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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“…However, my educational journey was far from over. As a husband and father, I knew my choice of higher education needed to be a local university so I wouldn’t be far from home. Cal Lutheran was my choice.
I clearly remember my first visit, and the respect I felt for the university when I walked on to campus and saw my name posted on a small sign, welcoming me. For someone who didn’t believe that higher education was in my future, this was of immense importance, and I will never forget the remainder of my time at Cal Lutheran. I went on to earn my BA, teaching credential, and master’s degree in counseling and guidance at Cal Lutheran…”
“…The authors analyzed the diversity of 21 public schools in eight states with affirmative action bans and compared them to 32 public universities in 24 states that have no bans, Ly said. UCLA, UC San Francisco and the University of Michigan were some of the institutions examined in the study, he added.
Although he had hypothesized that state bans would reduce the diversity of medical schools, Ly said he was surprised to find that enrollment of underrepresented students had decreased by more than one-third of its pre-ban amount within five years…”
“Biden promised an increase in the Pell Grant during his State of the Union address, and the budget proposes a $2,175 increase in the Pell Grant maximum for the 2023-2024 award year, which would bring the maximum to $8,670. The Biden administration also plans to double the size of the Pell Grant by 2029, according to the budget proposal.
Emily Penner, an assistant professor of education at UC Irvine, said many students in California and other states are currently working multiple jobs to afford an education while supporting family members at the same time. This places high expectations on students to manage the financial pressure and academic rigor of their education, she said….”
‘…The Daily Bruin Outreach section, established two years ago, has refreshed its efforts to recruit a more diverse group of students at UCLA, gather community input and understand accessibility needs internally. Over the past year, the office expanded on its operations to:
“…The program includes a presentation of awards and of State Proclamations from local Senate and Assembly members in recognition of students’ academic achievement, and student keynote speeches will be delivered in both English and Spanish. Attendees also will have the opportunity to meet UC Santa Barbara faculty and staff members, administrators, alumni and undergraduate students, as well as network with other students and families from their hometown who may be attending the same universities in the fall…”
“Through Instagram and Depop, the first-year architectural studies student sells assorted jewelry for her business, Jewels by Jocy. Having created her own jewelry for two years and drawing inspiration from beading materials such as pearls, Gonzalez said social media provided her with a community and platform to showcase her products such as earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings. As a painter and sewer as well, she said she enjoys crafting her own accessories because the process blends the problem-solving skills of her major with creativity and self-expression…”
“The Bruins’ postseason leading scorer is coming back for some “unfinished business.”
UCLA men’s basketball junior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. is returning for his senior season with the program, he announced in a video posted to social media Monday afternoon. A projected 2022 NBA Draft selection entering the offseason, Jaquez will return to Westwood with two years of eligibility remaining…”
“As a first-generation Mexican American and first in my family to graduate college, I’m incredibly passionate about supporting these young people and creating awareness around the complex experiences of being a first-generation student,” said Irais Castro, PhD, a psychology postdoctoral resident at Kaiser Permanente Antioch…”
“UCLA professor emeritus and artist Judith Baca’s original mural was unveiled in Ackerman Union on Friday.
Located at the Wescom Student Terrace on level one of Ackerman Union, the mural is titled “La Memoria de la Tierra: UCLA” and consists of three 26-foot-long panels. The first panel depicts the original Los Angeles River and its original peoples, the second panel highlights influential members of the UCLA community, and the third panel displays a future in which the university recognizes and coexists peacefully with the Native land.
The UCLA Centennial Committee first commissioned the mural in 2019, and it was created in partnership with ASUCLA…”
“Latino and Black students in Los Angeles continue to face disparities in enrollment and resource allocation within institutions of higher education, according to a February report.
