Daily Bruin Alumni News

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UCLA Led US in 2012 College Applications
US News & World Report, well, reports: Of the 10 schools that received the most applications for fall 2012, eight were in California, according to data submitted to U.S. News by 1,242 ranked institutions. University of California—Los Angeles leads the group, just as it did for fall 2011 admissions. It received 72,697 applications from prospective first-time, first-year degree-seeking students.

How's that for late news DB staffers? We'll look into the wonderful world of updates ASAP.
Hyderabad, not bad; 'Warning, warning!'
Campus Update: UCLA News from May 19 – 23 - Anderson to launch joint financial program in India UCLA Anderson School of Management and the Indian School of Business have partnered up to launch a financial engineering program, which will begin in July. The joint venture is a six-month program that will take place at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, India. The program will help professionals trying to meet the demand for financial engineering skills.

Campus testing new alert system
An outdoor warning system, consisting of several speaker units placed at Drake Stadium and the IM field, Rieber Terrace and the Humanities Building, was tested intermittently last Tuesday as part of the Emergency Management Office's effort to start the new BruinAlert system. This is the latest addition to available campus safety services. In the event of an emergency, the system will alert the UCLA campus to safety instructions and information.

Traveling in search of a miracle
Thabit Al-Alousi has searched his entire life in countries all over the world for treatment for an enlarged prostate, a spinal injury, and small lungs that have limited him to periods of immobility. Starting from the age of 6, he’s tried a healer in Baghdad, local hospitals, Iragi and Egyptian doctors, British and French physicians, and even Swedish and Italian ones. However, in 2005, doctors in London recommended the UCLA Medical Center, where Al-Alousi has found something he could not find anywhere else. He’s found a hospital that has performed six surgeries on him that allow him to breathe, walk, and urinate once more. At the age of 64, Al-Alousi believes that UCLA has provided him with another chance at life and is thankful to the fantastic doctors and fantastic care this institution has given to him.

Tennis claims first national title
Just a year ago, the UCLA women’s tennis team was devastated after a loss to Georgia Tech in the NCAA Championships. However, that all turned around on May 20 when they won their first NCAA title in team history in Tulsa, Okla. with a win against Cal. The final score read 4-0, giving UCLA their 102nd national championship.

Stephen Marley, Roots to hit JazzReggae
The 22nd Annual JazzReggae Festival was held Memorial Day weekend, on Sunday and Monday on the Intramural Field. Jam Day on Sunday featured The Roots, Immortal Technique, John Densmore’s Tribal Jazz, Goapele, Dr. Lonnie Smith and Amos Lee. Monday’s Reggae Day featured Stephen Marley as the headliner, Capleton, Mr. Vegas, Alaine, Selena Serrano and Pangea Collective.

UCLA brand name draws attention in Asian nations
Many students from across the globe, especially from Asia, are drawn to UCLA because of the educational prospects, top sports teams and the Southern California lifestyle. However, UCLA is actually a brand name for a clothing line in Asia. The acronym is so popular that it goes into all sorts of clothing, not just the usual sportswear sold in Ackerman Union.

Compiled by Megan Smith, Tiffany Hsia, Carolina Chau, and Aleen Bedrosian.
Daily Bruin receives $275,000 grant
As recently reported in the Daily Bruin, the paper received a $275,000 grant to create a new, innovative Web platform that will allow both students and journalists to interact more freely with content on the paper’s Web site. Read the entire story by Julia Erlandson at the following link.

DB Article

Campus Update: Anderson gets $10 million; new chancellor on the Block
Campus Update
UCLA News from May 12 – 16

Anderson endowed with $10 million
UCLA Anderson School of Management alumnus Lawrence Fink and his wife Lori made a donation of $10 million to the Anderson School on May 8. This contribution is the largest since John Anderson’s naming donation in 1987. The gift will fund the UCLA Center for Finance, which will be renamed the Laurence D. and Lori W. Fink Center for Finance and Investments. About $3 million of the sum will go toward a new endowed chair, while the remainder will be used to pay for speaker events, fund research, and supplement salaries, as well as for activities, conferences, scholarships, and for a quarterly bulletin.

Student parking poses problems
Nearby UCLA residential neighborhoods are noticing an increase in long-term student parking in their streets, leading to complaints from residents who claim the cars take up parking spaces for days or weeks. The Brentwood Glen Homeowners Association has begun to contact officials about ways to prevent students from parking in the neighborhoods long-term.

