Panofsky on Science, Rhetoric and White Nationalism

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Inside Higher Ed spoke to Aaron Panofsky, professor of public policy, about the launch of UCLA’s Initiative to Study Hate, which supports research into understanding and mitigating hatred among social groups. Panofsky will lead one of 23 projects representing several disciplines. His research will explore how white nationalists use and reject scientific research and language in their rhetoric online. Hate is popularly perceived as the emotion felt “when you want to lash out against someone,” Panofsky said. But the ways white nationalists painstakingly attempt to back up their claims with scientific research show hate is more than a knee-jerk emotional reaction. “Part of our study is about how complicated hate can become, especially when it’s connected with science or an ostensibly rational discourse,” said Panofsky, who directs the UCLA Institute for Society and Genetics.

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Peterson on Prop. 29 and Voter Skepticism

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Public Policy interim chair Mark Peterson spoke to the Los Angeles Times about controversies surrounding Proposition 29, which would require a licensed medical professional to be present while dialysis patients are receiving treatment at the state’s 600 dialysis centers. The measure would also require centers to disclose physician ownership interests and patient infection data. Peterson said voters are often skeptical about issues that they are not properly informed about — in this case, the “high levels of technical detail” about the treatment and care that dialysis patients need. That skepticism is heightened when private interests are involved, he said. “When there is a special interest from one side or the other that’s really pushing a particular ballot initiative, voters add on to their underlying suspicion this general skepticism of why is the ballot initiative process being used by a special interest?”

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Astor on School Gun Violence: No Justice, No Closure

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Social Welfare professor Ron Avi Astor spoke to CNN about the ongoing issue of gun violence at U.S. schools. “When there’s a disaster that happens and it’s done and over with, then you could look back and we could come together as a country,” Astor said. “But when it’s happening every week, over and over and over again, there is no justice or closure, because it’s not done. We’re in the midst of it, as a collective, as a country.” Astor said he is optimistic change can come but believes the media must reform the way it reports on shootings, without glamorizing events and polarizing discussions. “This is about … working together with an ideal of who we want to be as a society,” he said, calling for ground-level dialogue that works toward restorative justice. Astor and a group of academics released an eight-point gun violence prevention plan earlier this year.

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Pierce on Rising Cost of Water Amid California’s Drought

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Gregory Pierce, co-director of the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation, was cited in a Los Angeles Times article about Californians struggling to pay skyrocketing water bills. “Water prices are going up for the next several decades, so we need some assistance program in place like we have in so many other sectors,” Pierce said. “Water is pretty much the first service that the government can and should provide.” About 13 million Californians in low-income communities are suffering from high water bills during the current drought, and many must choose between paying for electricity or water. Recently, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed Senate Bill 222, which would have required water systems in California to offer rate assistance to residential water customers. His reasoning was because the program lacked a source of funding, but Pierce said that signing the bill would have been an important step in the right direction.

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Torres-Gil Featured in ‘Sages of Aging’

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Fernando Torres-Gil, professor of social welfare and public policy, appeared on the PBS special “Sages of Aging” to discuss the experiences and lifestyle changes that emerge with aging. Torres-Gil spoke about ways that older generations can participate in the fast-changing digital age by keeping up with technological advancements and having an open mind. “We can show that, at the very least, we are still engaged, we are still willing to learn new things like new technology, and that we tried to mitigate the natural tendencies of older persons to be upfront with our biases and our own prejudices,” he said. Torres-Gil also shared aspects of aging that can make people feel pessimistic, such as decreased physical capabilities. “But life is still good. A lot of it is just accepting it with grace and just moving on,” he said. Torres-Gil is director of the Center for Policy Research on Aging at UCLA Luskin.

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Holloway on HIV Prevention Among People Who Inject Drugs

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Ian Holloway, professor of social welfare, spoke to TheBodyPro about a cross-sectional survey of over 1,000 participants aimed at determining whether people who inject drugs would take an injectable medication to prevent HIV infection. The medication, known as LA-PrEP, or long-acting pre-exposure prophylaxis, is given by injection at three-month intervals. While the medication is very effective at preventing HIV infection, less than 2% of people who inject drugs have received a prescription. Holloway’s study showed that over 25% of participants did not have access to health insurance or other government benefits, further restricting their access to PrEP. The survey was conducted right before the COVID-19 pandemic, and Holloway recommended that more research be done to understand the effects of the pandemic on HIV prevention. “We think it will be important to assess what attitudes, perceptions and behaviors have remained unchanged,” as well as identify interventions that promote use of effective treatments among high-risk populations, he said. 

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Newton on Prospects for Reforming L.A.’s Political Structure

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Jim Newton, editor of UCLA’s Blueprint magazine, spoke to the Los Angeles Times about the the scandal over leaked audio of hateful and racist remarks by city leaders. “It breeds a certain kind of arrogance. What I heard on that tape, just unbridled arrogance,” Newton said. The controversy has led to renewed discussion of reforms to the city’s current political structure, in which each of 15 City Council districts effectively represents more than 250,000 residents — a larger ratio than exists for many state legislatures. Previous measures aimed at reforming the system have been defeated, but Newton commented, “There are moments when the public is willing to listen, to be engaged in the process. This could be one of those moments.”

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Leap on Challenges for New Style of Cop Show

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Jorja Leap, adjunct professor of social welfare, spoke to the Los Angeles Times about “East New York,” a new CBS show that aims to represent police officers and the communities that they serve through a restorative lens. This new style of cop show is heavily influenced by the Black Lives Matter movement and the killing of Black and brown people at the hands of police. The show’s creators are “trying to do the right thing and there are kernels of good ideas, but they keep taking shortcuts,” said Leap, who is executive director of the UCLA Social Justice Research Partnership. To better reflect the reality on the streets, “they’ve got to put some meat on the bones” by showing nuances of opinion among characters, noting that not all police officers oppose reform and not all community members are anti-police. “It’s not that everyone doesn’t want cops — they don’t want bad cops,” she said.

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Astor on News Media’s Impact on Teen Gun Violence

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Ron Avi Astor, professor of social welfare and education, was interviewed by KCBS Radio about the effects of media reporting on school shootings, particularly how news coverage can perpetuate more acts of terrorism. Many shooters “tend to be suicidal and they have high suicidal ideation with a plan. And they plan to take other people out with them,” Astor said. The media’s fixation on the shooter as opposed to the victims has a tendency to increase the frequency of attacks, he explained. “The big thing that we don’t talk about very often is that the frequency of the media reporting and how the media reports … can increase the frequency” of teen gun violence, he said, noting the same holds true for acts of suicide or terrorism. Astor encouraged news organizations to follow rules around suicide and terrorism prevention by carefully reporting on such issues so as to not glorify the shooters.

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