Zoey Freedman: Proposed soda tax an ineffective solution

If Proposition E and Measure D – which would add a tax to sweetened beverages – pass, living in some parts of California will not be as sweet. Both San Francisco and Berkeley will have measures on their ballots this fall proposing to add a tax of 2 cents and 1 cent per ounce, respectively, […]

Samah Pirzada: Success of plastic bag ban dependent on student commitment

The California ban on single-use plastic bags is a huge step toward reducing litter, but it might not be as effective a change as its advocates assume. On Sept. 30, Gov. Jerry Brown became the first governor to sign a statewide ban on plastic bags in grocery and convenience stores. Many California cities already instituted […]

Aram Ghoogasian: More specific guidelines for general representative position necessary

  Trying to do too much and not trying hard enough can be equally dangerous when you’re an elected official, especially when your term is only a year long. Political platforms need to be ambitious enough to yield tangible results or be left at the door. This is a problem that has plagued many Undergraduate […]

Chloe Lew: ‘Great Streets’ initiative may make Westwood home

As every Westwood resident knows, walking in the Village is no walk in the park. Nor is driving in the Village, or biking in the village or really doing any sort of moving in the village. The congested and chaotic state of our streets is no groundbreaking revelation. It’s a maddening sacrifice every L.A. commuter […]

Natalie Delgadillo: Involuntary withdrawal policies must be accessible to students

For the past four days, I have been scouring the Internet and calling several people in UCLA administration and Media Relations, asking a simple policy question: Are students ever forcibly withdrawn from school here because of mental health issues? In February, Newsweek magazine published a widely read and discussed story on the way colleges deal […]

Submission: UCLA center violating law with anti-Israel bias

The Middle East is crucial to our national security interests, but it is imploding in internal turmoil and murderous inter-ethnic and inter-religious warfare. It is replete with failed states and barbarism. There are millions of displaced persons and hundreds of thousands of deaths. The United States’ efforts, the expenditure of our resources and the lives […]

Aram Ghoogasian: Organizations should address root problems of homelessness

Many homeless people have problems that can’t be solved with a new home; it’s just more complicated than that. And oftentimes, these complexities don’t get the attention they deserve. Over the next 15 years, Los Angeles homeless organizations will receive $214 million in funding from public and private backers, much of which will be used […]