Every Day is Magic: Ada Limón
In her 2015 collection, Bright Dead Things, a National Book Award finalist for poetry, Ada Limón writes of moving to Kentucky: “Confession: I did not want to live here.” It’s perhaps not a surprising sentiment coming from a coastally oriented person who was raised in Northern California, attended college in Seattle, and then spent over a decade in New York City.
But Limón and her husband, Lucas, have been in Lexington for seven years now and the effects of settling into this place are noticeable in her new book, The Carrying (Milkweed, Aug.). It’s a phenomenally lively and attentive collection replete with the trappings of living a little closer to nature. While Bright Dead Things is marked by a preponderance of light, such as images of fireflies and neon signs, The Carrying features numerous appearances by various trees, birds, and beetles. Limón also demonstrates a greater willingness to be explicit in naming colors, particularly green. “It’s crazy green, the whole book,” she says. “Lexington is the greenest place I’ve ever lived.” Similarly, where in Bright Dead Things, Limón tells a lot of stories and anecdotes, in The Carrying she is very present in her thoughts and experiences.
As it turns out, these shifts in focus have another, altogether unexpected source. While putting Bright Dead Things together, Limón was diagnosed with chronic vestibular neuronitis, which can cause bouts of vertigo. “If I’m really having vertigo, it’s pretty intense and I really have to focus,”
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Other Voices, Other Worlds
“…Anthology of Latino speculative fiction co-edited by a UCSB scholar wins an American Book Award…”
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Media Life Magazine: How Hispanic culture is changing America
“…Last month, Univision Deportes Network beat every other cable sports network in primetime among the key demos of adults 18-49 and 18-34. It finished ahead of Fox Sports 1 and NBC Sports Network, which is an accomplishment of itself. But it also beat cable sports’ big dogs, ESPN and ESPN2.
UDN carried the Copa America Centenario in June, which explains the big ratings, while the other networks were in a rare summertime lull between major events like NASCAR and the Tour de France. But still, a Spanish-language network beating a bunch of English-language ones in the major sports demos?
A few years ago, that would have been unthinkable. In fact, five years ago, UDN didn’t even exist. The rapid rise of UDN, and the growing popularity of soccer in general, speaks to the continued mainstreaming of Hispanic culture…”
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A Journey of Service
“…Father Luis Olivares had it made. As treasurer of the Claretians, a congregation of Catholic missionaries, he was wined and dined by the titans of Wall Street. They flew him to New York first class, put him up in five-star hotels, took him to the best restaurants and treated him to Broadway shows.
“He even played up the part in the way that he dressed,” said Mario T. García, a UC Santa Barbara professor of Chicano and Chicana Studies. Velvet suits, French cuffs, Gucci shoes — Olivares cut a fine figure. “In fact, some people began to..”
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Online thrifted clothing platform offers affordability, convenience to students
“Myrka Vega thrifted for clothes out of necessity growing up.
Now, she thrifts out of enjoyment, sharing her hobby with the UCLA community through an online thrift store she founded with friends.
1997 Thrift launched Nov. 16, with UCLA students Myrka Vega, Maria Amaya Morfin and Terii Sanchez at the lead.
Morfin, a fourth-year international development studies student, said the concept of the store is simple: The group purchases clothing from various thrift stores in the area, currently offering one of each piece, with the goal of finding styles that cater to all UCLA students…”
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Editorial: Kevin De León for U.S. Senate
“…The confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The passage of a self-serving, $1.5 trillion tax cut for the well-off. Numerous attempts to politically ax a now-cornerstone of the American health care system.
Californians have a lot of reasons to look indignantly at the United States Senate. Compromise is a thing of the past, values continue to be undercut and representatives grow more disconnected from those they represent.
And yes, that includes Democrats. Key among them: incumbent senator Dianne Feinstein.
The fourth-term senator has held the senate seat longer than many UCLA undergraduates have been alive. In her 26-year tenure, she’s spearheaded notable legislation, including a 10-year assault weapons banned passed in 1994. She voted in support of gay marriage against the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and stands as the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee…”
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Mariachi de Uclatán performance to celebrate life and honor dead
“…The majority of UCLA is gearing up for the night of Oct. 31 with jack-o’-lanterns and cobwebs, but members of Mariachi de Uclatán will spend the evening making music and decorating altars with flowers and photographs.
