Letter to the editor: Renée and David Kaplan deserve a building named after them

Dear Editor,

The Daily Bruin ran a front-page story April 23 headlined “UCLA community questions fairness of naming buildings after donors.” The article quoted those who questioned the naming of buildings after individuals who may not share “our values.” The accompanying text and photo used the Renée and David Kaplan Hall on the campus’ central quadrangle as an example of this practice.

Putting aside the question of whether the practice of renaming buildings is a significant problem for universities, the article could not have chosen a less apt example than Renée and David Kaplan Hall.

As even cursory fact-checking would have revealed, the Kaplans are stellar examples of the best of UCLA.

Renée Kaplan earned both her undergraduate degree and her doctorate in psychology from UCLA. For many years she employed that training at the campus Counseling and Psychological Services center, helping thousands of UCLA students navigate the stresses of student life and young adulthood.

Renée’s husband, David, was, like her, a double Bruin, earning his bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in philosophy at UCLA. Shortly after earning that doctorate, David Kaplan was appointed as a faculty member, where he has taught for more than 40 years. His distinguished scholarship, making field-defining contributions to the philosophy of language and logic, has won him international acclaim.

David Kaplan has also won awards for his teaching, which includes undergraduate and graduate students. He has written software to help students learn logic – which he distributes for free throughout the world. In addition, he has served with great distinction in a number of Academic Senate positions, rendering counsel – and occasional sharp criticism – to generations of senior administrators.

Beyond this, David and Renée have offered both wisdom and warm hospitality to generations of UCLA colleagues, who, like us, have been welcomed to the UCLA faculty by these brilliant, witty, wise and generous people.

UCLA should be so lucky as to have more buildings named after people like David and Renée Kaplan.

Seana Shiffrin, UCLA philosophy department chair

Stephen Yeazell, UCLA School of Law professor emeritus

Cannabis Research Initiative aims to collect data on impacts of marijuana in LA

As marijuana becomes increasingly popular in Los Angeles, UCLA researchers are studying the drug’s potential benefits and risks.

Jeffrey Chen, the executive director of the Cannabis Research Initiative, said the initiative is collecting data on variables that might be affected by cannabis legalization, such as crime, alcohol and opioid consumption, high school graduation rates and traffic accidents. The Cannabis Research Initiative plans to start collecting data from LA County and then eventually regions throughout California.

“The purpose of this is to establish a baseline snapshot and see how these variables change over time and how much of it might be due to cannabis legalization,” Chen said.

The multidisciplinary research program was established three years ago, said Timothy Fong, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior and executive committee member in the Cannabis Research Initiative. He said researchers are trying to figure out what areas are the most critical to investigate. For example, they are beginning to study the biological, psychological, social, economic and public health impacts of cannabis.

“We’re just now starting to figure out all of the topics related to cannabis research,” Fong said. “What if 10 to 15 years from now, we miss an opportunity to invest research in an area?”

Fong said the researchers have looked at the social impacts of cannabis in terms of how users spend their recreational time or money and the impacts of legalization.

“Is it a good thing or are there unintended consequences?” Fong said.

Chen said LA is the largest single cannabis market in the world, and will remain in that position for the foreseeable future.

“Because of this, as well as the cultural significance of LA, this city is the center of the worldwide legal cannabis industry,” he said. “The trends and products that take root in LA will likely be spread throughout the country and world.”

Fong said UCLA is one of the first universities to fund scientific research in cannabis, and its main priority is evaluating claims about the effects of cannabis.

“There are a lot of false statements about cannabis,” he said. “Let’s see those beliefs and statements and through the power of science confirm or deny them.”

Professors in the Cannabis Research Initiative are also lecturing graduate students, developing student interest groups, and ensuring doctors are trained on the legality and science of cannabis. They have also established a molecular and pharmacological research lab to study cannabis.

Researchers have also been working with the cannabis industry to evaluate its claims and products in a systematic way. In clinical care, they are working with doctors who are already prescribing medical cannabis and tracking how their patients are doing.

“When you think about all academic research programs, they’re meant to do four main things – research, teaching, clinical care and community engagement. The last few years we’ve made a lot of progress in those four areas,” Fong said. “Research will always be very slow, but there’s more than just research in an academic program like this.”

Eugenio Castro Garza, a business development intern in the Cannabis Research Initiative and second-year political science student, said he thinks the initiative can help advance medicine and better inform public policy by objectively measuring the impacts of cannabis on human health and society.

“This research has been on hold for a long time and it is time that we better understand this plant and its far reaching impacts,” Garza said.

Around the League: May 7

Men’s tennis
Gabriel McCarthy, assistant Sports editor

A number of teams across the Pac-12 advanced to the second weekend of competition in the NCAA tournament.

