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Gilens Book Honored for Its Enduring Influence

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UCLA Luskin’s Martin Gilens has received the Aaron Wildavsky Enduring Contribution Award from the public policy section of the American Political Science Association (APSA). The award, given in recognition of scholarly work that has made a lasting impact on the field of public policy over the years, honors Gilens’ “Why Americans Hate Welfare: Race, Media and the Politics of Antipoverty Policy.” The 1999 book, which sheds light on myths and misconceptions about welfare policy, public opinion and the role of the media in both, has been “profoundly influential,” APSA organizers said. They cited the book’s “rigorous analysis and insightful arguments, which have significantly advanced our knowledge of the intersection between public perception, race and policy, shaping both academic discourse and practical policy considerations.” The prize was presented this month at APSA’s annual convention in Philadelphia. Gilens, a professor of public policy, political science and social welfare at UCLA, has published widely on political inequality, mass media, race, gender and welfare politics. He is author of “Affluence & Influence: Economic Inequality and Political Power in America” and co-author of “Democracy in America?: What Has Gone Wrong and What We Can Do About It.”

 

A Decline in Student Victimization, Even in Areas of Conflict

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A new study measuring changes in campus climate at Israeli elementary schools over a 12-year period found a steady decline in students’ feelings of victimization — including marked improvements for Arab students and those from a lower socioeconomic status, a welcome surprise to researchers. The study set out to assess the prevalence of physical, emotional, social and cyber-based violence among students from different backgrounds, said UCLA Luskin Social Welfare Professor Ron Avi Astor, a co-author of the paper just published in the Journal of School Violence. Fifth- and sixth-graders at both Jewish and Arab school campuses across the country were surveyed between 2008 and 2019, a time when the Israeli education system was making significant investments in violence prevention, including retraining school staff to prioritize the creation of a caring environment. While the study did not establish a direct causal relationship between the investments and the findings, international researchers have linked improvements in school climate to policies and interventions centered on students’ social and emotional well-being. A 2023 study co-authored by Astor found this to be true at California middle and high schools, which saw a steep decline in day-to-day violence from 2001 to 2019. The study in Israel was based on data collected before the outbreak of war in Gaza in 2023, but during a time of ongoing geopolitical conflict and cultural strife. “This study shows what a positive climate in schools, cultural recognition, resources and intentional violence prevention can do to improve the lives of millions of students on a day-to-day level, even in a war-torn place like the Middle East,” Astor said.

 

New Book by Rowe Explores the Many Dimensions of Cannabis Policy

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A new book by UCLA Luskin’s Brad Rowe examines the evolving systems of governance related to the sale and use of cannabis in the United States, providing an essential resource for students of public policy, drug and criminal justice policy, political science and law. “Cannabis Policy in the Age of Legalization,” published by Cognella Inc., immerses readers in the history and culture of cannabis, now regulated, taxed and licensed for recreational or medicinal use in most U.S. states. The book challenges students to critically examine the industry through the prisms of public affairs, social welfare, urban planning, equity, economics and politics. Rowe writes that the book includes accounts from “those who were there: regulators, smokers, scientists, growers, artists, retailers, those with lived criminal justice experience during the terror that was the war on drugs, law makers and law breakers, innovators and crude profiteers.” Topics of study include cannabis as a plant and product; urban and rural social justice and equity challenges; illicit operators and small business protections; and methods for promoting public benefits and preventing public harms. The interactive ebook is designed to accompany a college-level course that teaches students to formulate responsible opinions on cannabis legalization then defend them with good analysis. Rowe earned his master of public policy from UCLA Luskin in 2013. He is president of Rowe Policy Media, where he applies his extensive experience in public policy analysis and messaging to improve public health and safety, and he teaches and conducts research on cannabis and criminal justice policy.

 

UCLA Public Interest Research Awards Recognize Tenant Advocacy Project

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When millions of Americans lost wages at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, mass evictions loomed. California, and particularly Los Angeles County, with an estimated 365,000 renter households at risk, were no exception. In response, UCLA scholars Hannah Appel, Gary Blasi and Ananya Roy and their colleagues launched an online eviction-defense application called the Tenant Power Toolkit. Working with housing justice lawyers, technologists and community partners, the UCLA team coded the regulatory landscape of California’s 580 jurisdictions into a program tenants can easily use on any internet-connected device, in Spanish or English, to prepare their defenses. For this work, the three scholars have received UCLA Public Impact Research Awards, which celebrate the efforts of faculty who translate research into positive public action that benefits local, national and global communities. The UCLA Office of Research and Creative Activities, which bestows the annual awards, will host a ceremony honoring the recipients later this year. Since the Tenant Power Toolkit launched in July 2022, the program has prepared more than 8,000 eviction defenses, allowing approximately 21,000 tenants — over a third of them children — to avoid default eviction. “Eviction is a systemic problem,” said Appel, who noted that tenants face civil court eviction proceedings alone. “Our toolkit seeks to provide people the tools to fight their eviction while building the collective tenant power necessary to meet that of landlords and a financialized housing market.” Roy is founding director of the UCLA Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy, where Appel is associate faculty director. Blasi is a professor emeritus at UCLA Law. — Madeline Adamo

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UCLA Strategic Labor Research Conference Unites Diverse Coalition of Researchers, Activists

