Thursday, February 26

Second Take: Opening of ‘Harry Potter’ world in Hollywood brings magic to Muggles

I gripped the thin plastic wood tightly in my hand. With a swift flick of my wand, I watched a quill scribble intently along the pages of a book all on its own. Read more...

Photo: Universal Studios Hollywood opened The Wizarding World of Harry Potter on Tuesday. The opening of the new addition to the theme park, which opens to the public Thursday, featured a performance by the Los Angeles Philharmonic led by conductor John Williams. (Nate Nickolai/Daily Bruin)


Dancer explores race, masculinity in final UCLA show ‘ONDA’

Julio Ulises Medina woke up to the sound of the Colombian cumbia and Dominican merengue every morning playing on his home radio. He danced salsa and punta with girls at quinceañeras. Read more...

Photo: Graduate student Julio Medina performed his final UCLA show, “ONDA,” Friday and Saturday. The performance explores themes of race and masculinity through the medium of hip-hop and break dance. (Pinkie Su/Daily Bruin)



Pop-up exhibit showcases UCLA research on representation in Hollywood

Students crowded around a mysterious Space Age box with neon lights and sharp angular edges. The strange futuristic shape stood out against UCLA’s brick architecture, attracting students on their daily walks to class. Read more...

Photo: Graduate student Michael Tran helped research the 2016 Hollywood Diversity Report with sociology professor Darnell Hunt. The report’s findings were displayed in a pop-up exhibit, which has been moving around campus. (Shelby Scoggins/Daily Bruin)


UCLA music students perform Armenian pieces in Yerevan, lauded by natives

The audience paused for a brief moment before rising to its feet in a standing ovation for the musicians of VEM Quartet and their mezzo-soprano, Danielle Bayne. Read more...

Photo: UCLA graduate musicians performed a piece by Tigran Mansurian (middle), an Armenian classical composer, on a trip to Armenia. They performed for audiences at the Komitas Museum and Komitas Chamber Music Hall in the capital city of Yerevan. (Courtesy of Movses Pogossian)


App startup rewards gamers with discounts for Westwood restaurants

Twelve hundred students trudging on the floor of Pauley Pavilion for Dance Marathon took breaks for meals. An app startup called PlayFull had arranged the catering for the five meals served throughout the day and night. Read more...

Photo: PlayFull is an app run by a group of UCLA students and alumni in which users play games and win points to exchange for discounted food from Westwood restaurants. (Jennifer Hu/Daily Bruin)