Updates on the undocumented student employment lawsuit and closure of Jackie Robinson Stadium. UCLA’s football performance and Oregon and upcoming game against Penn State. Release of “Joker: Folie à Deux” and Coldplay’s new album. Hurricane relief efforts, vice presidential debate and rocket attack on Israel.

Izzy Greig: It is Friday, Oct. 4, and you’re listening to This Week by Daily Bruin podcasts. This is the Daily Bruin’s weekly news podcast. Thank you for joining us for another episode. My name is Izzy Greig, and I’m a Daily Bruin podcast contributor and the host for today.

Sam Mulick: My name is Sam Mulick, and I’m the features and student life editor at The Daily Bruin, and I’m the News correspondent today.

Kai Dizon: I’m Kai Dizon, an assistant Sports editor, and today’s episode Sports correspondent.

Reid Sperisen: My name is Reid Sperisen. I’m the music and fine arts editor and the Arts correspondent today.

Olivia Miller: And my name is Olivia Miller. I’m the Podcast editor and the national and international correspondent for today.

IG: Olivia, how was your first week of class?

OM: My first week of class went very well. I’m glad to be back. It’s my first full week of senior year, and overall, I just enjoyed it. How about your first week?

IG: My first week was pretty good. Glad to be back in class and glad to be back in the studio.

OM: Wonderful.

IG: Now let’s get into the top UCLA news stories of the week. Sam, what happened this week?

SM: So our breaking news story by our National News and Higher Ed editor Alexandra Crosnoe. She wrote about how one UCLA alumnus and a lecturer filed a lawsuit in the California Court of Appeals in response to Governor Gavin Newsom vetoing the bill that would have allowed undocumented students to be hired at public universities. And so this also comes after in January, the UC Board of Regents also rejected a plan to allow undocumented students to hold jobs on campus. And I did want to read one of the quotes from the lawsuit by the UCLA alumni, Jeffry Umaña Muñoz, and in the lawsuit, he said, “As an undocumented undergraduate student of the University of California, I experienced firsthand the pain and difficulty of being denied the right to on-campus employment at my university.”

IG: Interesting, and what was the reason behind the UC Regents’ decision?

SM: So in a statement, the UC president Michael Drake cited concerns that violating the federal statute that prohibits undocumented students from being employed at public universities – he said that if they were to violate that statute, it could put undocumented students at risk of potentially deportation and civil penalties and also put the university’s grants and federal contracts at risk. And this comes as a whole blow to the Opportunity For All movement, which began at UCLA in October 2022 and just supports the legal theory that the federal law banning employers from hiring undocumented immigrants does not apply to state entities. That’s where the regents are coming from.

IG: Thanks, Sam. It’ll be interesting to see how that case turns out.

SM: Yeah.

IG: Was there any other top story from this week?

SM: Yes. So we also reported on Gabrielle Gillette, our metro editor, and Dylan Winward, our news editor. They reported on the Jackie Robinson baseball stadium being locked by a U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, who ruled that UCLA is prohibited from accessing the stadium, which sits on VA land. So they’re prohibited from using the stadium until they can provide a plan for the entire 10 acres to be used predominantly for the benefits of veterans. And so this decision came after another federal ruling earlier in September that deemed the stadium illegal for sitting on VA land and not serving veterans, basically.

IG: And what are the veterans asking the land be used for?

SM: So on the ground, Dylan was able to talk to some of the veteran activists who gathered outside of the stadium in response to the ruling, and many of them were making the argument that the stadium does not serve them. Having a college baseball team there does not benefit them when so many of the veterans are bringing up concerns about housing, concerns about homelessness, and they’re saying, why is the stadium here when there are still veterans who are sleeping on the streets? So a lot of them are advocating to turn the land that they have into veteran housing.

IG: Thank you, Sam.

SM: Of course, thank you.

IG: Now we turn to Kai for our sports coverage. Kai, what story will you be sharing today?

KD: I’ll be sharing “Five things: UCLA versus Oregon,” which is our weekly column of five takeaways from the most recent UCLA football game. Some of this week’s notes from Sports contributor Matthew Niiya, where UCLA defense scored more points than the offense thanks in large part to Brian Addison’s pick six. However, the Bruins pass rush has struggled, failing to record a sack in their last three games. UCLA third down defense is 130/3 in the FBS, allowing a 58.2% conversion percentage, and the debut of Big 10 after dark was not good from an attendance perspective, with the crowd around 4,000 less than average.

IG: Thanks, Kai. When is UCLA’s next game?

KD: UCLA heads to No. 7 Penn State tomorrow for our 9 a.m. Pacific Time kickoff at Beaver Stadium.

IG: Now let’s go to Reid for our art stories of the week.

RS: The new Todd Phillips movie, “Joker: Folie à Deux,” was released in theaters earlier today. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix as the titular character and Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn and follows the 2019 film “Joker,” which won two Academy Awards and grossed more than $1 billion at the global box office. The film received mixed reviews upon its premiere at the Venice International Film Festival last month.

IG: Sounds interesting. I’m excited to see it. Is there any news in the music world?

RS: Also, British rock band Coldplay released their 10th studio album, “Moon Music” today. The new album features 10 songs over a 44-minute run time, including collaborations with artists such as Little Simz, Burna Boy and Ayra Starr. The band has won seven Grammy awards and is touring in Australia later this month as part of their ongoing “Music of the Spheres World Tour,” which has grossed more than $1 billion since 2022.

IG: Thanks for that Reid. Now we’ll turn to Olivia for the top national and international stories of the week. Olivia, what’s happening nationally this week?

OM: In domestic affairs, Senator J.D. Vance and Governor Tim Walz engaged in a debate on Thursday, discussing national and international issues. Reports indicate that the debate was marked by mutual respect between the candidates, contrasting with the recent presidential debates. Also, hurricane relief efforts continue following the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene – the death toll has now surpassed 180. In response to the crisis, military personnel have been deployed to assist rescue and recovery operations. Turning to international news, Israel has been targeted by at least 180 rockets launched from Iran, signaling an escalation of the ongoing regional conflict. Israeli officials report that while the majority of the missiles were successfully intercepted by the defense systems, some did reach their targets impacting central and southern areas of the country.

IG: Thank you for joining us today. Come back next Thursday for another episode of This Week.