UCLA in the News lists selected mentions of UCLA in the world’s news media. Some articles may require registration or a subscription. See more UCLA in the News.
Religious leaders help workers avoid vaccine mandates | Los Angeles Times
There’s nothing “inherently wrong or dishonest” about people turning to spiritual leaders and lawyers to help explain their religious beliefs and how they play into their vaccination decisions, said Eugene Volokh, a 1st Amendment law professor at UCLA School of Law. “It makes sense that somebody would want to have something in writing,” he said. “The employer might say, ‘I don’t believe this, it’s all nonsense to me, but I believe the employee probably believes it, and if we went to court, the jury would probably think that the employee believes it.’”
Heartbreak: How our cells ‘listen for loneliness’ | Los Angeles Times
To find out how that was playing out for me, over two years I deposited vials of blood in the lab of Steven Cole, a neurogenomics expert at the UCLA School of Medicine. Did my immune cells, in fact, look like those of a lonely person, and if so, was anything I was trying to do to feel better working? (Cole is quoted.)
Cherokee Nation offers rebates to film in Oklahoma | Los Angeles Times
The Cherokee Nation film incentive push began in 2019, when the tribe formed the Cherokee Nation Film Office, with a mission to help filmmakers shoot on its lands and improve representation in front of and behind the camera. In 2021, UCLA produced a Hollywood Diversity Report that found that in the 2019–20 season, not one broadcast, cable or digital scripted show had cast a Native person in a lead role.
States can reform policing accountability on their own | USA Today
(Commentary co-written by UCLA’s Joanna Schwartz) Constitutional rights exist on paper, but it has become increasingly challenging to enforce them … State lawmakers, however, can enact state statutes that allow civil rights litigants to enforce constitutional rights without the baggage that the Supreme Court has tied to Section 1983.
Safety vs. speed in bobsled, luge competition | New York Times
“That’s a fundamental conflict in the sport,” said Aliyah Snyder, a neuropsychologist at U.C.L.A. who is working to develop safety protocols in sliding sports. She added: “The emphasis has always been on going faster. But the fallout of that is there are limits.”
Todd Gitlin, voice and critic of New Left, dies | New York Times
“Gitlin sees himself as an independent thinker and heretic who dares to dissent from common left wisdom,” Douglas Kellner, who specializes in media literacy at the University of California, Los Angeles, wrote in 2006. But, he said, “the positions Gitlin himself ends up affirming are ever more frequently simply those of conservatives, such as his trashing of theory, cultural studies, postmodernism, the ‘academic left’ and university-based activism.”
Critical race theory thrust into spotlight by misinformation | ABC News
From September 2020 onward, the vast majority of national news stories about critical race theory came from conservative news sources, with mainstream news sources and liberal news sources falling behind, according to recent research from UCLA and UC San Diego. The research found there were more than seven stories from national conservative news sources about critical race theory for every one story from a national liberal media source.
Tuition, fees rise as inflation hits colleges | Hechinger Report
In an annual national survey of first-year students conducted by an institute at UCLA, more than half said the cost was a very important reason they picked the college they’re attending; only a school’s academic reputation and job-placement record mattered more.
Can LSD boost mental health? | National Geographic
Even if microdosing proves to be safe and effective, some experts fear widespread recreational use could render it useless later in life if it turns out to be valuable for important mental-health purposes but people are tolerant to it after frequent use. “If we introduce more of these types of substances, that might undercut their therapeutic efficacy when we really need them for medicine, such as for end-of-life distress,” says Conor Murray, a neuroscientist at UCLA who conducted the EEG research.
What to know about ethnic studies degrees | U.S. News & World Report
Students interested in investigating the causes behind major, longstanding problems in the U.S. might want to consider pursuing an ethnic studies degree, says David K. Yoo, a professor of Asian American studies and history at the University of California–Los Angeles and an editor of the anthology “Knowledge for Justice: An Ethnic Studies Reader.”
Leaky roof caused shutdowns at Chevron refinery | KQED-FM
Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA, said the roof failure is worrisome given the future potential for stronger storms. “It is somewhat alarming that basic infrastructural components of a facility like this are not designed to handle heavy precipitation just slightly beyond historical bounds, especially since we’re going to see events like this, and larger, in the coming years,” Swain said in an email.
HPV vaccine can significantly cut cancer risk | The Healthy
Some people absolutely can derive protection from the shot later in life, experts say. “It is an extremely safe vaccine and worth getting, even if the benefit isn’t as strong as it was when you were younger,” states Otto Yang, MD, an infectious disease expert at UCLA Health in Los Angeles.
UCLA holds Black History Month blood drive | KCAL-TV
African Americans make up only 5% of all blood donors, so the UCLA Blood and Platelet Center wants to encourage more donations … “We can save so many patients just by coming to donate. It’s an easy process. It’s a seamless process. And we really want to encourage people to come out, take a look and hopefully they’ll become lifelong donors,” said UCLA’s Dawn Ward.
Latinas top list of those leaving workforce | KCAL-TV
Job losses have hit women hard during the pandemic. But a recent [UCLA] report finds Latinas are leaving their jobs at higher rates than any other demographic. “Some of our most insightful and critical workers are going to be left out of the labor force. And it’s going to be detrimental to all Americans,” said UCLA’s Sonja Diaz.
