This Week in the News serves as The Quad’s space for reflection on current events at and around UCLA. Every week, Daily Bruin staffers will analyze some of the most significant stories to keep readers up to speed.

Campaigns in USAC and the USA, bonfires abandoned and wildfires on the way. The week preceding Thanksgiving has left Bruins with much to discuss over sweet potato casserole this coming weekend.

Bernie Sanders presents progressive platform to 5,200 supporters at East LA rally

Bernie Sanders held a rally at Woodrow Wilson High School in East Los Angeles on Saturday where he expressed his views and proposals on subjects like income inequality, health care, the environment and education – as well as his disapproval of the Trump administration.

In order to combat income inequality, Sanders wants to increase the minimum wage, close the gender wage gap, double the amount of union workers, rebuild infrastructure and make affordable housing available.

Sanders also championed his Medicare for All plan, which aims to challenge the power of big insurance companies and prevent Americans from lacking adequate insurance.

Additionally, Sanders expressed his support for the Green New Deal and vowed to invest in renewable energy sources rather than fossil fuels.

In terms of education, one of Sanders’ most notable campaign proposals involves the implementation of tuition-free public colleges and universities and the cancellation of student debt. Alongside this change, Sanders promises to reform education, raise teacher wages and increase the Pell Grant.

Finally, together with with criticisms of Trump’s character, Sanders expressed his disapproval of the handling of immigrant children and parents at the border, the lowered corporate taxes and loosening of climate regulations that have occurred during the Trump administration.

Beat ’SC bonfire called off for 2nd straight year in response to state wildfires

In light of the recent devastating Getty fire, UCLA decided to cancel the traditional bonfire at the Beat ‘SC rally Thursday for the second year in a row.

The rally itself still occurred in full swing, however – featuring carnival games, food trucks, a ferris wheel and a station to write notes of gratitude to firefighters.

According to the Daily Trojan, USC also cancelled their bonfire.

Remaining 2 USAC representatives sworn in following campaign violation investigation

Despite his being accused of violating campaign rules, General Representative 2 Orion Smedley was sworn in Tuesday alongside General Representative 3 Brandon Broukhim.

Smedley was accused of violating campaign rules by posting campaign materials in a residential hall and giving out campaign material near De Neve Plaza. Though the second claim was falsified, Smedley was found to have posted in a residential hall.

Nonetheless, the judicial board decided that Smedley will not be punished for this action because not only did he receive false information from a Residential Life staff member and the former USAC election board chair, but also, the USAC board election website contained outdated information that said this action wss allowed.

Judicial Board Chief Justice Jamail Gibbs presented the judicial board’s findings, and stated that it is likely that Smedley, a USAC newcomer, was unaware of the campaign restrictions that older USAC members have adopted as the accepted practice.

Report shows UCLA as one of leading sources in climate science research

Eighty public universities from all 50 states compiled research on the effects of climate change in their local regions. Participating universities had to be the largest land-grant university of their state, the university with the most enrollment, or be otherwise affiliated with the state’s climatology office.

The National Council for Science and the Environment orchestrated this study in order to help facilitate environmental policymaking tailored to each region’s specific needs.

UCLA participated in this program and wrote 247 papers between 2014 and 2018 about the impacts of climate change. Research from UCLA and UC Berkeley highlighted California’s regional challenges with wildfires, droughts and rising temperatures.