No. 11 seed UCLA men’s tennis (19-5, 8-0 Pac-12) moved on to the round of 16 after posting back-to-back 4-0 sweeps over Grand Canyon and Oklahoma State. The Bruins’ duo of senior Maxime Cressy and sophomore Keegan Smith both clinched singles wins in both matches at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively, as well as clinching the doubles point for UCLA against Oklahoma State. UCLA will next face No. 6 seed Baylor in the next round.

No. 8 seed USC (22-7, 7-1 Pac-12) advanced to the round of 16 after sweeping Northern Arizona and San Diego in the first and second rounds, respectively. USC will next face No. 9 seed North Carolina in the NCAA Super Regionals.

No. 12 seed Stanford (19-6, 5-3 Pac-12) swept both Fresno State and UC Santa Barbara to move on to the next weekend. Stanford will face No. 5 seed Virginia in the Super Regional round.

Arizona State (14-14, 4-4 Pac-12) failed to move on the next round after falling 4-1 to No. 10 seed TCU in the second round. Arizona State defeated Miami 4-0 in the first round of the tournament.

Utah (17-12, 2-6 Pac-12) was eliminated in the first round of the tournament after losing 4-0 to Baylor. The Utes had previously fallen to the Bruins in the Pac-12 championship.

Baseball
Sam Connon, assistant Sports editor

The reigning champs were one of several Pac-12 teams who took a slide this week.

No. 12 Oregon State baseball (31-14-1, 17-4-0 Pac-12) went 0-4 over the past week, losing a midweek matchup to Gonzaga (25-19, 16-8 WCC) and getting swept by then-unranked Oklahoma State (28-16, 10-8 Big 12) at home. Oregon State entered last week as the No. 3 team in the country, behind only No. 1 UCLA (37-8, 16-5) and No. 2 Stanford (34-8, 17-4).

The Bruins and Cardinal both held their ground atop the rankings, winning their midweeks and going 2-1 in their conference weekend series against then-No. 22 Arizona State and USC, respectively. The Sun Devils fell out of the rankings after being ranked as high as No. 7 earlier this season.

Stanford may have strung together a winning record last week, but it still fell from No. 15 to No. 22 in the RPI, while Oregon State dropped from No. 10 to No. 23. Arizona State fell out of the top 40 after its series loss to UCLA, which stayed at No. 1.

With three weekends remaining in the regular season, the Cardinal and Beavers are tied atop the standings with the Bruins one game back. Oregon State and Stanford will play a three-game series in Corvalis starting May 17, while UCLA’s lone upcoming game against an RPI top-50 team will be a midweek matchup against No. 48 UC Irvine on May 14.

Women’s tennis
Sam Connon, assistant Sports editor

Of the six Pac-12 teams that entered the NCAA championship this weekend, four remain.

No. 3 seed Stanford (24-1, 10-0 Pac-12) was the highest ranked women’s tennis team in the conference after winning its third straight Pac-12 championship April 27. Stanford won in straight sets in the first round over New Mexico State before beating Syracuse 4-1 to advance to the round of 16.

No. 7 seed UCLA (20-7, 8-2) – which lost to Stanford in the Pac-12 championship finals – and No. 10 seed Washington (21-4, 8-2) will play in Westwood in the third round after both squads won 4-0 in both of their tournament matches so far. The Bruins and Huskies have faced off twice so far this season, with the former taking both matches by scores of 4-1 and 4-3, respectively.

No. 13 seed USC (20-7, 7-3) is the only other Pac-12 team left standing after it beat Illinois State and UNLV by 4-0 scores in the first two rounds. USC will play No. 4 seed South Carolina in the upcoming third round.

Arizona State (14-11, 5-5) opened this weekend with a 4-0 victory over Illinois, but was shut down by No. 5 seed Duke in a 4-0 loss Sunday. California (13-9, 6-4) scraped by Long Beach State on Friday, winning 4-2, before losing 4-0 to No. 6 seed Pepperdine the next day.

Women’s track and field gets early postseason start boosted by multi-event athletes

Two Bruin multi-event athletes opened the track and field postseason this weekend.

Redshirt junior Christina Chenault and sophomore Isa Videler placed third and ninth, respectively, in the Pac-12 Multi-Events Championships in Tucson, Arizona, on Saturday and Sunday. The duo scored six early points for the UCLA women’s team in the overall Pac-12 championship tally.

“I’m pretty happy (with my performance); my day one helped set me up pretty well for my day two,” Chenault said. “I knew that not everything was going to go absolutely perfect, but I still feel very good about being able to score for the team and get close to my (personal record).”

