinema history

As you look out onto the Westwood skyline, one building’s defining silhouette sticks out: a tall white tower topped with three neon red letters reading “FOX.”

Opened in the 1930s, the Regency Village Theatre and its across-the-street counterpart, the Regency Bruin Theatre, immediately became classic movie houses, serving both the student population and the affluent West Los Angeles area. Both are owned by Regency Theatres and only have one screening room each.

The Village Theatre seats a whopping 1,341 people and the Bruin Theatre seats 696 – making them prime spots for premiere-style events and a throwback to the original idea of cinema: that it’s an immersive experience shared among people sitting in the audience.

But around 80 years later, while the theaters’ structures are almost entirely unchanged, their community value has fallen into question.

Surrounding businesses have complained about the annoyance of premieres, and students have also criticized only having two films to choose from when looking to have a movie night in the Village.

In a time when audiences have grown accustomed to multiplex theaters that rapidly cycle through new movies, these complaints resonate with those looking for a theater shake-up in Westwood.

Yes, single-show theaters are uncommon, but that’s what makes them important and historic, especially in a location so vital to movie history as Westwood is. Take away the Regency theaters and you strip Westwood of its cinema charm – something students have undeniably benefited from.

Andrew Thomas, the executive director of the Westwood Village Improvement Association, said he’s glad the theaters are in Westwood.

“Westwood has a long history in the movie business, in entertainment – some of the biggest movies of all time have premiered here,” he said. “We’re fortunate to have two theaters that have (that) capacity … because there’s not many places where you can see a movie with (so many) people.”

But movie theaters have begun a battle against obsolescence, as their role of bringing new movies to the public is being replaced by online streaming competitors such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video. Westwood’s old-timey theaters only have a harder time given the Village is an entertainment desert.

This modern plight has created a challenge for theaters to stay profitable, especially ones like the single-show auditoriums in Westwood, said Jonathan Kuntz, a lecturer at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television.

“Nowadays, a movie theater is just one place where we see a movie,” Kuntz said. “We see them in so many other venues and devices, so movie theaters are mainly showing things that have just come out and in fact, opening weekends are often (the most) crucial (aspect) to the success of the film.”

That premiere culture, it turns out, is what brings many students to Westwood’s screens in the first place. After all, the Village screens about 24 premieres yearly.

“When you’re in there, I feel like it’s a completely different experience than going to a multiplex,” said Lucky Shulman, a second-year design media arts student. “Those theaters are made for real movie premieres, which I feel like can’t be said for any other movie theater I’ve ever been to.”

Yet businesses adjacent to the theaters have expressed frustration about the theaters’ frequent movie premiere events. Store owners complain they lose business when the theaters block off Broxton and Le Conte avenues for their red-carpet events.

Merchants raised their concerns at the WVIA’s April 18 meeting, at which committee members agreed to create theater guidelines to address them. These proposed guidelines include providing advance notice of premieres, obtaining the signoff of business managers, limiting street closures and posting correct signage.

And we’ve all heard students complain about Westwood’s lack of movie options, given the theaters can only show a maximum of two movies at a time. It’s not unimaginable that some students would bring these criticisms to the North Westwood Neighborhood Council, whose current and prospective members have pledged to increase entertainment options in the Village.

This dichotomy between a unique cinema destination and a village that needs to keep up is something Westwood Village will have to reconcile in the coming years.

But we should keep this in mind: Movie theaters make little profit off actually selling tickets to their screenings, as most money spent on tickets goes back to the movie studios. This makes profitability for theaters a complicated process and an even more difficult one for single-show theaters. More movie screens in Westwood could result in the Village losing the high quality offered at the Regency theaters.

“They have made investments in the sound quality, … they’ve made investments in the visual experience, they’ve upgraded the projector systems,” Thomas said. “And a big part of that is because the premieres are demanding it.”

