Astor Promotes Culture of Care, Safety in Schools

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Professor of Social Welfare Ron Avi Astor’s new report on increasing school safety and reducing weapons on campuses was covered by KNX1070 and CBS LA. The study found that fostering supportive environments in schools plays a key role in reducing the presence of weapons and creating safe campuses. Astor and his team analyzed surveys from 890,000 California students to better understand how factors such as the level of crime in a school’s surrounding neighborhood, students’ feelings of belongingness at their school, and student relationships with teachers and staff can affect the potential for weapons-carrying and violence. They found that measures such as metal detectors, security cameras and active shooter drills increase fear of violence, diminish students’ well-being and disproportionately affect students of color. Instead, Astor proposed prioritizing a culture of care and elevating the voices of students and teachers. “We must create opportunities to hear their voices and explore local solutions that make their schools safer,” he said.

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Turner on Increasing Opportunities for Shade

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Assistant Professor of Urban Planning V. Kelly Turner was featured in a National Geographic article about the importance of shade in cities like Los Angeles that are growing hotter due to climate change. Urban design in Los Angeles has prioritized access to the sun, with many city codes determining how much shadow buildings can cast. However, climate change has increased the frequency and severity of heat waves, increasing the risk of heat-related death and illness. Furthermore, predominantly Black and brown neighborhoods have fewer parks and trees and less access to shade than white neighborhoods. While asphalt and concrete absorb and release captured heat, contributing to the urban heat island effect, planting trees and creating shade can keep buildings cooler, lowering the risk of heat-related illness. “The really simple thing, if you care about making people more comfortable, is just to offer more opportunities for shade,” Turner said.

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Miyashita Ochoa on History of Discriminatory Blood Donation Ban

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Adjunct Assistant Professor of Social Welfare Ayako Miyashita Ochoa wrote an article in the Regulatory Review about the inconsistencies between current blood donation deferral policies and modern scientific knowledge. At the height of the HIV epidemic, the FDA implemented a blood donation deferral for all men who have had sex with men in the last year. Miyashita Ochoa explained that, “at the time, exercising extreme caution was the wisest course of action” since scientists didn’t know how the virus was transmitted. However, the policy continued for decades, even as scientists learned more about HIV transmission and improved blood screening techniques. In April 2020, the FDA decreased the deferral period from 12 months to three months. While this was a step in the right direction, “it does not reflect the latest science,” Miyashita Ochoa said. She called on the United States to address HIV and gay-related stigma. “The FDA’s policies must harness truths based on science rather than fear.”

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Cohen Highlights Trauma of Involuntary Commitments

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Research by Social Welfare Professor David Cohen was cited in a Cut article about the legal consequences for individuals deemed mentally ill in the United States. Britney Spears’ conservatorship has highlighted the way that psychiatric diagnoses can be used to strip individuals of their rights to voting, medical decision-making, financial decisions and more. Cohen’s research shows that patient privacy laws and lack of data collection pertaining to human rights violations of the mentally ill make it difficult to estimate exactly how many people have experienced involuntary commitment. Last year, a study by Cohen found that involuntary commitments over the previous decade outpaced population growth three to one, and another estimate extrapolated that over 1 million Americans a year are involuntarily committed. “This is the most controversial intervention in mental health — you’re deprived of liberty, can be traumatized and then stigmatized — yet no one could tell how often it happens in the United States,” Cohen said.

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Monkkonen on Reversing the Legacy of Segregation

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Associate Professor of Urban Planning and Public Policy Paavo Monkkonen spoke to the Los Angeles Times about the persistence of racial segregation in Los Angeles and other major U.S. cities. New research has found that many regions of the U.S. were more segregated in 2019 than they were in 1990. Reversing the legacy of segregation is a slow process, said Monkkonen, director of the Latin American Cities Initiative at UCLA Luskin. “It’s a self-perpetuating process, where people are relegated to less attractive parts of the city, and then they’re associated with those parts of the city,” he said. There are also stark disparities in income, home values and life expectancy between residents in segregated communities and those in more integrated areas. Monkkonen said that, while some communities are working to develop proactive policies around fair housing and development, many researchers aren’t convinced that 2020’s reckoning with race will significantly move the needle when it comes to segregation.