For its upcoming Día de los Muertos performance Wednesday night, the student mariachi band ensemble will play a number of songs dedicated to remembering late musicians, as well as loved ones who have passed away. Its show at UCLA’s Fowler Museum, an installment of the Fowler Out Loud concert series, will feature musicians and dancers in traditional face paint resembling skeletons and altars that are constructed as a gateway to the afterlife. Even though students will pay homage to the dead, the spirit of the show is that of joyful remembrance rather than sorrowful mourning, said Elisa Quiñonez, a fourth-year history student and a co-musical director of Mariachi de Uclatán…”
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As Democrats Court Latinos, Indifference Is a Powerful Foe
“…By Jose A. Del Real and Jonathan Martin
Oct. 21, 2018
LAS VEGAS — Children ripped from their parents’ arms and held in sweltering tent cities. Immigration raids outside hospitals, schools and courthouses. An onslaught of ads and speeches delivering insults and racist remarks.
With the hard-fought midterm elections less than three weeks away, Democratic Party strategists hope Latino voters who are angered by the Trump administration’s policies and divisive language will help deliver resounding victories in many of the races that will decide political control in Washington. If ever there were a time to cast protest ballots, they reason, it would be with President Trump in the White House…”
Americans have mixed views of Mexico, ‘warmer’ feelings toward Canada
“…Views of Mexico are mixed: While 39% say they feel “warmly” toward Mexico, 34% feel “coldly,” and 26% are neutral, according to a new Pew Research Center survey conducted July 30 to Aug. 12 among 4,581 adults.
The feelings are expressed on a 0-100 “feeling…”
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The American middle class is stable in size, but losing ground financially to upper-income families
“..Financially, middle-class households in the U.S. were better off in 2016 than in 2010. The median income of middle-class households increased from $74,015 in 2010 to $78,442 in 2016, by 6%. Upper-income households (where 19% of American adults live) fared better than the middle class, as their median income increased from $172,152 to $187,872, a gain of 9% over this period. Lower-income households (29% of …”
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Against Trump’s wishes, Mexican professionals keep visas in new trade deal
By Anita Kumar And Franco Ordoñez
August 28, 2018 04:35 PM
Updated August 28, 2018 11:12 PM
WASHINGTON
Tens of thousands of Mexican professionals who come to work in the United States will be able to keep their visas as part of the new U.S.-Mexico trade agreement, the Mexican government says, delivering a political loss to the Trump administration who sought to slash the number of visas as part of NAFTA re-negotiations.
The Mexican Economy Ministry told McClatchy that…”
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Dr. Ellen Ochoa, first Hispanic woman in space, to keynote 2018 SACNAS – The National Diversity in STEM Conference
“…Ellen Ochoa
SACNAS is excited to announce that trailblazer Dr. Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman ever to go to space will keynote 2018 SACNAS – The National Diversity in STEM Conference. Dr. Ochoa is also only the second female Director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center—where she led the human space flight enterprise for the nation from 2013 to 2018…”
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Trump Officials Reverse Obama’s Policy on Affirmative Action in Schools
“WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said Tuesday that it was abandoning Obama administration policies that called on universities to consider race as a factor in diversifying their campuses, signaling that the administration will champion race-blind admissions standards…”
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Mexico Presidential Election Results: Meet Anti-Trump Winner Andrés Manuel López Obrador
“Mexico has chosen left-leaning hopeful Andrés Manuel López Obrador to become its 58th president for the next six years, in what is considered the country’s largest election in history.
López Obrador of the Together We Will Make History coalition won the election with more than 40 percent of the votes, defeating Ricardo Anaya from centrist For Mexico to the Front coalition, who obtained 27.6 percent of the votes. José Antonio Meade of the Everyone for Mexico coalition only received 18.3 of the votes and Jaime Rodriguez Calderón “El Bronco,” who ran as an independent, acquired nearly 5.2 percent of the ballots. Mexico’s former first lady and independent candidate Margarita Zavala dropped out of the race last May because her campaign faced economic hardship and could not garner enough support of more than 10 percent of voters, according to some polls.