Ads give face to UCLA
Recent full-page advertisements printed in the Los Angeles and New York Times featured prominent UCLA alumni in an effort to garner attention and support for the university. The ads explain why alumni believe UCLA is a pre-eminent university. The campaign costs approximately $670,000 and took a year and a half to put together. The ads are meant to coincide with the time during which incoming freshmen are deciding which university to enroll in.

Chancellor Block officially inaugurated
Chancellor Gene Block was finally inaugurated after almost 10 months of taking over the position from Acting Chancellor Norman Abrams. He addressed the challenges that lay ahead for UCLA, such as continuous declining government funding, and keeping diversity consistent in the institution. Despite the challenges, Block says he is excited about the future of UCLA and its role in the community.

Making the city his campus
Newly inaugurated UCLA chancellor Gene Block hopes to broaden UCLA’s horizons by increasing its involvement in the greater Los Angeles community. One of Block’s new initiatives is to establish a new institute that will identify and offer solutions to social problems in L.A. The group would select an issue and faculty members from different areas would work together to find new approaches to dealing with the problem.

Enrollment slightly more diverse
Preliminary enrollment data shows the incoming freshman class will have the highest number of underrepresented minorities in recent years. Collectively, the number of Native Americans, blacks, and Chicanos and Latinos has risen 2.2 percent from last year. Also, one-fourth of incoming freshman come from low-income families, and one-third of them are the first in their families to go to college. However, UCLA continues to struggle with diversity, as the UCLA African American Student Enrollment Task Force was only able to produce an increase of 23 African Americans enrolled this year.

Influential tobacco researcher, 84, dies
Dr. Murray Jarvik, a pioneer in nicotine research, passed away May 8 at the age of 84 due to congestive heart failure. He had received his master’s degree at UCLA and then went on to become a professor here. Jarvik and his fellow researchers had discovered that nicotine was behind the addictiveness of cigarettes and created the nicotine patch, which helps many people quit smoking. His son Jerry Jarvik credits his father for having saved millions of lives because of his work with nicotine addictions and the nicotine patch.

LSU releases Morgan from commitment
Trent Johnson, Louisiana State men’s basketball coach, has confirmed that star recruit J’Mison Morgan will be released from his commitment to the school. This will allow for Morgan to attend UCLA and fill the void that big men Kevin Love and Lorenzo Mata-Real will leave. Though Morgan has not officially committed to play for UCLA, his brother and mother have told multiple media outlets that he will.

Fee hike leads to protests
On May 14, more than 100 students from UCLA and other UC campuses joined together to fight the recent 7.4 percent increase in student fees that UC Board of Regents recently passed to overcome the heavy state budget cuts. Students chained their arms together, chanting about how fees would hit minority and low-income families the hardest, and 16 students were arrested when they refused to leave peacefully from the demonstration.

Dentist resigns from post
Orthodontics resident Kent Ochiai wrote a resignation letter from the UCLA School of Dentistry after he revealed the scandal behind the admissions process in the dental school last year. Ochiai stated that the orthodontics chair took away his patients, limited his study materials, discredited him among colleagues, and greatly slowed down his progress in the three-year program. Ochiai resigned after he helped expose to the Daily Bruin last year that students who gave six-figure monetary gifts were automatically accepted over students with higher grades and test scores.
Read the original Daily Bruin story here: http://www.dailybruin.com/news/2007/nov/13/donations-influence-admissions/

A host of experiences with Jerry Springer
This past week, Jerry Springer came to UCLA to share his thoughts on politics, news, television, and pop culture in Ackerman Grand Ballroom. In a Daily Bruin interview, Springer cited his show as the “silliest on television” and found his greatest audience in college students who accept the outrageous far more than any other age group. He also believes it is “educational” to come to a college campus because it helps him escape the television world and connect to people on a different level

Compiled by Megan Smith, Tiffany Hsia, Carolina Chau, and Aleen Bedrosian.
Campus Update: Title for women's water polo; students held at gunpoint
UCLA NEWS FROM May 5 – May 9

UCLA Pow Wow offers glimpse of native culture
The American Indian Student Association held the 23rd Annual UCLA Pow Wow near the Intramural Field on Sat. May 3 and Sun. May 4. Students and members gathered together in the circular arena in celebration of their culture. With music, costumes, and dances, the event celebrated Native American culture; a tradition dating back to the 1970s, when the Pow Wow was first organized in response to a sense of cultural dilution among many Native Americans.

Birth control prices increase
A recent increase in the prices of birth control has made protection from unwanted pregnancies more expensive. The Deficit Reduction Act of 2000 was enacted to help low-income and college-age women afford birth control, but an unintentional glitch in the bill has resulted in college health centers not being able to purchase pharmaceuticals at the discounted price. The price of birth control has increased from between $5 and $10 per month to $40 or $50 per month on many campuses.

