With the Mayan calendar's doomsday prediction drawing near, students and professors wonder if Dec. 21, 2012 could be the day they draw their last breath. UCLA world arts and culture professor David Shorter shares the significance behind the ancient prophecy, while UCLA students describe what they would do if the end of the world was just two weeks away.

"We the Folk” is a folk band comprised of members David Villafana, second-year music composition student Gabe Wheaton, and fourth-year American literature and culture student Melinda West. On Long Story Short this week, they discuss their fusion of cultural flares with creative impulses and play renditions of “The Hanukkah Song" and “Christmas Time is Here”.

During the month of November, writers nationwide set a goal of penning a 50,000-word novel in 30 days. A group of participating UCLA students host weekly “write-ins” at the Young Research Library, a time for encouragement, support, and writing. Last Thursday, Christyana sat in once more with second-year economics student Mary Haithcoat, third-year economics student Richard Sambasivam, fourth-year bioengineering student Aubrey Young, second-year English student Dmitry Neronov, and Dartmouth alumna, Kelly Pasich. With only 26 hours left to complete their next potential bestsellers, NaNoWriMo participants race to the finish line.

English professor Colleen Jaurretche performs a dramatic reading of "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens for this week’s Long Story Short.

Freshman year is a difficult time in any young student's life; but for three freshman basketball players at UCLA, life means experiencing their new surroundings while juggling games, practices and classes. Shabazz Muhammad, Kyle Anderson and Jordan Adams made up part of the top recruiting class in the nation according to multiple major media outlets. Each has embraced the attention that has been shown to them by students since their arrival in Westwood. All three players hail from elsewhere; they have stepped up to the challenge of leaving their families behind and transitioning to the college life, which includes finding a place to rest for the holidays. They are asked to be students first and athletes second, although it doesn't always work out that way.

Obama’s six hour visit reflects not only the acknowledgement that the country has made progress in the area of human rights, but also a shifting U.S. foreign policy that is more concerned with China’s influence in the region that the President signalled last year with the deployment of 2,500 troops to Australia. In recent years, Myanmar has eased many of its harshest restrictions on its population and released hundreds of political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi. Professor of Southeast Asian history Geoffrey Robinson discusses the country's introduction of liberal reforms, the ethnic tensions that remain that makes this progress tenuous, and the larger historical narrative relevant to Myanmar's current status.