Author Archives: Jonathan Van Dyke

Veteran Movie Night A Home Run At Jackie Robinson Stadium

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Veterans filled Jackie Robinson Stadium for a special movie night.

More than 200 veterans enjoyed ribs and good company during the inaugural Veteran Movie Night at Jackie Robinson Stadium on March 11, a new event series meant to further activate the hallowed baseball grounds as UCLA and the West Los Angeles VA continue to strengthen their partnership.

“UCLA has a longstanding relationship with the VA through various entities on campus including the medical side, athletics, recreation and others. We, at Athletics, have been trying a number of things to activate that space as part of that continued effort,” said Tracy Huth, UCLA Athletics special assistant to the athletic director.

 

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UCLA advocates make the case for increased funding to SoCal legislators

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UCLA advocates take to the hallways of the State Capitol on UC Day in Sacramento. (photos by Jonathan Van Dyke)

At any given moment on March 8, the hallways of the California State Capitol bustled with enthusiastic Bruins extolling the virtues of renewed and continued investment in the state’s public higher education system.

If you turned down one corridor, you found one group of campus representatives patiently going over their talking points among themselves before walking into the office of Assemblymember and 2004 UCLA alumnus Matt Dababneh to present their case.

 

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UCLA Officials Stump For Graduate Student Increase, Governor’s Budget

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UCLA Chancellor Gene Block talks with Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León during a recent advocacy trip to Sacramento.

With more than 750 additional California students having enrolled at UCLA this academic year, Chancellor Gene Block and Executive Vice Chancellor Scott Waugh each separately visited Sacramento to garner support for Governor Jerry Brown’s proposed state budget, while advocating for additional funding to support a critical boost in graduate student enrollment. Both requests will work to maintain UC quality while the system works to even better serve California and its residents.

The visits to the state capital are a prelude to several efforts by UCLA Advocacy, with group trips for UC Graduate Research Day and UC Day in Sacramento set for March.

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UCLA Advocate In Action: Assemblymember Tom Lackey Draws Inspiration From Thinking Outside of the Individual

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Assemblymember Tom Lackey took a moment to enjoy the Special Olympics during a campus visit in 2015.

“I’m probably the most plain guy you could ever imagine — coming from a small mining town of 3,000,” said 36th District Assemblymember Tom Lackey, reflecting on his own biography that has been anything but.

Growing up in Boron, CA, he was known around town as “Little Tommy Lackey”. His father was a dentist. It was a positive environment for a child, Lackey said, and he was the beneficiary of good influences, something he thinks might be missing in America these days.

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UCLA Advocate In Action: Senator Ben Allen Never Strays Far From Higher Education Values

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Senator Ben Allen shows off a piece of his UCLA memorabilia at his district office. (photo by Jonathan Van Dyke)

For having never actually attended UCLA, California District 26 Senator Ben Allen sure has a lot of deep ties to the institution — something that goes a long way to explaining his desire to be a champion of the campus and higher education as a whole.

“The reason I am a Californian is UCLA,” he said with a chuckle.

His father accepted a job at UCLA sight unseen. He had met Allen’s mother during graduate school at the University of Michigan. Neither had ever been west of the Mississippi River, and they decided it was time for an adventure. A couple years later, the two were married and settled down in Santa Monica. Allen’s birth followed shortly thereafter.

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Student Veterans Jumpstart West Los Angeles VA Gardens Restoration

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UCLA student veteran Arturo Flores works with fellow Student Veterans of America volunteers during their veterans garden cleanup effort. (photos by Jonathan Van Dyke)

A little bit of rain wasn’t going to wash away an important day of service for student veterans working to rehab the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs garden area.

A steady downpour was no match for more than 50 volunteers at the special volunteer event, which took place from 8 a.m. to noon on Thursday morning. And almost by coincidence, the weather began to clear up just as the area was being cleared itself of debris. Student Veterans of America (SVA), UCLA Recreation and the Home Depot Foundation partnered on the effort.

The gardens will be a significant piece of the new phase of partnership between UCLA and the West LA VA.

 

 

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