By Daniel B. Rego
I feel that the Daily Bruin Editorial Board completely missed
the mark in its editorial, “Students ignore
community in quest for diploma” (Viewpoint, May 31). The
board seems to forget that people come to this campus to learn
about the field(s) of study that they wish to major in, as well as
other fields. Most students do not come here to get involved in
political fights or make a social impact ““ they come here to
study and learn. UCLA is an academic institution, not a center for
social activism.
Students are not apathetic to the protests and politics because
they simply are not “educated” about them. Students
ignore these things because they are busy going to class, attending
lectures and laboratories, and otherwise getting an academic
education.
Also, the Editorial Board doesn’t seem to understand that
not all students want affirmative action. I, myself, have had to
spend much time and money as a volunteer to help end affirmative
action. It is sad that the Editorial Board considers supporting
affirmative action part of an education, while seeing people not
support it is somehow a failure of those students themselves.
Being socially responsible is a good thing, but it should not
come at the expense of going to class and learning. Students are
busy with their academic pursuits. They have no time to engage in
protests and such. People don’t pay thousands of dollars to
go here for the sake of “getting socially involved.”
Rather, they come here to earn a degree and learn the material to
give that degree meaning.
I have sacrificed grades and academics in my years here in an
attempt to counter the so-called “social
responsibility” at UCLA. To put it bluntly, this
“involvement” has hurt my education, as it has
undoubtedly hurt the education of others.
Let the students concentrate on getting a real education at
UCLA. Don’t demand that they sacrifice that education for
social activism of only certain political ideologies.