Last year, when I was a freshman on Volunteer Day, we were sent to EL ARCA, a center for adults with developmental disabilities. On a sweltering morning, ten of us were handed the job of painting a fence that was about 15 feet across, while the Volunteer Day leaders circled around and nodded in approval. Read more...

Photo: UCLA Volunteer Day holds service projects at several sites around Los Angeles, including Emerson Middle School in Westwood. (Courtesy of InSapphoWeTrust via Wikimedia Commons)

Mi mamá proudly told my extended family members I was off to study at the famous UCLA while I silently wished I could stay home to study during my first year. Read more...

Photo: (Daily Bruin file photo)

The American prison system and its population is huge. About 22-percent-of-the-world’s-prisoners huge. This sound bite has been used in many political debates, stump speeches and news articles, but changing this apparent injustice through scientifically backed, tried-and-true methods has been slow and complicated. Read more...

Photo: Despite enacting policies to reduce the number of prison inmates, California needs to implement reforms such as split sentencing to help reduce inmate recidivism. (Creative Commons photo by davebloggs007 via Flickr)