Monday, September 22, 1997 Viewpoint wants your ideas and
contributions COLUMN: This is the readers’ section of The Bruin; we
invite you to join the forum, share your responses
Welcome! As this year’s Viewpoint editor and assistant Viewpoint
editor we have particular reason to be excited. That’s because we
create a place for free expression and the exchange of ideas on
campus.
Of course, everyone here at Viewpoint realizes that a forum for
debate is useless if nobody chooses to participate in it. Would we
need Pauley Pavilion if UCLA students didn’t play basketball or
volleyball? Like any arena, the success of Viewpoint depends on the
people who step into the spotlight.
Viewpoint’s top priority this year is to be more proactive in
its solicitation of articles from students like you. We want
everyone to feel comfortable taking the Viewpoint spotlight to
voice their opinions on important issues. Don’t just read the
section, take ownership of it! If you feel that your views are not
being represented, become an advocate for your cause.
Throughout the year we hope to excite, entice and enlighten you
with a variety of old favorites and new additions. As usual,
editorials and columns will continue as Viewpoint staples. They
will be joined by In the Loop, which will feature in-depth
discussions with policy makers and pundits; Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down,
point-blank commentary at fully automatic speed; and The Forum,
various articles centered around one topic. We humbly hope that
these, coupled with reader participation, will make for a great
year.
This edition of Viewpoint features three distinct sections. The
space titled Campus deals with (you guessed it) the variety of
topics we as students, faculty and staff must tackle in the coming
year. In addition to general education reform and financial aid,
the winners and losers of last spring’s Undergraduate Student
Association Council (USAC) elections spar a healthy exchange over
student government’s agenda. Justice?!, the second section, is a
critical look at the criminal justice and law enforcement systems
in this country. The section on American Identity examines the
constantly expanding and evolving perimeters of life in this
nation. Our desire is to extend beyond the confines of race, which
usually typifies discussions of this nature. Therefore, articles
about language and economics join others as we peruse the
intricacies of this patchwork we call America.
Viewpoint will only work if we work together. That means
reading, writing and talking amongst each other. Join the
discourse!
Jioni Palmer
Jennifer Nelson
Palmer is a fifth-year African American studies student and is
Viewpoint editor. Nelson is a third-year paleo-biology student and
is Viewpoint assistant editor.