120,000 incarcerees. 10 camps. Three generations. Countless untold stories of Japanese Americans whose families – and education – were profoundly shaped by Executive Order 9066 at UCLA and beyond.

Amy Akiba felt stuck. 
Now an alumnus, Akiba entered UCLA in 2020 with a declared major in linguistics and psychology. However, she struggled in her classes and immediately knew it wasn’t the right major for her.

Monji Batmunkh dripped with sweat as he walked around UCLA’s campus – but he wasn’t just another student frantically sprinting to class. Batmunkh was cloaked in a hooded black trench coat and wearing a full face mask.

“Normal people probably think these are torture positions,” said Elsa Dubil, hanging upside down with her feet knotted in lavender aerial silks.
Indeed, the fourth-year bioengineering student’s posture looked extreme – her head a couple of inches from the ground – but I was impressed with how simple she made the technique seem to her students.

“Do you ever hide your Russian heritage?” 
We were driving along the Pacific Coast Highway on the way to Santa Cruz when my mother posed the question to me.

In its winter issue, PRIME dives into stories for which time is of the essence. From recent movements to rename buildings honoring controversial figures to the long hours student commuters spend on the road, uncover some of UCLA’s untold narratives in PRIME: “Matter of time.” Click here to read more.

I spent my college search digging through schools’ dirty laundry. Not all of it, or even most of it. Just whatever had dropped into the transphobia hamper.