Orientation is a time of transformation and self-discovery for many new students ahead of the start of their time on campus. As the next generation of Bruins prepares to take the stage, the Opinion editors, looking back on their own first years at UCLA, give their advice in the latest edition of “A Difference of Opinion Editors.”
Before You Begin as a Bruin: Find Your De-stressors
Russell Ahmed, assistant Opinion editor
Life at UCLA, for all of the right reasons, could not be more dissimilar to the reality of my central Ohio roots.

I finished my freshman year before realizing that my younger brother was my ultimate idol.
My brother is the happiest person I know, and the running joke in our family is that it’s because he succumbs easily to quick dopamine boosts through instant gratification.

This fall quarter, I will be a fourth-year. Yet oddly, I would classify this past school year as my freshman experience – an experience unique to transfer students.

Editor’s note: This article contains mentions of AI-generated sexual abuse and suicidal ideation that may be disturbing to some readers.
From a Beverly Hills middle school where male students created fake nudes of their female classmates, to the college student whose fight for justice after seeing her face in deepfake pornography forms the core of the documentary, “Another Body,” it is clear that the recent rise of AI-generated sexual abuse, primarily deepfakes, have given students easy access to create nonconsensual sexually explicit content of their peers.

Editor’s note: The following letter was sent to Darnell Hunt, UCLA’s interim chancellor, on Aug. 9 on behalf of Bruin Alumni in Defense of Free Speech.

This post was updated Sept 2. at 7:41 p.m.
It’s that time of year again – you’re finally home. You can spend long nights relaxing with friends who you haven’t seen the whole year and your dog, Sam, who has been patiently awaiting your arrival for the last six months.

This post was updated Sept. 2 at 7:36 p.m. 
From the Olympians making their mark in Paris to the intrepid newcomers making their first jaunt up the Death Stairs to the Hill, exercise is a central part of the UCLA experience.