This week we talked to Caroline Park, a stylish first-year Design | Media Arts student, about her fashion and about the few things she always carries with her. Caroline describes her style as simple and is inspired by Alex Chung and Kiko Mizuhara. Her favorite wardrobe staple is a basic tee, which she likes to get on sale at stores like Urban Outfitters. Besides Urban, her top three places to shop are Wasteland, Goodwilland Brandy Melville. We asked Caroline to empty the contents of her bag and this is what we found:
Laptop – So she can work on her Form homework (some cool 3D modeling)
Red Lipstick – To freshen up throughout the day and liven up her simple wardrobe.
iPhone – Self-explanatory!
Disposable Camera – “You can take it anywhere since it’s small, and it’s just fun.”
Notebook and Pencil Bag – Park said the one thing she always keeps in her bag is this “notebook-journal-calendar-book.” As an artist, she likes to make notes, write and sketch.
Film Music Book – She couldn’t get into the “film and music class” this quarter, but she bought the book anyway for pleasure reading.
Headphones – For listening to tunes on her way to class.
Sunglasses – For sunny LA weather. Can you believe it’s supposed to be 90 degrees today?
Shampoo and Razors – “Uh, I just have this because I went to the UCLA store today before class,” she said, laughing.
What’s in your bag? Take a photo and tweet us @dbmojo.
Wouldn’t everyone like to be considered the sexiest AND the smartest? This week, BuzzFeed released a list of the top 10 Sexiest and Smartest Colleges in the Country, and UCLA was not one of them. Buzzfeed compiled the list by comparing Forbes‘s academic rankings with the dating site DateMySchool’s hotness index.
In a confusing grid system, UCLA was rated above average in smartness and below average in sexiness. The other school across town, according to BuzzFeed, was rated more sexy, but less smart.
Tell us, BuzzFeed: What’s sexier than year-round warm weather and beach bods? UCLA students are historically sexy. Just look at this video of famous babes from UCLA including Heather Graham, Heather Locklear and Elizabeth Berkley. Not to mention our handsome alumni men James Dean, Jim Morrison and James Franco. We’ve even got a whole fashion section based off the student body’s sexy styles. Check it out here.
We’ve got the brains, too. The Internet was invented on our campus, the first open-heart surgery in the western United States was performed at our medical center and six Bruins have won Nobel Prizes.
Brown University is ranked No. 1 on the list. Which, well, isn’t surprising when you’ve got Emma Watson as an alum.
Do you think UCLA deserved a spot in the top 10? Tweet us @dbmojo or comment below.
It’s one in the morning on the Wednesday of midterms week. It’s been a long day of classes and you’ve exhausted all of your procrastination resources. You’re craving a B-Caf cupcake or Café 1919’s warm, gooey brownie sundae like nobody’s business, but the thought of leaving your dorm room is less than appealing and there’s no chance of you changing out of your pajamas anytime soon. Or perhaps you find yourself in my position, stuck in your apartment and kicking yourself for not stocking up on baked goods to get you through the week.
Thank goodness for dessert in a mug. Never underestimate the power of the microwave. Within five minutes, you can make a warm “fresh baked” dessert to satisfy any craving. Besides saving tons of time, these recipes also provide portion control –they make a single serving in one mug, so you won’t be tempted to eat an entire batch of cookies.
Let’s start this party off with your old favorite: a good old fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookie (in a mug).
Credit goes to Melissa Rose, a first-year environmental sciences student, for this divine creation. Our recommendation is to add as many chocolate chips as your heart desires – no measuring necessary, here. Word to the wise: don’t skip the egg separation part of this recipe. After many experimentations (yes, it’s midterms week), we discovered that adding egg whites will make the cookie more fluffy and more like a muffin rather than a cookie. Also, definitely don’t microwave this for too long or add too much flour. Otherwise, the cookie will start looking more like cookie crumbles, rather than an actual cookie.
Next up: GooeyPeanut Butter Chocolate Cake .This little treat rivals Café 1919’s brownie sundae any day. To really dress it up, heat a tablespoon of peanut butter for 20 seconds in the microwave and drizzle over the top of the cake after it comes out. Eat warm (don’t need to tell me twice!) and enjoy. You might be just as amazed as I am with the cake-y consistency your microwave is capable of creating. Warning: this cake is dense, so finishing it is a feat.
Transport yourself to the comfort of a campfire with this Chocolate Fudge S’mores Mug Cake. My roommate Lauren Hastings, a third-year economics student, takes the cake (pun intended) for this one. This cake is slightly more time intensive than the others but I can guarantee it is so worth it. Don’t worry if you don’t have graham crackers, Lauren used Trader Joe’s Gingersnap Cookies instead and, dare I say it, it tasted even better than the original.