Of course, defending Westwood’s single-show theaters might seem like an attempt to resist modernization. But that argument overlooks how Westwood offers a movie experience that complements what many students already have: online streaming and movie theaters with many low-quality screening rooms.

Cinema is an art form meant to be viewed from a plush red seat in a movie theater surrounded by eager community members. Westwood has been offering that for nearly a century – and we shouldn’t pull the curtains on it.

Where Westwood Boulevard ends, level sidewalks and paved streets should begin

Uneven asphalt is rife with cracks and unwanted vegetation.

Every trip in and around Westwood’s apartments is an adventure. From Gayley to Veteran avenues, battered roads test the suspensions of students’ cars, and each fissure in the sidewalk feels like a chasm.

So obviously, when the Westwood Village Improvement Association applied for a grant to fix streets, it focused on an area approximately half a mile away.

The Great Streets Initiative is an organization started by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti that is dedicated to renovating city streets to reinvigorate communities. Organizations can identify and recommend streets in LA as a project area to improve.

Ten applicants for the grant will receive up to $15,000 for community outreach. Of those 10, four will receive about $500,000 to fix the challenges mentioned in their applications.

The main issues the WVIA identified in its application are overcrowding at bus stops, lack of scooter and bicycle parking, worn-down pedestrian signs, and vacant storefronts along Westwood Boulevard from Le Conte Avenue to Wilshire Boulevard.

The money the Great Streets Initiative offers could make a huge difference. But the WVIA only applied to fix Westwood Boulevard – equivalent to dousing a kitchen fire while the Hindenburg burns in your backyard.

Most students don’t need to use Westwood Boulevard to commute to and from campus every day. The streets that actually matter are the ones in the North Village area surrounding off-campus apartments – streets so destroyed it’s almost a hazard to walk on them.

Andrew Thomas, the executive director of the WVIA, said outdated infrastructure is one of the main challenges Westwood faces.

“We have a need in our community to make our streets and sidewalks safer, more efficient and better serving for our businesses,” he said.

But just acknowledging streets need to be fixed isn’t enough.

The improvements the grant can offer Westwood would be better for the community and indirectly better for the students of UCLA. But as it stands, the money wouldn’t directly impact them unless they walked into Westwood Village – through cracked streets, of course.

The streets around UCLA student apartments have been in a state of disrepair for years. They are old, vegetation sprouts from the cracks and the sidewalks are so uneven that every step could result in a nasty fall. Students have learned to keep their eyes on the ground unless they want to end up scraped and bloodied on the unforgiving concrete.

Emiliano Gomez, a third-year English and linguistics and French student, said he thinks the grant money could be used in a better way.

“I think they’re trying to make the area look nice, like repave it, make it look extra nice,” he said. “It makes no sense.”

Gomez described how some of the potholes in residential areas have been there for decades.

“My sister’s Uber driver told her to hang on because there was a speed bump coming up. Once they went over it, my sister asked the guy if he drove around here often,” Gomez said. “He said, ‘No, I graduated here in 1996. They still haven’t fixed it.'”

These decades-old issues indicate a systemic problem within the Westwood community – one in which students’ needs are consistently pushed aside.

Emma Keenan, a second-year English student, said she’s scared for her life when she rides Bird scooters.

“The wheels hit the cracks so hard sometimes that I feel like I’m about to fly off,” Keenan said.

With all this considered, it’s hard to think that Westwood Boulevard’s improvements are more urgent than those of other streets in the area.

Matt Molnar, a third-year economics student, said he drove down Westwood Boulevard recently and thought it was in much better shape than many other streets in Westwood.

“The only place I really saw with any damage was the cross section of Westwood and Wilshire (boulevards),” Molnar said.

And this is true. Westwood Boulevard is low maintenance, but the WVIA is intent on sanding down the rougher parts of the block. Fine-tuning a street that’s good enough isn’t the best allocation of funds.

If Westwood is one of the chosen areas, the allocation of grant money will be discussed among community members in a series of town halls, Thomas said.

