A marriage made at UCLA

Tuesday, October 29, 1996

MARRIAGE:

A unique, romantic proposal left bride-to-be laughing with a
Daily Bruin in her handBy Tiffany Lauter

Daily Bruin Contributor

When Ilana Makovoz, a fifth-year political science student
picked up the Daily Bruin Oct. 10, she was shocked to see her photo
staring back at her.

This day marked the beginning of a new phase is Makovoz’s life.
She will be joining the small percentage of students who are
married. Although single students outnumber married students,
marriage can offer a refuge in the turmoil of college life.

Edward Olshansky, a fifth-year math/economics student and now
fiancé to Makovoz has realized the benefits of long-term
relationships. That morning of Oct. 10 he told Makovoz to pick up a
paper under the premise that there would be a story about him.

Olshansky used this as a ploy to get Ilana to turn to page 17
where he had placed an ad asking her to marry him.

"I saw myself, but I didn’t recognize it. I couldn’t understand
what this meant. I kept looking for the story on Edward until it
hit me, that’s me!" Makovoz said. "I was so surprised, I just
couldn’t believe he would make it so special and romantic."

Her first instinct was to laugh, but shortly after, she realized
she needed to make a reply. The first phone she ran to wouldn’t
work. When they finally got in touch, "all I could do was laugh,"
Makovoz said. "He kept asking me what my answer was. I finally said
‘YES!’"

For most students, the idea of getting married takes a back seat
to more pressing college issues such as midterms. But Susan
Croteau, a graduate student in American-Indian Studies has found
support in her two years of marriage.

"The marriage is easier when we are both in school because the
focus is the same," she said. Croteau explained further that if one
spouse has a job, their day ends at 5 p.m. just when the other’s
homework begins.

Now that Croteau and her spouse are both in school, they have a
better understanding of each other’s time constraints.

"Marriage is uniquely designed to enable support giving
functions to operate," said Dr. Thomas Bradbury, associate
professor of psychology.

Bradbury explained that it is important that each spouse acts as
a support-giver and receiver for emotional and practical
issues.

"Spouses are good at helping with stressors," he said.

Although not yet married, Makovoz and Olshansky feel like they
have reaped the benefits of what Bradbury says marriage provides.
Makovoz and Olshansky met in the fifth grade when they were in the
same homeroom together. Four years later they were dating.

Now fifth-year students in college, Olshansky decided to ask
Makovoz to marry him.

Even though he felt fairly confident of her answer, he quickly
reacted to his pager when it displayed the number with a 825 prefix
and ran to the nearest phone.

"I kinda knew it was in the bag," he said. "When she picked up
the phone, all I heard was laughing ­ she couldn’t stop
laughing. I kept asking her what her answer was. Finally, she said
‘Yes.’"

After their telephone conversation, the newly engaged couple
returned to class. School is their priority as they have set a
wedding date following their last final of Spring quarter.