Host Jackson Wooton and editors discuss recent campus events, including vigils and protests, UCLA’s football performance, upcoming cultural celebrations and news stories from around the country and the globe.

Jackson Wooton: It is Thursday, October 10, and you’re listening to This Week by Daily Bruin podcast.

JW: This is the Daily Bruin’s weekly news podcast. Thank you for joining us on another episode. My name is Jackson, and I’m a Daily Bruin podcast contributor and the host for today. Why don’t we all introduce ourselves and say what you’re going to be for Halloween?

Sam Mulick: Hi. I’m Sam Mulick. I am the Futures and Student Life editor at The Daily Bruin and my Halloween costume has not been decided yet, but it will be decided by the Art Section, specifically Arts Top Editor, Victoria Munck, so it’ll happen soon.

Ira Gorawara: I’m Ira. I’m the Sports editor, and for Halloween last year, we did a Greek goddess thing. So maybe we’re gonna do like Pharaohs this year, although that’s very uncertain.

Reid Sperisen: Hi, I’m Reid Sperisen, and I’m the Music Fine Arts editor. I think I’m going to be Joker for Halloween, even though I haven’t seen the sequel yet.

Olivia Miller: My name is Olivia Miller. I’m the Podcast editor, and for Halloween I’m going to be a flight attendant.

JW: All right, and I think for Halloween I am going to be Jacob Elordi from Saltburn. Now let’s get into the top stories for the week. Sam, what is the top story for news?

SM: So at UCLA on Monday, we saw both a vigil and we also saw a protest. So, we saw a vigil held in Bruin Plaza to commemorate the Jewish lives that were lost on that day, specifically organized by Hillel at UCLA, along with Bruins for Israel, and we saw them march to Bruin Plaza in silence to commemorate the lives that were lost. And, it was just a communal gathering. At that gathering, we saw sign flyers be handed out commemorating the people who were lost, just a communal gathering. And that was also reported on by our Metro editor Gabrielle Gillette and the Podcast editor Olivia Miller. CQ: https://dailybruin.com/2024/10/09/jewish-organizations-host-vigil-on-1-year-anniversary-of-oct-7-hamas-attack

And then on the other side, we saw our National News and Higher Ed editor Alexandra Crosnoe, along with our Campus Politics editor Shiv Patel, they reported on the march that was held by Students for Justice in Palestine, and they marched throughout campus that day. About 200 people marched, chanting, “Free, free Palestine,” and calling on the UC to divest from companies associated with the Israeli military. And this is notable, obviously, because of the encampment and because of the protests we saw during last spring, and just a continuation of that protest activity into this school year. CQ: https://dailybruin.com/2024/10/09/pro-palestine-demonstrators-march-in-protest-of-1-year-of-israeli-attacks-in-gaza

JW: Yeah, thank you for that, Sam. Based on these protests, especially in comparison with last year’s encampment, do they seem to follow with the university’s new guidelines?

SM: Yeah. So over the summer, we saw the UC and UCLA specifically institute new time, place, manner regulations, basically outlining where on campus protests—which they’re referring to as public expression activities—where those protests are allowed to be held. The notable thing is that where all of the encampments last year were held, none of those places are allowed for protest activity to happen. So this event on Monday, led by Students for Justice in Palestine, along with some other organizations, did not follow those guidelines, but we did not see any police response or any security response. We did not see any arrests on campus, and I think after about two hours, the protesters did not continue and did leave the area.

JW: All right. Thank you, Sam, for that update on the news for UCLA. On a little bit of a different note. Ira, would you like to introduce us on the sports news for today?

IG: So the biggest story in sports this week so far has been a football notebook we did after our sports reporter, Noah Massey, went to a couple practices this week for UCLA football that was open to the media. Basically, Coach Deshaun Foster and some of the players were discussing that, although they did lose 27-11 to Penn State this past weekend at Beaver Stadium in Pennsylvania CQ1 —which is a game that I was there for live—even though they lost by 16 points, there was a lot of upside from the game and a lot of improvements the team saw on both ends of the field.