The WVIA should heed the concerns of students who show up to these public forums. Students may be a transient group in Westwood, but their short time in the neighborhood isn’t justification for leaving the North Village looking like a dump.

Some people may argue the WVIA’s planned improvements would better serve the community as a whole. But students make up a large portion of Westwood’s population and their needs should be taken into account in a proportional manner.

Student issues are consistently pushed aside, and this money should be used to improve their living conditions. By applying to fix Westwood Boulevard, the WVIA is making it clear it is more concerned with the aesthetics of the Village rather than the basic needs of its largest constituency: students.

After all, it’s hard to improve a village without helping those who make it up.

Beach volleyball brings in small, but talented, 2020 recruiting class

After losing five seniors, the Bruins are set to add a few new faces next season.

No. 1 UCLA beach volleyball has three recruits slated to join the two-time defending champion 2020 squad: Lexy Denaburg, Rileigh Powers and Devon Newberry.

Denaburg is from Merritt Island High School in Merritt Island, Florida. The 6-footer played soccer, indoor volleyball and beach volleyball in high school. Her club beach team won the Amateur Athletic Union national championship each year from 2016 to 2018.

Coach Stein Metzger said Denaburg’s multisport athletic traits will help the Bruins in the new wave of beach volleyball.

“Of course, we’re looking for some physicality,” Metzger said. “The game continues to get more physical.”

Powers – another Sunshine State native coming west to UCLA – played for Oviedo High in Oviedo, Florida. She has won multiple national titles, including a gold medal at the 2014 AAU indoor national championship and the 2017 AAU beach national championship.

Denaburg and Powers won a gold medal as a pair at the 2018 USA Volleyball beach national championship and now may team up as college teammates.

“The three recruits we brought in are highly sought-after, blue-chip kids that are winning at an early age,” Metzger said. “They’re beating college players already in high school.”

Newberry will not have to travel as far as her new teammates, as she comes from Marymount High School in Santa Monica. While her high school did not offer beach volleyball, she has beach volleyball experience through the United States youth system.

UCLA freshman Lindsey Sparks has played alongside Newberry on multiple occasions. The pair placed fourth at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina, last October and second at the 2018 USAV Beach High Performance Championship.

Metzger said while this group brings in some experience, he and the other coaches are hoping to take their game to the next level.

“We’re constantly looking for people that are good learners and that are passionate about the game,” Metzger said. “We find people like (senior Izzy) Carey who come in maybe not as experienced as some but who are just constant learners and want to learn our style.”

The 2020 recruiting class list is shorter than previous years’. The group that came to Westwood in 2019 had six members, with Sparks and freshman Abby Van Winkle seeing consistent playing time.

Freshmen Jaden Whitmarsh, Piper Monk-Heidrich, Hawley Harrer and Maggie Walters did not play an official match this season. However, Metzger said they will have the opportunity to compete for a spot in the lineup next year.

While Metzger understands the class is small, he said that does not make them weaker than any other class.

“It’s the smallest class we’ve ever brought in,” Metzger said. “But I think from top to bottom, it might be the strongest.”

2019 Met Gala: Styles that embodied camp, ones that failed to meet the mark

The Metropolitan Museum of Art opened its doors to actors, musicians and athletes under one condition: the celebrities must dress to fit the theme of “Camp: Notes on Fashion,” as in unnatural, exaggerated ensembles. Stars aimed to reach camp as described by Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay that inspired the theme, and some missed the mark while others dazzled in anything-but-ordinary suits and gowns.

Zendaya

Last year, Zendaya’s Joan of Arc-inspired look was breathtaking. And while her Cinderella ball gown wasn’t quite as awe-inspiring, it certainly brought the magic to this year’s gala. Layers of dark gray, bright blue and cobalt made up elaborate and her structured bodice supported large, pillowy sleeves. But what made the look truly whimsical was her fairy godmother – her stylist Law Roach – utilizing a “magic wand” and smoke to light up her dress. Pale blue eyeshadow, pink lipstick and a pumpkin carriage purse added the final details to the enchanting, though slightly mundane ensemble.

