Dec. 13 - Art museum gift, dealing with family rifts
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An ornamented tree near McGaugh Hall. Photo by Ian Parker
In this continuing series, UCI experts answer questions about COVID-19, vaccinations, variants or the future of work. Submit questions via email.
Today’s question is fielded by UCI psychologist Jessica Borelli, who has offered various tips on coping with stress, grief and COVID-19 issues during the holidays:
What if rifts have developed between friends or family over the last year, and I don’t have access to the same holiday celebrations I previously took part in?
Conflicts and rifts over COVID practices or politics may make the holidays more difficult. These have been a tense few years, and rare is the family that has not been affected by COVID-related conflicts. If yours is one of these families, you may wish to start fresh this year and ask everyone what type of gathering they were envisioning (rather than assuming you’re all on the same page, because, well, you saw how that worked out last year).
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Taking a poll and creating a gathering that adheres to the preferences of the most cautious attendee is one approach. Creating a gathering that honors the preferences of the greatest number of attendees is another.
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You may also want to talk about the conflicts that have arisen in your family – and about the fact that it’s possible to have many different perspectives on a situation, and that each perspective is often a function of someone’s circumstances, so it makes sense that they are different.
UCI ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS
Art museum receives naming gift
The future home of UCI’s Buck and Irvine Museum art collections will be named the Jack and Shanaz Langson Institute and Museum of California Art after the couple’s major gift to support construction and operation of the building.
Pedestrian improvement project begins
Construction begins today on a pedestrian stairway, ramp and sidewalks at the northwest corner of the Anteater Parking Structure near Middle Earth Housing. In addition, the traffic circle will be removed to improve vehicle circulation and create additional sidewalks and parking stalls. The parking structure and Lot 18D will remain open during this project. But Lot 18R and the roadway from Engineering Service Road to the lower entrance of the parking structure will be closed through April.
UC NEWS AND GENERAL NEWS
Older Americans account for vast majority of COVID deaths
About 75% of the people who have died from COVID-19 in the U.S. were 65 or older. That works out to one of every 100 older Americans dying from the virus. For people younger than 65, the ratio is closer to 1 in 1,400.
UCI IN THE NEWS
Note: Some news sites require subscriptions to read articles. The UCI Libraries offer free subscriptions to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Orange County Register and The Washington Post for students, faculty and staff.
Smash-and-grabs, California, and the limits of criminal justice reform
The Christian Science Monitor, Dec. 10
Cited: Charis Kubrin, professor of criminology, law & society
Boosting the Brain’s Brakes to Beat Memory Loss
Simons Foundation, Dec. 9
Cited: Michael Yassa, professor and co-director, Center of Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
Dorsey's exit from Twitter reveals shortening 'shelf life' of tech's CEO-founders
Yahoo Finance, Dec. 11
Cited: Travis Howell, assistant professor of strategy
#UCICONNECTED
Greenhouse at dusk. Photo by Ian Parker
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