I really enjoyed this class. Please don't shy away just because of the Community Engagement requirement -- I think it was a really valuable experience and it was worth it. I volunteered with Food Forward once a week, every Wednesday, 12:30-2:00 and I looked forward to it every week! They say that you need 24 volunteer hours throughout the quarter, but you really don't I only got like 16 I think. The Lyfts to Santa Monica for my work were also reimbursed, which was great because it was like a free trip to Santa Monica every week. Sometimes I'd stick around and get lunch out there afterward, like at a noodles place and at Sweet Greens. The bus activity to Downtown for this course was great. We has weekly assignments, like two pages, and one of them was to bus downtown to this mural in a museum and write about the mural and your bus trip. I went with a group of four random students from my class and we had a really good time Downtown. We ate in the Central Market, had some great vegan donuts at Donut Friend, saw a car chase scene from The Rookie being shot, went by the Disney Concert hall, saw people doing Parkour, and tried Mochi from Little Japan. It was probably one of my favorite days at UCLA so far. You really don't have to attend lecture but you probably should, and my discussions at least were always cut short (with Aron) and he's the most chill professor I've ever had. Highly recommend this class.

One of the most exciting and rewarding classes I have taken at my time at UCLA! Firstly, this class not only satisfies a Civic Engagement minor requirement, but it is also a great way to satisfy a GE requirement.
Professor Staub truly engages with his students and is passionate about the subject matter. The readings are, for the most part, interesting, and the material is eye-opening. This class helps students learn more about the city they live in, as well as the inequalities that underline it.
The service-learning component was compelling. We could choose a service-learning site from a variety of sites that deal with different social issues. Depending on the site, responsibilities varied. I, as well as other students, received offers from our sites to continue interning/volunteering there even after the course was done.
As for the grading, we were asked to complete relatively easy critical reflections every week to comment on the week's service-learning and connect it to course material. These reflections comprised 30% of our grade. 20% of the grade was up to participation points that mostly had to do with participation in discussion, talking, sharing, engaging with other students, etc. 25% of the grade was up to a research project on an area of inequality of our choice, and the remaining 25% was up to a subsequent research project on a strategic plan to address the chosen area of inequality.
Overall, I would highly recommend this class. It is easy to receive a good grade and the professor DOES offer extra credit (up to 2 percentage points, 1 for a half page reflection on an event related to class material.) The material is extremely eye-opening and pushes students to engage with and learn more about the diverse communities of Los Angeles.

i really enjoyed this class, it helped to give a good insight to LA and the problems it has and how we can fix them and contribute our time to making solutions. i had nathalie for my ta and she was the best ta I've ever had here at UCLA, she was super accommodating and helpful with everything. there were no tests, only projects and papers which were not bad at all. the community service was nice to do too and you get fully compensated for any expenses you had to make to get to your center (like bus/uber fees). 10/10 would retake this class

Took this class to fill society GE and because I enjoy volunteering and learning about Los Angeles, I learned and gained so much more from Professor Shalom and my TA, Andrea.
The TA's and Shalom are amazing people who are passionate and driven in the right direction. The class was not very demanding with minimal reading, no tests, and weekly reflections as well as the 3 hour requirement to visit your service learning site which they connect you to, based on your interests. Its also a great opportunity to network with future organizations that might hire you, or to just get experience interning or volunteering. For the reflections as long as you connect it to one reading and one lecture you should get As on them. Also readings are minimal since most of the class work is going to your service learning site.
There is also a $57 class fee that goes into a pool that is used for reimbursing all the students for transportation to their site whether you are driving, taking a bus, or using uber (as long as you are carpooling you will get reimbursed).
Overall, an amazing course. I learned so much from lectures, discussions, movies Shalom would screen, and the guest lecturers. Shalom requires that every student meet with him at least once during the year so it shows he cares very much about his students.