Lupita Nyong’o

From the waist-down, Lupita Nyong’o’s Met Gala Versace gown initially disappointed as the actress strived to channel Marie Antoinette. The kaleidoscope-resembling pink-and-orange pattern goes against the grain of Nyong’o’s usually impressive appearances walking down a carpet. But the shoulder details and hairstyle welcomed a flair that made up for the otherwise commonplace ends of the dress, overall deeming her one of the night’s best dressed. Nyong’o’s gown dramatically rose off her upper body, stemming from her shoulders in hot pink and flaring out as a purple hue, followed by a light blue and highlighter green. The “Us” star topped off her camp look with a dark, glossy lip and candy-colored, metallic eye makeup, joined by gold picks in her Afro to highlight the power of natural hair texture, according to Vogue.

Harry Styles

Harry Styles is no stranger to flashy Gucci looks. On his world tour, he rocked everything from shimmering baby blue suits to diamond-printed looks to glittering gold pussycat bows. Needless to say, the Met Gala co-chair was expected to deliver for his latest Gucci collaboration. But Styles’ crisp black jumpsuit, featuring a sheer top, dramatic pussycat bow and lace edges, was fairly underwhelming compared to his previous, flamboyant suits. A dramatic pearl earing, painted nails and signature gold rings complemented the tattoos peeking through the sheer top but lacked the pizazz expected of the gala. The understated look hardly held up to the theme. Perhaps striking makeup or an elaborate headpiece could’ve guided the outfit toward camp, but overall it felt run-of-the-mill. On its own, it was an excellent ensemble. But we all know Styles can – and has – done better.

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Lady Gaga

From her infamous meat dress to pink feathers, Lady Gaga has run the gamut of all fashion has to offer. The singer took to the pink carpet in an obnoxious, billowing pink dress flocked by suited men carrying black umbrellas. Her performance certainly embodied camp, as she was quick to discard the magenta ensemble, revealing a sleek black dress underneath. And like a nesting doll, underneath that dress was another neon pink look, which she paired with an old-fashioned phone and large black sunglasses. And underneath? Lingerie featuring a studded bustier, black panties, studded fishnets and sequined, mile-high heels.

The looks themselves were rather lackluster, but Lady Gaga’s outfit changes were ambitious and risque – everything camp is meant to be.

Darren Criss

With theatrical makeup and a multicolored blazer, Darren Criss was the very personification of camp on this year’s carpet. The Balmain piece – note, both checkered and bejeweled – came with a similarly adorned coattail. Criss also wore an oversized ascot bow, golden rings and electric blue nail polish. But the stand-out feature of his ensemble was the burgundy line along his lower lip, paired with dramatic strokes of cobalt eyeshadow, extended to his forehead in a way that aptly evoked imagery of Comedia dell’ Arte.

Lily Collins

Delicate accessories meant to represent flower petals grazed Lily Collins’ voluminous hairstyle as her tresses flowed down to her waist. Collins matched her monumental hairdo with lilac eyeshadow and an equally majestic outfit as she recreated Priscilla Presley’s wedding-day wardrobe. The actress’s creamy, white dress cascaded into a ruffled V-neck, which lay just below her Cartier necklace bejeweled with green. The gown boasted a high-low length, with an elegant, lengthy train trailing Collins’ black platform heels while she made her way down the pink carpet sporting one of the night’s most fitting and luxurious looks. Collins is known for her elegant taste, and once again managed to match her chic flair to the Met Gala’s expectations.

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Billy Porter

Shirtless men in gold pants delivered Billy Porter to the pink carpet – and the drama didn’t end there. The “Pose” star transformed into a gold bird, donning a black jumpsuit covered in golden fringe. With arms spread wide, intricately patterned wings perfected the captivating look. He topped it off with a glittering headpiece reminiscent of a crown, and shimmering, exaggerated eye makeup paired with a deep purple lipstick. Porter’s look shined amid attendees who didn’t quite understand the theme. Overdramatic? Yes. But perfectly campy? Most certainly.

