Monday, June 3, 1996
Senior graduates with a new attitude toward future alma
mater
Politics, politics, politics. It’s the second to last week of
another awesome year here at UCLA. So for this week, I’ll spare you
from my caustic commentary and stinging criticism of liberals. No
hard-line conservative causes this week. No political arguments
this week. My last column is about (what else?) the place that made
it happen for me  UCLA.
So in a few days, I get to take the stroll. The stroll down to
Pauley Pavilion to acquire my Bachelor of Arts degree, the
culmination of my time spent here at UCLA. I’m not much for
sentimentality, but I’ll try my best.
When I applied to undergraduate colleges, UCLA was not my top
choice. Hell, it was my second to last choice of 14 schools. But
the way things worked out, I ended up here anyhow. Disgruntled, I
tried to make the best out of what seemed like a hopelessly dismal
situation.
Maybe it was the fact that it was less than an hour from home.
Maybe it was because my dad went here and tried to always sell this
place to me. Or maybe I just wanted to head to the East Coast to
get away from California and all the "fun and sun" for a while.
Whatever it was, I was sure I didn’t want to go to UCLA. I
thought, "Come on, this place has no reputation, nothing to offer.
It’s just gonna be a damn madhouse in the middle of the city."
But it wasn’t. Since the first day I set foot on campus, I
realized that this campus was the right place for me. There was
always stuff happening: concerts, parties, visiting dignitaries,
protests, marches, speeches, NCAA basketball championships. So
through all of the hoopla of my first year here, I struggled to
carve myself a nice niche.
I found it in the Community Service Commission. I said to
myself, "What the hell? I need something to put on my resume or I
ain’t getting into law school." I signed up with Project Literacy
to start tutoring illiterate adults. To my amazement, I actually
loved it.
As the months went by, I became more engrossed with Project
Literacy, and later with UCLA’s Hunger Project. This year, I had
opportunities to take leadership roles in these organizations, and
I truly enjoyed that. Everyone at UCLA can get some schooling and
book knowledge while they are here. But in my opinion, one’s real
education in college comes not from classrooms, but from the people
and things around oneself.
For me, community service taught me a lot about life and the
struggles that some people in our society have to cope with. It
also showed a naive little kid like me the stark reality of human
nature, the selfishness, the greed and the anger in the eyes of
some of the people I sought to help.
My advice to continuing students is to get involved with
community service here at UCLA if you have the chance. The
organization aims to do nothing more than improve the society we
live in, one person and one community at a time. You may never get
the opportunity to meet such an active and exciting group of people
as you will find in the Community Service Commission  take it
from someone who is at polar opposites with most volunteers’ basic
political and ideological inclinations.
More advice? Stay away from student government. Avoid it like
the plague; they’ll suck your soul dry. No, seriously, there are
certain parts of the Undergraduate Students Association Council
that do a lot of beneficial things. But the head honchos are
concerned with nothing more than advancing their own wacky agendas.
It don’t matter what party they are, it’s all bullshit. But then
again, I don’t need to really tell you all this, do I? After all,
only 20 percent of undergrads voted last month.
While I’m in the advice mode, let me tell you that UCLA has a
much bigger name and reputation around the country than I would’ve
ever guessed when I came here. We’re not Harvard or Stanford but
hey, how many basketball championships have they won?
I was constantly told by law schools and professional schools
from the East Coast that UCLA does not have the academic reputation
of an "elite" school. It’s too bad they saw it that way, because
employers in Washington D.C. told me that they trusted nobody else
more than UCLA grads! Don’t let anyone tell you anything different
from that.
The end of your UCLA career will come someday. Enjoy your time
here while you have it. Those early morning jogs, late-night snacks
at the Coop and grueling b-ball sessions at the Wooden Center.
Can’t say I’ll miss all that sweat and fatigue, but I’ll definitely
miss the ambiance of this place.
Geez, I’m almost teary-eyed. I can’t believe I’m actually
leaving this place. Thrilled? A little. (No more finals or blue
books!) Scared? Very. (Havin’ to make a bunch of new friends).
Worried? Yeah. (No law school on earth has prettier women than this
place). Relieved? Yep, I finally made it.
It’s like they say, "You never really appreciate what you have
until you lose it." I’m sure every other columnist has said this,
but I’ll say it too: I’m gonna miss this place.
Patel is a fourth-year political science student. This is his
last column.