News

Are Native Languages Worth Saving? A Globetrotting Scholar Says Yes
Geography Professor and Pulitzer Prize winner Jared Diamond, the author of books on how societies succeed and fail, argues in a lecture that being bilingual or multilingual is good for cognitive skills, for memory in later years and probably for your country. The Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes was on hand for the discussion.

Columnist Gustavo Arellano of 'Ask a Mexican!' Fame to Keynote UCLA Commencement June 11
Arellano, who holds a UCLA master's degree in Latin American Studies, has won awards for his observations on Orange County in the syndicated column, a book and radio appearances.

'On a Roll' Despite Global Slump, Brazil Must Address Inequality
In an evening at Jan Popper Theater, Consul General Jose Alfredo Graca Lima says that Brazil is facing its biggest problem, one of the world's most unequal distributions of wealth; and a rising Brazilian star, Alexandre Dietrich, plays selections of the country's classical piano music.

Cuauhtemoc Cardenas Says Spirit of Mexican Revolution Still Alive 100 Years Later
The three-time Mexican presidential contender and key figure in the country's democratic transformation sought to apply revolutionary ideals of equality and shared progress to 21st-century issues such as domestic political participation and international trade.

IDS Students Keep Up Haiti Support
Nineteen students in an International Development Studies seminar enlisted UC faculty and staff for a forum and fundraiser on March 5.
March 5 Forum to Discuss Haiti's Most Vulnerable
UCLA faculty and other scholars will participate in a forum to discuss what can be done to ensure empowerment and security for Haiti's most vulnerable populations in the aftermath of that country's devastating earthquake. "Haiti Rising" will take place on Friday, March 5, 3-5 p.m. in the Broad Art Center courtyard in northeast campus. The event is open to the public and free of charge, but proceeds raised from food, refreshments, a slide show and an art auction will go to Haiti relief.
UC Study Abroad Students in Chile Confirmed Safe
Education Abroad Program participants used Facebook, Twitter and e-mail to contact friends and family, reports The Daily Bruin student newspaper.
Haiti Volunteers Face Unknown with Lots of Preparation
UCLA Health System partnered with the Navy to staff a military hospital ship, the USNS Comfort, which docked at Port-au-Prince. The UCLA Operation Haiti team is now nearing the end of their two-week deployment.

10 Questions for Lauren Robin Derby
Lauren Robin Derby became enchanted with the people, music and popular culture of the Dominican Republic and Haiti while on a research fellowship following her college graduation. This associate professor in history has since devoted her career to studying the history of both nations. Derby's recent book is based on her doctoral dissertation, which focused on the authoritarian regime of Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic from 1930 to 1961.
Haiti Relief Plans Move from Shore to Ship
A partnership with the U.S. Navy to send a dozen UCLA nurses and doctors to help in Haiti has transformed into plans to send rotating teams of eight UCLA medical staff, after the Navy revised its plans.

Watching TV: Students of Brazilian Cinema
As filmmaking in Brazil experienced a renewal beginning in the mid-1990s, it was also becoming entangled with the domestic television industry, with implications for art as well as business.
Feb. 4 Performance Art Benefit for Haiti
The evening will feature Haitian art, Brazilian Capoeira, African dances, spoken word poetry and hip hop guest artists.
UCLA Sends Surgical Team, Supplies to Haiti
A dozen UCLA trauma and emergency-room doctors, nurses and surgeons are scheduled to arrive in Haiti as early as next week for a two-week stay. They're the first in what could be a series of UCLA Health System teams rotating through a field hospital there.

UCLA Professor Records Quake Evacuees' Stories
Research becomes journalism about victims who were overlooked by mainstream media, reports The Daily Bruin student newspaper.

UCLA History Professor Witnesses Devastation, Says Rural Haiti in Peril
History professor Lauren Robin Derby has returned from the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where rural villages are feeling the trauma of the Jan. 12 earthquake. "None of the medical aid is getting to them," she says.