Chenault was in third after Saturday’s events, finishing fifth in the 100-meter hurdles, third in the high jump, fourth in the shot put and fifth in the 200m dash. She closed out the meet Sunday with a second-place finish in the long jump, 11th in the javelin, and second in the 800m run – maintaining her third-place standing among the field.

“I always knew that if (Chenault) could stay healthy that she could do great things,” said volunteer coach Kendall Gustafson. “She has definitely matured a lot, both physically and mentally, and I think she can do some really wonderful things.”

Chenault said patience and diligence have been her focus this season after spending the majority of the 2018 outdoor season fighting injuries.

“Things are starting to really come together now, which is really perfect,” Chenault said. “My focus during indoor season was staying healthy and (focusing on) getting stronger; throughout spring I’ve been able to hone in the technique and get more reps in which has helped a lot in my muscle memory.”

Videler competed in the first multi-event meet of her career this weekend. She posted the 12th-best 100m hurdle time and a trifecta of 11th-place finishes in the high jump, shot put and 200m dash Saturday.

Videler closing out the meet Sunday with ninth-place finishes in the long jump and javelin throw and a fourth-place finish in the 800m run to finish ninth overall for the weekend.

“Coming back from an injury, my performances weren’t the best, but they’re okay for now,” Videler said. “I think both me and my coach went into the meet thinking about enjoying the experience and being competitive and that’s what I did, so I’m definitely happy with that.”

Videler transferred to UCLA from Missouri State this year and said training with Gustafson and Chenault has helped make her adjustment to multis and her new surroundings easier.

“(Gustafson) and (Chenault) have really helped me improve myself because they both push me a lot which helps me; we’ve formed a really good bond this year,” Videler said. “It was a little tough coming from Missouri State in the beginning. I’d never been to LA before so I didn’t know what to expect, but things have definitely worked out really well.”

UCLA is currently in third place in the women’s point standings for the Pac-12 championship. The rest of the Bruins will travel to Tuscon to compete in the Pac-12 Track & Field Championships on Saturday and Sunday.

Four women’s tennis Bruins to represent UCLA in NCAA championship

It’s win or go home for the Bruins, but four players will have the opportunity to compete once more.

Freshman Elysia Bolton, redshirt junior Jada Hart and seniors Gabby Andrews and Ayan Broomfield were selected to participate in the NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Championship in Orlando, Florida.

The tournament will begin May 20, one day after the championship match of the team tournament, and will conclude May 25.

No. 32 Bolton and No. 45 Hart will represent UCLA in the singles draw, while the Bruins’ top two duos – No. 5 Andrews and Broomfield and No. 11 Bolton and Hart – will partake in doubles play.

Neither Bolton nor Hart have dropped a set in singles play through the first two rounds of the NCAA team tournament. Hart notched an upset victory Sunday against No. 12 LSU Eden Richardson 6-4, 6-3.

Bolton did not drop a single set in seven straight singles matches from March 30 to April 25. She defeated LSU’s No. 60 Jessica Golovin 6-2, 6-3 in UCLA’s second-round NCAA matchup. The freshman is 26-12 on the season and undefeated in three matches on court one.

“She loves the moment,” coach Stella Sampras Webster said of Bolton. “She loves playing big matches. She thrives in these situations. It’s great for her as a freshman to have this confidence. You don’t get that very often.”

The combination of Andrews and Broomfield have one loss in their last 15 matches, 13 of which were played on court one doubles. The duo is 21-7 on the season.

“We were struggling a bit earlier in the season,” Andrews said. “We really focused on doubles in practice especially.”

The duo of Hart and Bolton bounced back Sunday to win 6-4 against LSU on court 2 after being upset 6-1 against Northern Arizona.

“We were too one-dimensional,” Hart said after the Northern Arizona match. “We didn’t utilize our variety with lobs and changing the pace with serves.”

Hart advanced to the round of 32 in the singles competition last year before falling to then-No. 27 Luisa Stefani 6-3, 7-5. The Colton, California, native partnered with then-senior Terri Fleming last year in the doubles competition. They lost 6-2, 3-6, (10-7) in the first round.

Former Bruin Ena Shibahara made it to the round of 16 in singles in the past two seasons. The back-to-back-reigned Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year elected to turn pro this fall.

Bruins bid farewell to tremendous group of seniors, prepare returning players to lead

GULF SHORES, Ala. — After being the top-ranked team for the entire regular season, the Bruins entered the NCAA championship as the No. 2 seed.

But it didn’t matter.

UCLA beach volleyball (35-3) upset No. 1 seed USC (32-6) in the NCAA championship final Sunday afternoon, sweeping the Trojans 3-0 to earn the Bruins’ second consecutive national title and the school’s 117th.

