Opinion + Voices

Patricia Turner, professor of African-American Studies, urges the treasury department to select an image of Tubman that captures her formidable strength as an anti-slavery activist.

Law professor Noah Zatz argues that the sentencing concept of “working off debt” violates the 13th Amendment's prohibition against involuntary servitude and disproportionately punishes communities of color.

Jim Newton on how the well-intentioned California Environmental Quality Review Act can be misused, stifling economic development and, ironically enough, harming the environment.

Students are taught about extinction in classrooms, but it’s their direct experience with nature that is rapidly disappearing, warns Peter Kareiva, director of the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability.

Prescribing antibiotics to patients who don’t need them can create problems so how do we get doctors to change their behaviors? Start by remembering that doctors are human, so not always perfectly rational.

Economics professor Lee Ohanian co-writes an op-ed that criticizes Donald Trump’s ideas on international trade because they would lead to less commerce with the rest of the world.

Lee Cooper writes about how UCLA’s Sustainable LA Grand Challenge will leverage the university’s students to make Los Angeles energy and water independent.

Timothy Fong, co-director of the UCLA Gambling Studies Program, writes that websites like DraftKings and FanDuel bear all the hallmarks of gambling — including addiction.

Psychology professor A. Janet Tomiyama notes that some 34.4 million of the 70 million-plus Americans categorized as “overweight” by BMI were perfectly healthy.

Professor Daniel J.B. Mitchell writes about how Upton Sinclair’s failed 1934 bid for California governor still left a lasting mark on politics.

Psychiatry professor Marco Iacoboni writes about the role empathy-generating mirror neurons play in creating feelings of community in our collective sports fandom.

Law professor Ethan Elkind writes that politics drove the decision to extend the Gold Line into the San Gabriel Valley, where low-density neighborhoods would have been served better by bus rapid transit.

Three physicians write about how a determination to breast feed pushed even them to ignore their own advice for new mothers that breastfeeding at all costs might not be the right choice.

Patricia Turner writes about Ashe’s life, from his birth into segregation to his death from AIDS in 1993, and identifies the qualities he embodied that today’s students should aspire to: perseverance, honesty and integrity.

History professor and modern Middle East expert James Gelvin provides historical explanations about the origins of the Islamic State and what its leaders want.

John Villasenor notes that in the battle between Apple and the U.S. government, the ever-accelerating pace of change in technology makes applying older laws a murky proposition.

Professor Malina Stefanovska says that the infamous seducer wasn’t merely after conquest; he chased intelligent conversation and passionate affairs to remember.

The best education reforms will encourage cooperation and sharing of innovations among all types of schools, argue two senior scholars at the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies.

Law professor Adam Winkler writes that even if Congress hasn’t really tightened federal firearm laws, the NRA has lost its chokehold on the debate.

Law professor Ethan Elkind writes that more must be done to improve bus service, including lowering fares, while encouraging more housing development along new rail lines.

Karen Hunter Quartz writes in an op-ed that those pushing free-market-style competition in LAUSD must not forget that our public education system is obligated to provide good schools for all.

In making her case that LAUSD should be cautious about pursuing single-sex education, gender studies professor Juliet Williams points out the flimsiness of evidence used to support gender-separated classrooms.

Mark Gold writes that we’re going to lose tens of billions of gallons of water to runoff because Los Angeles’ infrastructure is not designed to capture and store rainfall.

UCLA Extension writing instructor Nathan Deuel writes about how exploring the in-between spaces of Los Angeles enhances one’s powers of observations and appreciation of the city.

English professor Matthew Fisher writes about the history of reproducing manuscripts and what has been lost as duplication and widespread dissemination became easier.