In the report, The Campaign for College Opportunity, a foundation that seeks to make college education accessible for all students, discussed the issues Latino and Black students face as they seek admission to institutions of higher education with an emphasis on the LA area. According to the report, the COVID-19 pandemic was a key factor in reducing Latino and Black enrollment in the LA Community College District, as these groups faced more difficulties with housing, health care and other resources because of the pandemic…”
“Aqux,” a group exhibition which opened Feb. 19 at The Mistake Room, features 23 Latinx artists and their interpretations of what home means to them. Through the featured works curated by TMR’s executive and artistic director and alumnus César García-Alvarez, the group exhibition explores the connection between the artists’ Latin American roots and the places they call home. Pronounced “aquí” like the Spanish word for “here,” “Aqux’s” spelling represents the debate surrounding the term Latinx, García-Alvarez said.
“Our identity is never static – it is always situational,” García-Alvarez said. “Thinking about home in that way became an interesting mechanism to organize the exhibition, and what you see in this show are various contradicting representations of home. You don’t get a full, solid, agreed-upon perspective on how home should be defined or experienced.”
“At UC Santa Barbara, as at many universities, the early 1970s are remembered as a period of conflict and strife. But something remarkable emerged from that tumultuous time: A new theater company created by Hispanic artists, for Hispanic audiences.
It was called El Teatro de la Esperanza — the Theater of Hope — and for more than a quarter-century, it promoted justice and inclusion through storytelling and music.,,”
“Latin American talent is becoming quite appealing. Increasingly more companies are looking to hire Argentinian, Colombian or Mexican professionals. This is partly because regional unicorns are in need of qualified talent, and partly because tech hubs like the U.S. are facing a talent shortage that LatAm workers are willing and able to fill…”
“Books in a classroom are often not enough as Latino community members have much to share with Spanish language students, said Carla Suhr, a Spanish linguistics professor and director of the Community Engagement Program. Spanish M165XP: “Taking It to Street: Spanish in Community” takes students out of the classroom, guiding them to apply language skills under real-life circumstances.
One of three classes focusing on the Latino community in the Spanish and Portuguese department’s Community Engagement Program, Spanish M165XP gives students the opportunity to apply cultural and linguistic knowledge from class to the real world by working with Los Angeles communities. The course encourages students to learn by using Spanish in a more realistic context, Suhr said…”
“Today, Latina women make up the fastest growing non-white group entering the teaching profession at a time when it is estimated that 20% of all students nationwide now identify as Latina/o and are more likely to attend majority-minority schools. Through ethnographic and participant observation in two underperforming majority-minority schools in Los Angeles, as well as interviews with teachers, parents and staff, Flores examines the complexities stemming from a growing workforce of Latina teachers who work in schools where the majority of parents and children are Latinx, Black and Asian…”
“…Austin (Travis County) — The Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC) recently held a meeting, in which they detailed the expansion that will nearly double the footprint for Phase II of the city’s Emma S. Barrientos-MACC improvement project…
…Juan Miro said that they envision extending the semicircular cultural center with more classrooms for children and adults, a new gallery and performance space, along with other improvements…”
“…Rivera-Salgado is currently helping to lead an initiative that forges a partnership between UCLA and three Mexican universities – the Autonomous University of Querétaro, the Metropolitan Autonomous University and the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
The initiative, which began in May 2021, works to ensure labor rights are observed in the wake of the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which strengthened protections for workers. Through support from this partnership, each Mexican university plans to develop centers dedicated to the study of labor rights, similar to UCLA’s own Labor Center…”
“I have known Rubén Martínez for many years, including when he was one of the co-hosts of ‘Life & Times’ that aired on KCET in Los Angeles in the early 1990s,” said Garcia, the organizer of the annual Leal Award. “I was always struck by how astute, articulate and charismatic Ruben was. He has always provided critical observations of U.S. society, culture and politics….”
“…Canales wasn’t the only underclassman who finished in the top 20, as freshman Zoe Antoinette Campos posted her second-best score of the season, finishing 2-over 146 and tying for 17th overall…”
