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.

“Gangnam Style,” the latest pop culture sensation and most-viewed Youtube video in the world, has drawn millions of viewers with its wacky "horse dances" and catchy lyrics. But with its escalating popularity in America, the original meaning of this video has become overshadowed. Hear first-year history student Jeremy Rondon, second-year psychobiology student Kevin Suh, second-year psychology student Esther Kim, and David Yoo, director of the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, talk about the video.

While UCLA is home to all kinds of music, in recent years, a new genre has popped up on campus: dub-step. It is composed of a dissonant, aggressive mix of sounds that come together to drastically change electronic dance music. Dub-step has gained popularity as a genre, but there is no universal love or appreciation for this music. Musicology professor Robert Fink and UCLA students discuss dub-step’s significance.