“We had to do it the hard way at the end,” said coach Stein Metzger. “We had a lot of expectations piled on us since the day after we won last year, which was challenging, and it was something we talked about all year. But it’s one thing to talk about it and another thing to deal with it.”

Metzger has coached the program since its inaugural season in 2013, when the team posted losing records for two straight years.

The Bruins improved their winning percentage each year and went on to win their first NCAA championship in 2018 – five years after UCLA played its first match.

UCLA entered the 2019 season as the No. 1 team in the nation and stayed on top for the entire regular season before losing in the Pac-12 championship to USC.

The Bruins opened the year with a 25-game winning streak – the best start in program history – including the first Bruin win at Zuma Beach over then-No. 3 Pepperdine on March 6.

This year’s senior class – Nicole and Megan McNamara, Sarah Sponcil, Zana Muno and Izzy Carey – will graduate in June as the winningest class in program history.

“This program has been built on (the seniors’) hard work,” Metzger said. “They were here in the beginning when we weren’t having the same kind of success and we had to chase the vision of what this team could be.”

Four seniors earned their 100th career victories, starting with Carey, who will graduate with the most career wins in program history.

But it wasn’t just the seniors who contributed to the Bruins’ success.

Sophomore Lea Monkhouse transferred to UCLA from Hawai’i and joined junior Savvy Simo on court four, running a 22-4 record alongside Simo.

Freshmen Abby Van Winkle and Lindsey Sparks entered the starting lineup for the Bruins – posting 29-5 and 33-2 records, respectively. Both players were named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team.

Van Winkle scored the winning point in the court three match that clinched the 2019 NCAA title for the Bruins. The freshman said the experience taught her how to deal with high-pressure situations.

“Now I’ve been here, and I’ve had the nerves, and I’ve had the anxiety,” Van Winkle said. “Hopefully I can share that with the people coming in. … I’m definitely going to have to step it up and be a leader (next year).”

UCLA will have just three seniors next year, but will return seven players who experienced two NCAA championship wins. Metzger said a young team can be beneficial.

“We’ll be a lot younger, but there’s an excitement to that as well,” Metzger said. “We’ll get back to a training style that’s less reliant on live play and learning from the seniors, and more reliant upon skill development and training the new players that are coming in.”

Three incoming freshmen will join the Bruins next season to defend back-to-back NCAA championships, filling the shoes of the five graduating seniors.

“I think (the McNamaras and Carey), who have been here on the beach all four years – have done an amazing job laying the foundation for everybody else,” Muno said. “This is going to be a powerhouse of beach volleyball for many years to come.”

 

Baseball set to face longtime rival Long Beach State in rematch midweek game

This post was updated May 7 at 10:35 a.m.

The Bruins have one more home midweek game left on the slate this season.

No. 1 UCLA baseball (37-8, 16-5 Pac-12) will host Long Beach State (11-34, 5-10 Big West) on Tuesday in its second to last midweek and final one at home. The Bruins are 9-0 in midweeks and have won by an average of 4.1 runs in those games.

The two programs have met once already this season, with the Bruins scraping out a 2-0 road victory March 12. UCLA could only manufacture four hits during the contest – its lowest total of the year prior to three hits against California on April 19.

Freshman catcher Noah Cardenas said the Dirtbags have been a skilled team throughout the year, despite their losing record and last place standing in the Big West.

“They’re a really competitive team,” Cardenas said. “I know earlier in the season when we played them, their record didn’t show that.”

Long Beach State is two years removed from nearly reaching the College World Series, but is on pace to have one of its worst seasons in decades. The program fired nine-year coach Troy Buckley on April 11 after a reported incident of workplace violence.

Long Beach State is coming off a sweep of UC Riverside, marking its longest winning streak of the year.

UCLA and Long Beach State have split their last 12 matchups over the past five years.

The Bruins have the chance to get back in the win column after blowing a late lead and losing 8-7 at then-No. 22 Arizona State on Sunday. UCLA took the first two games of the weekend by scores of 3-2 and 18-3 to secures wins in all 11 of its series so far this season.

“It’s good for us, we can learn from this,” said coach John Savage. “We won the series, that is the telling end-of-the-weekend storyline. But at the same time, this is a tough loss when you have an opportunity to win three here.”

Injuries have plagued UCLA’s starters this season, with sophomore right-hander Zach Pettway the most recent Bruin to be sidelined with a forearm strain two weeks ago.

Savage chose an all-hands-on-deck approach on the mound against Pepperdine on April 30. Freshman right-hander Sean Mullen made his first collegiate start and was the first of seven Bruins to take the mound April 30.

On Monday night, Savage announced junior transfer Felix Rubi as his starter. Rubi has allowed one earned run and three hits in 5 1/3 innings across six appearances this season.

First pitch will be at 6 p.m. at Jackie Robinson Stadium.