Eligible voters also cast their ballots for more than 3,000 posts at the state and federal level, which also include the election of eight governorships, 500 chamber of deputies and 128 Senate seats. López…”
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What you need to know about Mexico’s historic election
“Mexico holds an historic election on Sunday: its biggest to date in terms of the sheer number of races.
Eighty-eight million registered voters — many of whom are fed up with corruption and inefficiency under the administration of current president Enrique Peña Nieto — will get the chance to change the face of Mexico’s government, and affect the course of U.S. relations, with major border and trade issues at stake.
Beyond the presidential race, more than 1600 elected positions at the state and local level are up for a vote across 30 of Mexico’s 32 states — including Mexico City’s mayor — as well as its entire federal legislative body: 500 seats in the legislature, and 128 in its senate…”
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Don Quixote rides anew (on a bicycle!) in Cal Shakes world premiere
“…Brandishing a bedpan as a helmet and reclaimed auto parts as a coat of armor, a bedraggled “Quixote Nuevo” charges on stage at Cal Shakes atop a rickety bicycle instead of a steed.
Octavio Solis’ cheeky new re-imagining of Cervantes’ Don Quixote mythology, exuberantly directed by KJ Sanchez, throbs with wit and poignancy in its world premiere at California Shakespeare Theater in Orinda. Letting acclaimed playwright Solis (“El Paso Blue,” “Santos and Santos”) rub elbows with Shakespeare on the docket is part of Cal Shakes’ mission to redefine the classics in a more inclusive and relevant way that speaks to the soul and politics of life in America today…”
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2017’s Most & Least Educated Cities in America
“College opens many doors. Besides providing invaluable cultural experiences and the opportunity to build lifelong connections, a college education can lead to better job opportunities and increase future earning potential. And the more degree holders earn, the more tax dollars they contribute over time, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
One way to strengthen an economy, the EPI suggests, is to attract well-paying employers “by investing in education and increasing the number of well-educated workers.” In states where workers have the least schooling, for instance, the median wage is $15 an hour compared with $19 to $20 an hour in states where 40 percent or more of the working population hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. Local governments appear to be catching on and maximizing the appeal of their cities to college graduates…”
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Humanity’s Genes Reveal Its Tangled History
…”Reality, it turns out, is more complex and interesting than scientists ever imagined.
In the early 19th century, Jean-Fraconnçois Champollion used the Rosetta Stone to begin the process of deciphering the hieroglyphics of ancient Egypt. We already knew Egypt through the Bible and the histories of the Greeks, but even Herodotus wrote 2,000 years after the beginning of the Old Kingdom. With the translation of hieroglyphics, the legend of Egypt came to life. What had been cloudy became clear.
In Who We Are and How We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past, David Reich, a geneticist at Harvard’s Medical School and the Broad Institute, introduces us to the 21st-century Rosetta Stone: ancient DNA, which will do more for our understanding of prehistory than radiocarbon dating did. Where the latter allowed archaeologists to create a timeline based on the material objects they excavated, DNA sequencing allows scholars to explore the genetics of the people who created those material cultures. We may never see the face of Agamemnon, but we already have the DNA of the warlords of Mycenaean Greece, and in the future we could reconstruct their features from genes alone…”
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Stanford students in the military
“Until you have a certain level of security, you can’t do anything,” says Nicolas Lozano-Landinez, a junior at Stanford, and an ROTC cadet. Security is not a forefront concern for students at Stanford, but it is something Nicolas and Pablo think about daily. “A big part of what I’m fighting for is institutions like this one, where people can just longboard, ride bikes, and be carefree,” Pablo says…”
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Upwardly Mobile
The number of Mexican-born professionals living in the United States has more than doubled since 1995. They’re not the undocumented workers you see in evening-news mug shots or aerial photographs of a littered and barren desert. They’re college graduates — some with multiple degrees — who join their blue-collar counterparts in their journeys north…
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Diversity & Inclusive Teaching (Archived)
Both students and faculty at American colleges and universities are becoming increasingly varied in their backgrounds and experiences, reflecting the diversity witnessed in our broader society. The Center for Teaching is committed to supporting diversity at Vanderbilt, particularly as it intersects with the wide range of teaching and learning contexts that occur across the University…
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