lIn this week’s episode of “This Week” by Daily Bruin Podcasts, our team covers the UC development proposing tuition hikes for out-of-state students, UCLA’s athletic achievements with both basketball teams being nationally raied, the Getty Center’s new Alps exhibition and significant music releases from major artists. On a larger scale, the episode covers political developments and EU environmental policy changes and provides updates on campus, local and global news, courtesy of our correspondents Izzy Greig, Sam Mulick, Connor Dullinger, Reid Sperisen and Sophia Alcomendas.

Izzy Greig: It is Friday, November 15, 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 Bruins podcast contributor and the host for today.

Sam Mulick: My name is Sam Mulick. I’m the Features and Student Life editor at the Daily Bruin and the news correspondent today.

Connor Dullinger: My name is Connor Dullinger. I’m an assistant sports editor and the sports correspondent today.

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

Sophia Alcomendas: My name is Sophia Alcomendas. I’m a podcast contributor and the national and international correspondent today.

IG: Thank you guys for coming today. And since we’re pretty much officially into fall now, I want to ask, what is everybody’s favorite fall drink? You know, it’s getting cold outside. What do you guys like to get?

RS: I’m gonna go with the pumpkin spice latte. It’s a classic.

IG: Classic.

RS: But it feels cozy.

IG: Okay.

SM: I think I’ll just have to go with classic hot chocolate, maybe some espresso in there as well.

CD: You know, I like the cozy vibe y’all are going for, but I think I’m gonna go for a little apple cider for myself.

SA: Okay, this is a little weird, but I love coffee with coconut in it, and that feels fall to me, even though coconut is kind of summer-y.

IG: Oh, it sounds good. Yeah, I’d say recently I’ve really liked a dirty chai latte. Classic, Chai, some espresso. Now let’s get into the top news stories of the week. Sam, what are you covering this week?

SM: Well, I actually just got back from the UC Board of Regents meeting in San Francisco, which they were holding this week, from Tuesday to Thursday at the University of California San Francisco. And the biggest story that came from that is that the committee at the regents recommended tuition hikes for out-of-state students. So starting in the 2025 to 2026 academic year, out-of-state students will pay a total of $37,602 for tuition yearly, which is an increase of $3,402. And it was interesting, at the meeting, some of the regents spoke that out-of-state students at the UC actually pay less than students in comparable public universities. The University of Michigan and University of Virginia have higher fees for out-of-state students.

IG: Got it. Thank you, Sam. And what was the response from some of the attendees at the meeting?

SM: Yeah. So a lot of people spoke up during public comment in opposition to this new policy. You know, it’s never going to be a popular one to raise tuition, but specifically Javier Nunez Verdugo, the external vice president at USAC at UCLA, said that the the tuition hike directly contrasts the university’s mission to increase diversity and increase accessibility to the UC, and a lot of people spoke about how the tuition hikes will make it even more difficult for non-traditional students, for international students, for anyone with financial disadvantages that this tuition hike is only going to be more difficult. Rather than increase accessibility and increase graduation rates and retention that the UC claims as part of its mission.

IG: Got it. Thank you, Sam. Now let’s turn to Connor for the UCLA sports updates. Connor, what’s been happening?

CD: Yeah, USC rivalry coming next week. I feel like it’s only right to talk about football. UCLA football will be playing Washington on Friday in Seattle. They’re coming off a three-game win streak with victories over Rutgers, Nebraska and Iowa. Obviously last weekend, first home victory of the season at the Rose Bowl during parents weekend. Super awesome. Garbers has had two of his best games of the season against Rutgers and Nebraska, struggled a little bit against Iowa with two turnovers in the red zone but still has definitely shown his best play right now. Also, their rush offense has been really bad throughout the year but has been especially good these last two games, particularly with junior running back T.J. Harden – had the second best game of his career against Iowa with over 125 yards, I think on 20 carries. UCLA needs to win two out of their last three contests to become bowl eligible and finish with a winning percentage of at least .500. Two of those three games are Washington and USC next week, both winnable games with definitely both very tightly matched. So definitely very excited to see how those two games go for the Bruins.

IG: Very exciting. I was there last year to see our victory, so I’m hoping for another one this year. And what’s been happening in some of the other sports.