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In a keynote address at this month’s UCLA Strategic Labor Research Conference, Kim Kelly, journalist, organizer and author of “Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor,” spoke about the unifying potential of the labor movement in our polarized society. “Every struggle is connected,” she said. “At every protest you can think of, for every cause or issue you can imagine, almost every person you see there is going to have to clock into work the next day. Labor is one of the few truly universal experiences in our divided society.” Now in its second year, the conference held Aug 2-4 at the Luskin School provided a valuable educational and networking opportunity for individuals and organizations that leverage research and data to improve work standards and advance social justice. In workshops, talks and panels, participants learned how intricate policy details, geographic data about constituents and detailed corporate earnings reports could be used to maximize the efficacy of labor and economic justice campaigns. “The conference provides an exciting opportunity for cross-fertilization, with researchers realizing that they have a lot in common and are organizing against the same targets. There’s a coalition building that happens, not only within movements but between them as well,” said Chris Zepeda-Míllan, UCLA Labor Studies chair and associate professor of public policy and Chicana/o and Central American studies, who initiated the annual conference. This year’s gathering drew 200 attendees from across North America, including labor researchers and those working in adjacent social movements such as climate change, food justice and housing. — Willa Needham

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Monkkonen Named Fellow at Paris Institute of Advanced Studies

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UCLA Luskin’s Paavo Monkkonen has been named a fellow at the Paris Institute of Advanced Studies, where he will conduct research focused on overcoming political challenges to the urban environmental transition, including interventions in housing, mobility and access to opportunity. During the 10-month fellowship that begins in September, Monkkonen will compare decision-making processes, particularly the role of public input, in Paris and Los Angeles. “The case studies represent places with very different relationships between the residents and the state, and places with wide variation in local climate action,” said Monkkonen, who will hold the title of Chaire Ville de Paris during the appointment. “Paris, especially, has recently transformed many of its streets by replacing car lanes with bike lanes and parking with trees, whereas progress in these areas in Los Angeles is stalled by local opposition.” The project will include interviews with elected officials as well as surveys that reveal people’s attitudes toward projects that make their cities more sustainable. The goal, he said, is to assess the alignment of political action and residents’ preferences in the two metropolises. Monkkonen, a professor of urban planning and public policy, studies how policies shape urban development and social segregation in cities around the world. His recent research has focused largely on the housing crisis in California and the implementation of the state’s fair housing planning process. The Paris Institute of Advanced Studies is a research center that each year welcomes globally recognized visiting scholars with innovative projects in the fields of the humanities, social sciences and related disciplines.

 

Community-Driven Climate Action Spurs Economic Benefits

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For Carolina Rios, work used to mean the agricultural fields where her immigrant parents labored outside Stockton, California. An internship changed her life. Rios now works with the Rising Sun Center for Opportunity, helping families like hers access home upgrades to save money, energy and water. “I’ve learned a lot, like how to be more green and how I can help my community,” Rios said. The internship turned into a job as a project manager with Rising Sun, and Rios’ new income has helped her family of five move from a one-bedroom place to a more spacious home. Both the internship program and the energy- and water-saving projects were funded by a grant from California’s Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) program. New reports from the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation illustrate how TCC has funded development and infrastructure projects to achieve environmental, health and economic benefits in the state’s most disadvantaged communities. UCLA researchers tracked progress in five communities that have each received tens of millions of dollars from TCC: Fresno, Ontario, Stockton, and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Northeast San Fernando Valley and Watts. Many of the projects enable households to help the environment while helping their pocketbooks, including the installation of solar panels on low-income homes and improved mobility options for getting around without an expensive, polluting car. The first round of TCC grants is nearing the end of implementation in 2025, but the increase in federal climate funding through the Inflation Reduction Act has the potential to unlock additional investments.

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Social Welfare Hosts International Youth Conference

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From May 30 to June 2, UCLA Luskin Social Welfare served as host during the 9th edition of the International Youth Conference, which brought together youth from around the world for a series of in-person and online discussions, workshops and collaborations. Hector Palencia of the field faculty was the Luskin School’s local representative to the organizing group, with assistance from students and staff that included Carmen Mancha, Lorraine Rosales and Tera Sillett. The sessions taking place in the Public Affairs Building at UCLA were made available to a global audience of more than 720,000 people via live streaming on IYC’s digital platforms. Participants from 180 countries attended the conference online and in-person. The overarching focus was on United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and youth inclusion in policymaking. In addition to Palencia, UCLA Luskin faculty members Laura Wray-Lake, Randall Akee and David Turner participated in conference events and panel discussions. They were joined by other scholars from UCLA and other universities, youth activists, civil society leaders and luminaries in international peace and security, science and technology, and global governance transformation.  The media partner for this event was ABC7 in Los Angeles, which sent a news crew to campus to interview participants for a story that aired during a May 31 newscast.

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View photos from the conference

International Youth Conference

Watch a highlights video about the conference

‘It’s Never Too Late to Learn … Even For Me’

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When Emily Wang moved from China to California with her husband and 3-year-old daughter, she knew just one person in this country. Settling near Los Angeles, Wang worked as a restaurant cashier and contemplated options for her future. Learning English was key, so she enrolled in ESL classes at El Camino College in Torrance. A counselor told her about transferring to a four-year university. Wang was 34 at the time, with a first-grader in tow. “They told me it’s never too late to learn,” she said. “I thought, ‘Wow, really? Even for me?’” With assistance from the Center for Community College Partnerships, she successfully transferred to UCLA and will graduate this spring with a bachelor of arts in public affairs from the Luskin School. The process of applying to the UC system also stoked her desire to pursue policy work, as she discovered that she was technically an undocumented immigrant. The family had come to the U.S. legally, applied for asylum and had work permits. But eight years have passed, and Wang has had no updates about her case since she and her husband separated during the pandemic. “I thought, since I’m stuck in this situation, I’m going to use my undocumented identity as my strength to advocate,” she says. “We need more support systems to help undocumented immigrants who are already here, like my daughter.” Now 40 and a single parent, Wang plans to continue her work in political advocacy and — when her daughter, now 11, is a bit older — return to school for a law degree.

Read the full story about Emily Wang as well as other transfer students across the UC system.