Hamish Bowles

Look no further than Hamish Bowles for an embodiment of this year’s Met Gala theme: The exaggerated and extreme nature of camp can be easily found in the Vogue editor’s suit, skirt and majestic cape. Varying shades of purple nudged their way into Bowles’ look, whether it be through his sheer tights, patterned bow tie or slightly raised heels. Around his lavender, lilac and plum silhouette, a line of feathers flowed into a trailing cape coated in patchwork. Bowles not only balanced masculine and feminine shapes but also capped off his look with the grandiose cloak, all while committing to a nearly monochrome wardrobe, effortlessly embracing camp.

Serena Williams

Serena Williams slightly lifted up her gown to show off her yellow designer sneakers as she strutted down the pink carpet at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The tennis star and Met Gala co-host embraced the theme’s extravagance, donning a neon yellow Versace dress that folded into elegant puffs around her shoulders and flowed down into a train. Her dress was adorned with airy pink butterflies, adding light-yet-striking details to an already bold gown that did justice to Susan Sontag’s “Notes on ‘Camp.’”

Gemma Chan

Actress Gemma Chan walked the carpet in a sleek, silver gown by Tom Ford, shrouded in a glittery, floor-length cape. The most eye-catching element of her look, however, was the jeweled headdress that elegantly delivered this year’s theme. With simple but shimmering eyeshadow and silver bracelets to match, the “Crazy Rich Asians” star was sure to turn heads.

Danai Gurira

Under the Met Gala’s infamous “more is more” dictum, trite extravagance sometimes falls flat, and simpler looks demand greater attention. Danai Gurira’s monochromatic get-up comprised a black, plunge-neck jumpsuit, paired with Jimmy Choo heels, a top hat and a cane. Her Gabriela Hearst one-piece boasted a relatively short train – at least in comparison to other dresses on the carpet. The “Black Panther” actress did little to accessorize, sporting dainty pieces of diamond jewelry that served to accentuate, rather than distract from the overall sleek cabaret-inspired look.

Savvy Simo talks intersection of athletic success and mental well-being

Thirteen UCLA student-athletes spoke out about mental health over a month ago.

Savvy Simo wasn’t one of them.

But the junior indoor and beach volleyball player said she knew UCLA Athletics was releasing a video March 14 that allowed student-athletes to tell their stories.

“I didn’t go because, at the time, I was very overwhelmed with how I felt,” Simo said. “I’ve been dealing with more anxiety just from life itself – not even from school or volleyball.”

The Southern California native said anxiety has been part of her life since high school, but her transition to college as a student-athlete was almost seamless.

The defensive specialist started her UCLA career with the indoor volleyball team in 2016. Simo helped the Bruins finish 27-7 on the season and reach the NCAA regional final for the first time since the program won the national championship in 2011.

But Simo injured her back diving for a dig during a beach volleyball match that same year, and moved in and out of the lineup for the rest of the season.

Melinda Kirschner, the Counseling and Psychological Services’ Athletics Program coordinator, said first-year injuries often make the already-difficult transition to Division I athletics even harder.

“Oftentimes, (UCLA athletes) are really used to being the best at their sport, and coming here at a whole new level is a big adjustment,” Kirschner said. “If someone gets injured, that can be a real challenge because they want to build their relationships with their coaches and their team, and if they’re just a little bit separate as a result of the injury, that can be hard.”

While the injury wasn’t ideal, Simo said her anxiety doesn’t generally stem from volleyball.

“Life’s moving so fast in front of me that I get overwhelmed with a lot of things,” Simo said.

The third-year dual-sport athlete realized the only way she could work through her feelings was by talking about them. Simo had booked a CAPS appointment once during her freshman year, but didn’t connect with the counselor.