CD: Yeah, I feel like we have to talk about our men’s and women’s basketball teams both are ranked in the country. UCLA women’s basketball is ranked number five currently. UCLA men’s basketball was ranked number 22 before their loss to New Mexico. Well, it was kind of an iffy loss to New Mexico – definitely didn’t look good on the record. Coach Cronin has said that it was really good for kind of a wake-up call for them. There are nine new faces on the team, and they’ve said over and over again that it’s going to take a while to see if this team can gel together and become the team they want to be. Regardless, I think both the men’s and women’s team have probably some of the deepest teams in the country. I fully expect the women’s team to go to at least the Elite Eight or Final Four, and I really can see the men’s team making a deep run as well. Specifically for the women, you know they have they both taught the top three recruits in the 2022 recruiting class, including Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice and Barker. And they also have three other people from that same recruiting class who are top 25 in Londyn Jones, Jacquez and Gardinar as well. And they also have a bunch of five star freshman recruits. The talent is there. It’s really going to all come down to what Coach Cori Close can do to really get the chemistry and unity on the court. You know, similarly with basketball, they’ve brought in a lot of really good players in the portal and through the freshman recruiting class. All these players can play both sides of the court. It was really nice to see William Kyle III really break out against Boston University, really displaying his athleticism, both defending the glass and also attacking the rim. He’s only played 30 minutes through three contests, so hasn’t played a lot. And then in terms of men’s and women’s soccer, women’s soccer just took home their first ever Big Ten championship with a 5-0 victory over Rutgers. They’ll be starting their NCAA Tournament soon, where they’ll play Cal Baptist in the first round. They have a two seed, which is super, super great, and they will play the winner of number seven Virginia Tech and Tennessee if they do end up beating Cal Baptist. Two years ago they came home with a championship, last year they fell as the one seat at home. So really hoping they can continue on the excellence they built just two years ago. For the men, they lost in penalty kicks in the semi-finals to number seven seed Michigan, obviously a devastating loss for them, but they will have to wait to the selection show on November 18 to see if they made it into the tournament, because they obviously didn’t get the automatic bid from winning the conference but also have had a rocky season, so there is really question marks on whether they will get the at large bid as well.

IG: Got it. Thank you, Connor, now we’ll turn to Reid for our arts updates. Reid, what’s been happening this week?

RS: Thanks Izzy. The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music will hold its Fall Saxophone Studio Recital at the Ostin Music Center this Sunday, November 17. Professor of saxophone, Jan Berry Baker said the event will include performances of 10 pieces by nine musicians. Instead of focusing on traditional pieces from composers such as Mozart and Beethoven, Baker said the recital will instead incorporate a blend of both classical compositions and contemporary sonic influences from genres such as pop and jazz. Baker said the nature of the concert is unconventional because the audience will have the opportunity to engage with the performers and hear them speak about their music. The event will take place Sunday at 11 a.m. and is free to the public.

IG: And what else has been happening around LA?

RS: The Getty Center opened a new exhibit on Tuesday called “Exploring the Alps.” The collection will be open to the public through April 27, 2025 and showcases 19th century depictions of the iconic mountain range through mediums ranging from photography to pastels to pens. My colleague, Barnett Salle-Widelock visited the museum on Tuesday and published an art exhibit review of the new gallery.

IG: Exciting, I love the Getty Center. And what’s been happening in the world of music?

RS: November 15 is a packed day for album releases across several genres. Pop artist Shawn Mendes will release his first album since 2020 with his new LP, “Shawn,” while R&B legend Mary J. Blige will follow her Grammy-nominated 2022 album, “Good Morning Gorgeous” with her latest project, “Gratitude.” Likewise, pop star Gwen Stefani will release her first album in seven years with “Bouquet.” And British girl group FLO is set to unleash their debut album “Access All Areas.” Elsewhere, Rauw Alejandro’s new album, “Cosa Nuestra” is set to bring fresh reggaeton music and Linkin Park will represent the rock sphere with their new project “From Zero.”

IG: Thank you Reid. Sounds very exciting. Now we turn to Sophia for the national international stories of the week. Sophia, what’s been happening nationally following the election last week?

SA: Yeah, so President Elect Donald Trump has started making his cabinet nominations. Notably, Matt Gaetz has resigned from the house after his nomination for attorney general. Since the announcement that Gaetz was the president elect’s choice for attorney general, Republicans in the Senate and House have had mixed reactions. Some are concerned with his lack of experience, and others are concerned about the possibility of failing a background check. The Florida Congressman started his political career in 2016 and has been undergoing an investigation launched by the Justice Department’s committee of ethics since 2021. The investigation was brought on due to sex trafficking allegations involving a 17 year old girl and illicit drug use. The House Ethics Committee was set to vote to release a critical report on its findings on Gaetz this Friday, but since he resigned from Congress following his nomination, the committee no longer has jurisdiction to investigate him. It is unclear if the committee will still release its findings.

IG: And what are some of the other Trump announced nominations?

SA: So Trump has also nominated other members to his cabinet, including Kristie Noem as Director of Homeland Security, Robert F. Kennedy as Secretary of Health and Human Services and Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy as head of a new government agency, the Department of Government Efficiency. All of these administration selections are still pending confirmation from the Senate.

IG: Thank you, Sophia. And what’s our international story of the week?

SA: So the European Parliament voted to delay a landmark deforestation regulation, the first of its kind. The law requires European Union importers to prove their supply chain products would not contribute to lodging anywhere in the world. Disregarding this policy would result in fines of up to 4% of their turnover. This would theoretically help alleviate forest degradation throughout the EU. The law was first introduced as part of the European Green Deal, with plans to begin implementation at the end of the year. The 12 month delay of this legislation allows many amendments to be added, which, in turn, could water down its effectiveness. While many countries voted in favor of this regulation, several agricultural ministries have called for postponement due to bureaucratic weaknesses. A main setback is that the European Commission was supposed to provide digital tools to ease the transition into regulation, but this technology won’t be available until December, though some members of parliament think the lack of technology is not enough to warrant a full delay.

IG: Got it. Thank you, Sophia, and thank you for joining us today. Come back next Friday for another episode of this week.