Now, for everyone’s favorite: Nutella Mug Cake.Who doesn’t love Nutella? Don’t spend the extra money on self-rising flour, just make your own using regular flour and baking powder, adapting to these proportions.
For an extra kick of delicious, follow these instructions: melt chocolate chips with some Nutella, carve a hole in the top of your cake and dollop a generous scoop of melted chocolate into the middle.
So, my friends, you can have your cake and eat it too. If you’re craving late-night desserts, time and baking skills no longer stand in the way of you getting the warm, gooey chocolate treat you deserve after a long day of studying.
Check out these other microwave meals, including microwave meatloaf (say what?) and cinnamon roll in a cup. And stay tuned next week for “breakfast in a mug.”
Like a true Bruin, Bernie Zak had been studying hard Sunday night. After a long night of writing, he took a much needed Monday nap (sign number one that he’s ready to come here).
“I woke up and my phone had all of these notifications,” Zak said. “It said ‘UCLA Admissions,’ and I did a double take. So I checked it … and got the generic acceptance letter. I started freaking out, and I hear my mom asking me what’s wrong. She must have thought I broke a bone. I just said ‘I got in!’”
THANK ALL OF YOU SO MUCH! OFFICIALLY A @UCLA BRUIN CLASS OF 2017
According to UCLA Undergraduate Admissions officials, applicants are accepted off of the waitlist after officials review the original application and any information the student wishes to add in a 7,000 character field. Zak said he sent the admissions team an essay describing his love of UCLA.
The applicant can also provide updated grades or an additional essay. In terms of Twitter campaigns, it seems this unorthodox form of “compelling information” does not factor into a student’s admission.
“Student privacy and confidentiality prevent us from discussing a student’s application of admission’s status,” an admissions official told us via email. ”To be clear, however, a Twitter campaign by any student would have absolutely no influence on our admissions decision.”
So, just like that, the #AcceptBernieUCLA campaign is finally over. Zak didn’t even have to finish his “50 reasons why Bernie Zak should be accepted” list. (He made it to #32, counting down from #50).
“I’m excited to be with a group of kids that can have a lot of fun but are also really intelligent people,” Zak said. “When it comes down to it, (UCLA) is one of the smartest groups of students in the world.”
Zak said he will soon tweet out the number one reason he should be (or, in this case, was) accepted to UCLA. If I had to guess, it was his swift entrance into all of our hearts – and/or his more standard qualifications.
Improv is one of the most popular forms of comedy, and its influence can be seen all around us. The group “Company” will showcase their improv chops at UCLA’s Spring Sing, Russell Brand (who’s stopping by UCLA this Wednesday) performs some Shakespearean improv in this amazing video and the show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” is coming back on the air. If you were unlucky enough to not get tickets to see Mr. Brand on Wednesday (because that thing sold out faster than George Lucas), you can still get your comedy fix tonight at Improv Yourself, an all-improv show put on by my group, LCC Theatre Company, and Rapid Fire Improv.
Now, improv is fun to watch (and even more fun to perform), but I was curious to see how actors viewed improv in relation to performing scripted material. When asked how improv has helped him as an actor, Tristan Joseph, a second-year Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics student said:
It helped me to feel more free on stage – the more I do, the more comfortable I get, and the better I perform, even if I’m not making consistent jokes or witty remarks – which so many people think is required for improv. I’ve grown better at making myself a physical actor and someone who can portray emotions and feelings without needing a monologue… Plus, it’s a hell of a good time.
Learning the mechanics of improvisation comedy can help you establish relations on stage and portray emotions. For example, there’s a popular improv game called “Emotion Party,” which starts when one actor is assigned the role of host at the party. Then three to four guests enter, each of whom is an exaggerated emotional state (anger, sadness, jealousy, lustful, etc.). At the end of the game, the host has to guess which emotion everyone was portraying.
So improv helps you as an actor. That’s cool, but can it also help you in other areas of life? Yep, according to actor and fourth-year Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics student Grace Lau:
When I was deciding what I wanted to do when I graduate, I really wanted to marry all of my interests into one cohesive field. My experience and love of improv is what partially led me to look at law and “performing” for the court in trials as a prosecutor or defense attorney.
Whether you’re an actor, lawyer, professor, doctor or just a student, there will inevitably come a time when you’ll have to think on your feet and come up with solutions to problems on the fly. Well, maybe not doctor… You should probably know what you’re doing if you’re a doctor. There are plenty of places in LA where you can check out improv, but it’s never been more convenient than tonight’s show. Improv Yourself will be performed on the UCLA campus, in Rolfe 1200.