Undefeated Bruins take home No. 1 at tournament
The Bruin’s women’s water polo team captured the national title this weekend in Palo, their fourth straight NCAA championship title. They went 30-0 during the regular season as the top seed and defeated USC 6-3 in the deciding match.

Krav Maga teaches Panhellenic
The Panhellenic Council is sponsoring self-defense sessions for the Greek community for the first time in years. The event will help sorority women with attack-prevention skills and defense techniques throughout college and beyond. Trainers from the Krav Maga Association of America will be teaching three sessions at difference houses, restricted to sorority girls. Krav Maga is a group that promotes and teaches an Israeli self-defense system, which does not require years of training and is not based on strength, characteristics especially suitable for women.

Students held at gunpoint
Three students walking down Hilgard Avenue were robbed at gunpoint Tuesday morning at 12:55. The gun was pressed onto one of the victim’s torso and all three victims’ property was stolen. The suspect had a vehicle waiting and was able to leave once he retrieved the victims’ belongings. The suspect is described as a black male, approximately 25 years old, 5 feet, 11 inches, and around 175 pounds. The weapon he carried was a blue steel automatic handgun. The vehicle his accomplice drove had no license plates and was described as a newer-model, coupe Lexus or Infiniti.

Parking debt persists despite ticket revenues
Even though UCLA transportation grossed over $3 million from parking tickets, they are still $1 million in debt for the current year. The revenue they receive goes to debt repayment on the services of parking structures, alternative transportation, and staff payments. The deficit has many blaming inefficiency and inflexibility, especially since UCLA has more parking spaces than any other UC campus.

Bill would set legal age for salvia
A bill is currently pending in the California Senate that would punish any selling of the drug salvia divinorum to minors as a misdemeanor. The drug is becoming popular with high school and college students and is known for its hallucinogenic effects that can be dangerous in a concentrated form. The extent of salvia’s effects are still not very well understood, but doctors claim that these “out-of-body experiences” could actually lead to teens losing control of their own bodies and harming themselves or someone else.

Frats condemn crimes at SDSU
After numerous students at San Diego State University—including several members of the Greek system—were arrested for possession of cocaine, ecstasy, marijuana, and weapons, many Greek members at UCLA have been speaking out as advocates against drug abuse. The Greek system at UCLA doubts that the same extent of drug activity exists in Westwood and believes the reputation of fraternities will not be damaged from the crimes at SDSU.

Universities test coed housing as UCLA looks into options
Many universities currently allow students to choose to live with anyone, regardless of sex, when it comes to on-campus housing. The UCLA Office of Residential Life said it would strongly consider coed housing in on-campus rooms if demand or interest was high enough in the future. Those who already live with members of the opposite sex in apartment housing cite benefits and challenges such as an extended circle of friends or possible embarrassing moments.

Students First! Captures 7 Seats
Students First! won a majority of the council seats in the undergraduate student government elections for 2008, including the presidency. Currently occupying only one seat, Students First! looks forward to a revamped government, especially considering that the Bruins United slate has held majority rule for the past three years.

The Green Initiative Fund
The Green Initiative Fund won by a 3-1 majority in the student elections, which will raise student fees by $4 per quarter to create a fund for student-led projects that reduce UCLA’s negative impact on the environment. Future projects could include a community garden to feed the dorms, a student-run recycling program, or an off-campus wind farm to offset UCLA’s energy.

On an International Scale
The Spring Festival of World Music continued this weekend with the Music of the Balkans Ensemble and Music of Korea Ensemble, continuing a tradition that has been part of UCLA for the past 40 years. Established in the early 1960s along with the creation of the Ethnomusicology department by Mantle Hood, these performances have become "especially relevant, considering the cultural and ethnical diversity of Los Angeles." Also in conjunction with the festival, students will be putting on Worldstock, a free and completely student-run world music festival that features other groups outside of UCLA.

Compiled by Megan Smith, Tiffany Hsia, Carolina Chau, Jenna Kieselbach and Aleen Bedrosian.
Campus Update: Students protest fee rise
News from April 21 to 25

Students lobby against fee hikes
More than 30 undergraduate and graduate students lobbied state assembly members in favor of upholding the Higher Education Compact. This unofficial agreement, which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made in 2004, promises not to increase student fees by more than 7 to 10 percent until 2011.

Relief for relay for life walkers
Relay for Life, a 24-hour fundraiser during which students divided into teams and took turns walking around Drake Stadium, raised more than $120,000 for the American Cancer Society. Most of the funds were raised online during the months prior to the relay, but enterprising students raised additional money with kissing booths, cupcake sales, and stations for tie-dying t-shirts.