Most notably, they had a change in their quarterback. So their first-string quarterback and a veteran player on the team, Ethan Garbers, CQ2 was out with an injury. He got injured, he was seen limping off the field with a taped right ankle two weeks ago against Oregon at the Rose Bowl. CQ3 It’s not confirmed what exactly his injury is, but he was unable to play against Penn State. So in his place, this redshirt sophomore quarterback Justyn Martin CQ4 made his first collegiate start in front of 110,047 fans, which is the 10th highest figure in Penn State football history. CQ5 search 110,047 Pretty large, pretty impressive number. He did play really well. He tossed 467 passing yards and launched a touchdown but also maintained a 73% completion percentage and committed zero turnovers, which is particularly notable because Penn State’s defense is ranked amongst the top five in the entire country. CQ6 search 167 to see all of these stats

Beyond the quarterback change, UCLA’s offensive line looked a lot stronger than it has been this past season. They had some changes, with Nikki Prongos moving to left tackle, Josh Carlin moving out to right guard, and Sam Yoon making his first collegiate start at center. CQ7 for all of them With these changes to the offensive line, Justyn Martin was sacked just twice in the game, whereas Ethan Garbers has been sacked nine times. CQ6 search sacks UCLA’s rushing offense did perform a lot better, amassing 93 yards against the Penn State defense that has typically allowed 76 rushing yards per game against their other opponents this season. CQ6 search 93

UCLA is going to play Minnesota this Saturday at the Rose Bowl. CQ8 schedule They’re back at the Rose Bowl after last weekend. This is their fourth conference game of the season, so it’s their first chance to get a conference win, and they kick off at 6pm at the Rose Bowl this Saturday. CQ8

JW: This is a big year for UCLA, being in the Big 10. What do you think that this means for UCLA’s trajectory in the conference?

IG: So the move to the Big 10 does spell a lot of changes to UCLA, logistically and football-wise. Obviously there’s a lot more travel with most schools in the Midwest, rather than close by on the West Coast. It is a higher level competition. It is more rowdy crowds, considering the nature of the Big 10—the Big 10 fans are just known to be a little more rowdy and rabid, I would say. And then, of course, it’s also the national visibility that UCLA is going to get from being a member of the Big 10, and through that, better recruiting and better ability to make use of the transfer portal.

But in terms of travel, although UCLA is traveling the second most miles in the entire Big 10, CQ9 and although that is going to be logistically a change, and the time zone changes can be hard to adjust to, it is kind of giving a taste of what professional football looks like. In professional sports leagues, there’s a lot more travel, so it is going to be a big change, but I think it’s something in the long term, that’s going to be only beneficial in terms of better competition and a better taste for what professional football is going to look like.

JW: Yeah, thank you, Ira for that update on sports news. Can we see what’s going on in the Arts Entertainment corner at UCLA?

RS: Absolutely. This upcoming weekend, on Saturday, October 12, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. will be the Celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day event at the Getty Center.[CQ1 all from infobox] This is the third annual event,[CQ1 ctrl-f “third annual”] and although it is family-oriented,[CQ1 ctrl-f “families”] Getty Research Institute Public Program Specialist Chelsea Anderson[CQ1 ctrl-f “Chelsea Anderson”] said that the free[CQ3 ctrl-f “$0.00”] event is open to people of all ages. The event will feature several activities across multimedia to celebrate multiple perspectives of Native American and Indigenous peoples, including a tasting menu[CQ1 ctrl-f “tasting menu” inspired by the cookbook “Cooking the Native Way: Chia Cafe Collective” that will feature recipes with ingredients such as pine nuts, chia seeds and quinoa.[CQ1 ctrl-f “pine nuts”] There will also be arts and crafts stations for attendees and guests to make Tongva clapper sticks.[CQ1 ctrl-f “Tongva clapper”]

JW: All right, it’s great to hear about the increased representation for Indigenous culture and art around LA. What’s happening in UCLA specifically?