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Reservations Need More Federal Funding, Akee Says

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Associate Professor of Public Policy Randall Akee was featured in a Los Angeles Times article about the federal government’s failure to address the need for clean water and sanitation on Native American reservations. “Federal funding for reservations is not meeting needs,” Akee said. “It’s just woefully underfunded at the federal level, and tribes for a long, long time have not had the resources to fully develop these resources themselves.” Many Native American households lack indoor plumbing, and they often must rely on donations of drinking water when pipes fail. The government has deemed many of the necessary sanitation improvement projects “infeasible” because of the high cost, leaving rural indigenous communities with limited access to clean drinking water. “Frankly, it’s a responsibility of the federal government, a trust responsibility of treaties and hundreds of years of commitments,” Akee said. “There has been a failure to fully live up to those commitments.”

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Miyashita Ochoa on Outdated Blood Ban for Gay Men

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Adjunct Assistant Professor of Social Welfare Ayako Miyashita Ochoa spoke to North Carolina Health News about policies that continue to bar some gay men from donating blood. Miyashita Ochoa explained that at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, there was no test for HIV or AIDS, and scientists weren’t sure how it was transmitted. “The policy itself was a reflection of that,” she said. “It also obviously targeted specifically the populations that were hardest hit by HIV and AIDS.” Over time, the policies endured despite advances in science. Miyashita Ochoa pointed out that a lot has changed since the 1980s, including what we know about HIV transmission and the efficacy of prevention measures. To combat a shortage in the blood supply caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA relaxed restrictions in 2020 to include men who have not had sex with men for three months. Advocates, however, argue for an end to all bans of gay and bisexual men.

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Torres-Gil on Reconstructing the Social Safety Net

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Professor of Social Welfare and Public Policy Fernando Torres-Gil was featured in a Next Avenue article about COVID-19 and the future of aging. Torres-Gil spoke at the Milken Institute 2021 Future of Health Summit, which focused on ageism, technology, the impact of COVID-19 on older adults, and solving social issues with an intergenerational approach. “I’d like to think that the pandemic is pushing us, forcing us to reframe, redefine and reconfigure what kind of society we want,” Torres-Gil said. “One of the great silver linings is that we began to realize that everyone matters and we need and want to reconstruct both the social safety net and its social contract.” After observing ableism and ageism during the pandemic, Torres-Gil said that one of the great challenges for society will be informing and educating young people to stop seeing elderly and disabled people as expendable and realize that they, too, will grow old someday.

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Keum on Asian American Masculinity and Mental Health

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In a Washington Post article, Assistant Professor of Social Welfare Brian Keum discussed the mental health and body image of Asian American men who face stigma and stereotyping. While there has been a spike in anti-Asian hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic, Keum noted that “the constant invalidation of being overlooked and ignored” is a more subtle everyday violence that affects Asian Americans professionally, politically and socially. Keum explained that Asian American men are aware of “the stereotype of being emasculated, effeminate, less attractive, less manly, falling short of the white hegemonic masculinity ideal in the United States,” which negatively affects their psyche and body image. Without healthy outlets, Asian American men cope with shame on their own, sometimes through substance abuse, suicidal ideation, aggression or risky behavior, he said. An emerging network of Asian-focused mental health support programs aims to address stigma and promote mental health and well-being among Asian American men.

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Taylor on Post-Pandemic Traffic Patterns

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Urban Planning Professor and Director of the Institute of Transportation Studies Brian Taylor spoke to the Los Angeles Times about changing traffic patterns in Los Angeles as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and life returns to a post-pandemic normal. The pandemic altered traffic and transit patterns, with many businesses transitioning to remote work. As the economy reopens, traffic levels have increased, but the next few months will signal how long-lasting the pandemic’s impact on traffic patterns will be. Vehicle travel is increasing in part because more businesses and activities are opening up, prompting people to drive more often and farther from home. Taylor explained that congestion is “spatially and temporally” structured, meaning that it occurs when many travelers are going to the same destination at the same time. “If we go back to pre-pandemic living and working patterns, driving and traffic levels are likely to be similar to before,” he said.

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