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Campus Update: Statistics Confirm Growing Diversity
UCLA news from April 14 to 18, 2008

UC Welcomes a diverse class
Last Monday the University of California released a compilation of statistics on its admissions for fall of 2008. The new statistics show an astoundingly high number of freshmen and transfer applicants as well as an increase in the number of students admitted from minority and underrepresented backgrounds at many campuses. The actual number of students admitted to the UC system increased by 2,690. The number and percentage of minority students admitted to UCLA increased from the past year. The UC system set a goal to increase the diversity of its student population, which is happening possibly due to the holistic admissions process, designed to help all disadvantaged students, regardless of their ethnic background.

Protestors: Free Tibet?
On Tuesday afternoon, Chinese and Tibetan supporters gathered on Bruin Walk for an unorganized protest. The Chinese supporters advocated support for the Olympics, while the Tibetan supporters spoke about the injustices of the Chinese government. Both sides made their arguments and tried gaining the support of the many Bruins that passed by while walking to or from class. Since many of the supporters from both sides are not affiliated with UCLA, they were eventually forced to leave campus.

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Campus Update: Patient Privacy Compromised at Med Center
April 7-11, 2008

61 Patients’ Privacy Violated at UCLA Medical Center
After the Los Angeles Times reported that 61 patients’ medical records at the UCLA medical center, including high profile celebrities such as Britney Spears, Farrah Fawcett, and California First Lady Maria Shriver, were accessed without permission, the medical center is now under close watch. The Times found the worker who accessed Fawcett’s electronic medical record also opened the records of 32 other patients. In the past month, 13 employees were fired and several others reprimanded for opening Spears’ medical records. The medical center conducted investigations and concluded a single worker was responsible for the latest breach in privacy. To prevent future breaches in privacy, the medical center will continue to improve their security systems and prevent unauthorized users from accessing information.

GSA holds election orientation
Tuesday night, the Graduate Students Association held a meeting for candidates who are running in the upcoming election for the 2008-2009 school year. During the meeting, rules and regulations of the election were discussed while many candidates were able to meet one another. Each candidate holds a different focus in their campaigns: some promise to knock down boundaries between traditional subjects, while others push for affordable education. Though the volumes of issues have not changed, the election code has. Candidates can now only receive unlimited unofficial endorsements as opposed to official endorsements.

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UCLA Media to Contribute Weekly Update
We're happy to report that the UCLA Media Department has begun providing a news feed to DB Alumni News. The goal is a weekly report. The originator is Sara Randazzo. Check out her three original posts beginning March 5.
Campus Update
Sara Randazzo reports... More than 55,000 applications flood UCLA admissions
UCLA has received a record number of 55,369 freshman applicants for Fall 2008, which shows a nine percent increase from Fall 2007. Because of this influx of applicants, the admission rate has decreased from a usual 25 percent to 22 percent. Even with a record-setting number of applicants, UCLA looks to expand their recruiting efforts to sustain a competitive applicant pool.

Professor was engaging, kind
Many may remember Denis Cosgrove as a passionate geography professor here at UCLA. Sadly he passed away on March 21 due to stomach cancer. Cosgrove had been teaching at UCLA since 1999. Born in Liverpool, England, Cosgrove attended Oxford University for his undergraduate degree and received his doctorate there as well. In 1994, Cosgrove became Professor in Human Geography at Royal Holloway at the University of London. Cosgrove always had a deep passion for geography since his youth and felt strongly about sharing it with his students. Many found him to be a very passionate lecturer, and his desire to share his knowledge was evident through his lectures. Students say he worked hard to ensure they learned and was very interactive during class.
Cosgrove not only taught, but also contributed to his field through writing and editing 11 books and writing more than 80 research articles. Additionally he amassed a large volume of commentaries, reviews, reports, and papers. His knowledge and intelligence was always available. According to one student, Cosgrove was more than happy to help students with their projects and provide full support. He will be remembered for not only his academic accomplishments but also for his kindness. Cosgrove leaves behind his wife and three children. The geography department will hold a memorial on campus May 23.

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Exciting New Logo
UCLA has announced the adoption of a new official logo, shown here. The link below describes this important change in detail. In economic terms, the purpose has been to improve brand name recognition. They hired a consultant, of course. The description omits the cost, which was presumably not reckoned in library books, dormitory beds or scholarship awards.

Of course, your correspondent is duly impressed and excited. The old logo, which was free, was merely the letters, UCLA. This is much better.

Read all about it...

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