RS: There are new musical releases from UCLA students. Hasitha Guhan[CQ2] is a fourth-year music industry student from Ashburn, Virginia, and she released her first EP, a five-track project[CQ2 ctrl-f “five-track”] called “Hot Mess” on September 13.[CQ2 all taken from the first sentence of the second graf] Guhan’s sound typically incorporates influences such as Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga[CQ2 ctrl-f “Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga”] and Charli XCX,[CQ2 ctrl-f “Charli XCX”] but she said that she wants to make sure that she is known as a songwriter,[CQ2 ctrl-f “known as a songwriter”] even though her sound does not fall within the singer-songwriter genre like pop stars Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo.[CQ2 ctrl-f “Taylor Swift” and read quote chunk] The EP incorporates several themes, and Guhan said the title is supposed to represent both romance and lyrics pertaining to mental health.[CQ2 ctrl-f “encompass multiple themes” and read sentence] Guhan is a signed artist for the student-run record label on campus, Cherry Pop Records,[CQ2 ctrl-f “Cherry Pop Records”] and has performed at venues such as the Hotel Ziggy.[CQ2 ctrl-f “Hotel Ziggy”] One of the most important goals of her artistry, Guhan said, is to increase the representation of South Asian people in pop music.[CQ2 last two grafs] She said people often expect her to perform Indian music or fusion music,[CQ2 ctrl-f “you would be surprised” and read quote chunk] but she just wants to be known as an artist who is able to perform and release pop music that is honest and empowering.[CQ2 ctrl-f “confident and empowered”]

JW: Thank you Reid for that update about entertainment at UCLA. Lastly, we’re gonna have Olivia talk about the national and international news for the week.

OM: Thank you Jackson. So first regarding Hurricane Milton, dozens of LA firefighters have left for Florida to help with relief efforts, and Florida is going through one of the largest evacuation efforts. The hurricane reached 180 miles per hour and Category Five. This hurricane is record-breaking and is one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes.CQ2

JW: Wow. Thank you for that insight, Olivia. Also, can we get a little update on what’s going on internationally?

OM: Absolutely. So Israel is expanding ground offense in Lebanon against the organization Hezbollah. According to sources, this operation is intended to be limited and targeted. Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese people have fled to Syria, and Hezbollah has fired rockets into Haifa in Israel.CQ1

JW: Thank you for keeping us up to date on that Olivia and thank you to all of you for joining us today. Come back next Thursday for another episode of This Week.

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1. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/world/news/2024-10/israeal-lebanon-war-hamas-hezbollah-offensive.html

2. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/07/weather/hurricane-milton-forecast-path.html

Reid’s CQs

CQ1: https://dailybruin.com/2024/10/09/getty-center-hosts-celebrating-indigenous-peoples-day-celebrates-native-cultures

CQ2: https://dailybruin.com/2024/10/06/hasitha-guhan-combines-individuality-authenticity-in-newly-released-ep

CQ3: https://tickets.getty.edu/Online/seatSelect.asp?createBO::WSmap=1&BOparam::WSmap::loadBestAvailable::performance_ids=7BE0FF2B-0D1E-4DB0-A16A-6FC15382AE5F

Ira’s CQs

CQ1: https://www.espn.com/college-football/game/_/gameId/401628510/ucla-penn-state

CQ2: https://uclabruins.com/sports/football/roster/ethan-garbers/14355

CQ3: https://www.sportskeeda.com/college-football/news-ethan-garbers-injury-update-exploring-ucla-qb-s-availability-week-6-showdown-penn-state

CQ4: https://uclabruins.com/sports/football/roster/justyn-martin/14379

CQ5: https://dailybruin.com/2024/10/05/ucla-football-fails-to-earn-its-stripes-in-road-loss-to-penn-state

CQ6: https://dailybruin.com/2024/10/08/ucla-footballs-loss-to-penn-state-hints-at-greener-pastures-ahead/

CQ7: https://www.presstelegram.com/2024/10/08/ucla-football-sees-growth-along-the-offensive-line/

CQ8: https://uclabruins.com/sports/football/schedule/2024

CQ9: https://www.si.com/college/ucla/news/football-set-to-travel-most-miles-within-big-ten-this-season-eg2001#:~:text=UCLA%20is%20set%20to%20travel,travel%2017%2C522.32%20miles%20this%20season.