Event will look at slavery’s effects
Kicking off Black History Month, the Center for African American Studies will host a two-day colloquium this weekend.
The event will begin tonight in Haines Hall with remarks from Darnell Hunt, director of UCLA’s Center for African American Studies, Claudia Mitchell-Kernan, vice-chancellor of UCLA’s graduate division and former state Sen. Tom Hayden. Howard Winant, a Temple University sociology professor will then give a keynote address at 6 p.m.
Saturday, four panels, made up of professors from around the country as well as legal and economic experts, will address slavery, considering how slavery came to be in the United States, its economic role in American history and its lasting affects.
Many recognize slavery only as an institution of the past, with no affect on today’s world, when in reality “slavery still casts a shadow on America today,” said Hunt.
The event is free of charge, but registration is required.
Athletes are role models for kids
A new UCLA School of Public Health study offers the first scientific evidence that sports stars and other public figures exert a positive influence in the lives of teen admirers.
The study, published in the January edition of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, reported that 56 percent of nearly 750 Los Angeles County teens surveyed named role models in their lives.
Among those, 42 percent named a parent or relative, 39 percent named a figure known primarily through the media, and 19 percent named a non-familial, known individual. The most popular role models were parents (22 percent), sports figures (18 percent), siblings (10 percent) and singers (10 percent).
Fast computers help researchers
Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have installed a new supercomputer that ranks among the 100 fastest computers in the world.
The computer will be used for research in planetary physics and astrophysics by scientists in the departments of Earth sciences, physics and astronomy & astrophysics.
Research in these fields often involves computer simulations of complex physical phenomena, such as supernova explosions, galaxy formation, and the fluid dynamics of the interiors of stars and planets.
UCSC researchers sometimes run their simulations on powerful supercomputers at other institutions, such as Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Briefs compiled from Daily Bruin staff and wire reports.