No contest here. Tina Park of Students First! is, hands down, the most qualified person running for the office of external vice president this year. As the office’s in-house candidate, Park already has the experience and ““ perhaps just as important ““ the repertoire of contacts with other lobbyers and politicians to effectively represent the concerns of UCLA students to the higher-ups. Read more...

Marwa Kaisey isn’t out to change the world. Her focus is squarely on UCLA. She isn’t advocating sweeping changes to admissions policies or revolutionary changes to the student government; she wants improvements to Welcome Week and a neighborhood council in Westwood. Read more...

On Wednesday, students from various organizations stood in opposition to the Israeli Establishment Celebrations. One speaker remarked that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East and stands as a model for others to follow, and that the Israeli people would like to assume an active role in bringing peace to the region. Read more...

One childhood privilege that I miss is the weekly splurge on the ice cream truck’s eclectic, albeit unhealthy, selection of Popsicles and candies. I felt pretty smug buying bubble gum in the form of a pack of cigarettes and showing off smoking etiquette to my younger brother. Read more...

Lena Khan’s piece on Israeli Independence day (“Celebration attempts to erase tragic history,” May 3) is so full of falsity and distortion that I hardly know where to begin. Read more...

On April 20, the Food and Drug Administration released an advisory claiming that smoking marijuana serves no legitimate medical purpose. In yet another instance of politics trumping science in the Bush administration, the advisory cited no new scientific research and contradicted the most comprehensive government review of the health benefits of marijuana that has been conducted to date. Read more...

How can anyone protest a birthday? A day of joy, of happiness, of picnics, parties, barbecues and ““ in this case ““ Israeli flags fluttering in the wind. Read more...