“I’m very extroverted, so I usually don’t have a problem saying how I feel or what’s going on,” Simo said. “But sometimes it’s not easy to talk about how you’re feeling because it makes it feel more real.”

Earlier this season, Simo approached Toral Desai, an assistant athletic trainer, about her anxiety.

Desai suggested Simo give counseling another shot.

“If you’re hurting and your trainer says, ‘Let’s see a doctor,’ you’re going to go see a doctor,” Simo said. “But if you’re stressed and your trainer says, ‘Let’s get you to CAPS,’ you might be a little more hesitant. I don’t think it should be like that.”

So the junior started meeting with Kirschner this year.

Simo said she now attends regular meetings with Kirschner – who had been working with beach volleyball – where she often has insightful conversations, receives advice or just vents about a bad day.

She still gets dizzy. She still gets overly tired. She still worries.

But Simo still wakes up to her 6 a.m. alarm and hops on her moped to go to weight training. For Simo, even through the ups and downs of volleyball, the sport has been therapeutic.

“Sports help me so much,” Simo said. “I’ve met people who their anxiety stems from volleyball, or their anxiety stems from sport, and that’s horrible. … I go to the weight room and I go to practice and every day I feel so much better after I go play.”

Simo said it’s not just the volleyball that helps her through rough days, it’s also the conversations she has with her teammates and coaches, including beach volleyball assistant coach Jenny Johnson Jordan.

Jordan – a former member of the UCLA indoor team and former professional beach volleyball player – said she found herself in a similar situation during her career.

“Having dealt with anxiety and depression at a very deep level at one point, I can definitely hear what (Simo) is saying,” Jordan said. “I would never want to force a player into saying too much, but I think it’s helpful to know what’s going on with your athletes, even if it’s not specific.”

Jordan said that getting to know her athletes on a personal level helps develop trust between players and the coaching staff.

The decisions coaches make – moving players from court to court, changing partnerships or even pulling players from the lineup – are most effective when they have their athletes’ trust, Jordan said.

Beach volleyball coach Stein Metzger and Jordan have paired Simo with seven different partners during her three years, but she still boasts a 76-22 record – which Jordan said has to do with Simo’s ability to form good relationships with her teammates.

“At the end of the fall we ask (players), who you see yourself being successfully partnered with, and almost everyone has (Simo) on their list,” Jordan said. “She is so versatile and she does connect well with people.”

Sophomore transfer Lea Monkhouse has now played 17 consecutive matches alongside Simo. The pair has won 14 of its last 15 matches, with 12 wins coming against top-10 opponents.

Simo said their success has come from the balance of their different personalities – something the whole team works on with Kirschner.

“(My partners) know my personality so well (and) I know their personalities (because) we’ve taken tests on it (and done) activities with people that come in and work with us,” Simo said. “Maybe other teams are doing stuff similar – I don’t know – but I think it’s so critical to our success.”

With five beach volleyball seniors graduating, Simo will be just one of four players remaining from the team’s championship lineup a season ago. Simo will also be one of two seniors to lead next year’s indoor team, which finished with a losing record for the first time in program history last year.

The rising senior said she has learned the importance of personal well-being in the life of a student-athlete – something that can guide her leadership of the Bruins next year.

“It’s not even about winning, it’s not even about the trophy – it’s just about how our team was so connected and so close and so supportive of each other,” Simo said. “I can try to bring that to the indoor side because I know what it looks like and I know what success looks like.”

And for Simo, success isn’t just measured based on athletic performance.

“You can’t perform if you’re not feeling your best,” Simo said. “You can’t win games unless you’re doing well off the court.”

Simo said she is still dealing with stress, but when she’s playing volleyball, none of it matters.

“When I’m stressing, this is not me, this is not who I am,” Simo said. “You accept who you are, but you’re so much more than your stress, your worry, whatever you’re going through.”