COVER STORY
The Promise of Cameroon
UCLA’s Congo Basin Institute is out to definitively map the African rainforests, a mission that could revolutionize climate science — and just maybe save the planet.
JOHN HARLOW | PHOTOGRAPHY BY CLAYTON BOYD
FEATURES
She’ll Give Your Regards to Broadway
About to celebrate a 50-year career on the Great White Way, Judy Kaye, the diva’s diva of New York theater, calls herself “the luckiest girl alive.”
LIZ WELCH | PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIN PATRICE O’BRIEN
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How Westwood Got Its Groove Back
“First Thursdays” — a UCLA event series that brings pedestrian-friendly Broxton Avenue alive — is rekindling the storied L.A. neighborhood’s old magic.
DELAN BRUCE
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Remembering Bill Walton
A touching tribute to the Bruin legend ’74, who died in May at the age of 71.
PAUL FEINBERG ’85 | PHOTOGRAPHY BY DOMINIC DiSAIA
DEPARTMENTS
FORWARD THINKER
A Perfect Union
Saba Waheed has dedicated her life to social justice. As the new director of the UCLA Labor Center, she’s now on the front lines in the fight for workers’ rights.
QUEEN MUSE | PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARTHA GALVAN
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CHANGE AGENT
The Suffragent
How Victor Shi ’24 took up the crusade to get Gen Z out of apathy and into the voting booth — and became a social media star in the process.
JOSEPH BIEN-KAHN | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JESSICA PONS
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MY VERY OWN UCLA
Fountains of Youth
When it comes to sunny, enthusiastic evangelists for the UCLA experience, you can’t touch the Bruin tour guides.
FIONA RUANE | PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRISTINA GANDOLFO
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HAIL TO THE HILLS
Freedom Writer
As founding editor of the first Latino student magazine at UCLA, Félix J. Gutiérrez lifted the voice of a community. Today, his community is paying it forward.
LUCY BERBEO ’06
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BIG PICTURE
Message Boards
You can tell a lot about a graduate by the display on their cap.
FIONA RUANE
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AT ISSUE
The Road Ahead
During difficult times, it’s important to take the larger view — including the many ways UCLA continues to thrive.
CHANCELLOR GENE BLOCK
QUICK TAKES
Filling a Need
For some students fleeing war and violence around the world, a safe harbor for their dreams has emerged in an unlikely place: the UCLA School of Dentistry.
MARY DAILY | ILLUSTRATION BY MICHELLE KONDRICH
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Gamers’ New Target: Breast Cancer
An updated video game offers a novel research tool in the fight against breast cancer.
JOHN HARLOW | ILLUSTRATION BY BEN KONKOL
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Name Dropper
David Placek ’75 might be the best product-branding guru on the planet. His secret? Sound symbolism.
BRIAN DAWSON
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It’s All Going Swimmingly
Tapping into her Hawaiian roots, Kalena McElroy ’14 took a deep dive into fashion — and reinvented the bathing suit.
APRIL WHITE