By Maisha Elonai
People succumb to a dangerous mindset when they act as if their
actions don’t affect anything. It’s not true.
Individuals make significant impacts on their surroundings, and
UCLA students have an even greater potential to do so. I say this
as much for myself as for any reader. All too frequently in college
my life has felt useless, and apparently there are other students
who feel the same way about themselves. I hear students continually
asking the question, “How can I make a difference?” And
it’s usually not because they want something to do. More
frequently, the question is a rhetorical way of saying “I
don’t count for anything, leave me alone.” I heard it
last spring, when students talked to campaign representatives
during elections for the Undergraduate Students Association
Council. I’ve heard it screamed by students fleeing CALPIRG
representatives. I heard it during the March primaries. I’ve
heard it during religious debates. There seems to be a prevailing
attitude at UCLA ““ activism is for liberal newspapers and
student governments. Students should sit down, shut up, and do
their homework. Don’t argue for anything that’s
divisive. Let other people manage their business, because even if
they are suffering, your effort does relatively little for them.
Party as much as you can and remember to wear sunscreen. Ladies and
gents, I’d like to suggest that this attitude is social
cancer. We believe we’re worthless, so we give up on working
toward our ideals. If we don’t get to our ideals, we believe
we’re worthless even more. It’s like the alcoholic in
“The Little Prince” who drank because he was ashamed of
his alcoholism. There are plenty of people like that alcoholic
wandering around campus, satisfied with a drink or maybe getting
laid. But for those of you who need more to be satisfied, there are
easy ways to have a positive impact on our universal surroundings.
Here are a few: Make The Hunger Site your home page on the
Internet. It can be found at http://www.thehungersite.com.
Click on the button to donate food when you open your browser. You
will send one and a half cups of food through the United Nations to
a hungry person who might starve without your click. Since the
donations are sponsored by advertisers, this comes at absolutely no
charge to you, except for the energy expenditure it takes to move
one finger a day. Vive la difference. If you’re feeling
really adventurous, you can follow the link to http://www.therainforestsite.com.
Visit that site and you can save a happy tree and its inhabitants.
Of course, there are also non-Internet-related activities that you
can participate in, as well. Smile at people. Eye contact is a rare
occurrence in Southern California, and I have found that people are
generally pleased to encounter a shining face. It may even make
them feel better about themselves. Sign up to give blood. This
process takes less than 30 minutes, and could save a life in an
emergency situation. You won’t go unrewarded, either. Donors
can claim a range of rewards from free food to movie passes to four
hours of worker’s compensation, depending on what the Blood
and Platelet Center has to offer. Go tutor one high school student
once a week with any one of the number of organizations promoting
such social services at UCLA. You will learn valuable people
skills, and be able to cite job experience on your resume.
Meanwhile, you may be helping to resolve the issue of dwindling
diversity on college campuses, and you will definitely be helping
one particular student. Si, se puede. And of course, you can always
take the time to vote. Voting sounds complicated, and the issues
are frequently complex, but at UCLA, getting registered and finding
information is relatively easy. You can register to vote on Bruin
Walk long before absentee ballots are due. The Daily Bruin offers
news and opinion-based summaries of most issues the week before
elections. Just pick up a paper, skim through the arguments, and
vote for your beliefs. This is a quantifiable method to fight for
your ideals. And when you’re done, you can dump the Bruin in
one of a growing number of recycling bins on campus. And if
you’re irritated with this old, hashed-over argument, write a
retort to the Daily Bruin at [email protected].
With a circulation averaging 18,000 daily, you’re bound to
sway someone to your point of view. Of course, I also encourage
people to use this forum to introduce new issues to the paper, too.
The Bruin is always looking for fresh meat. These are only a few of
the myriad of activities you can participate in to make some change
in the global community. If you don’t have time to do much
you can start small with a smile or a donation; those little
efforts add up. Take it from a student graduating summa cum laude
““ it is possible to have friends and a successful academic
career while still pushing toward your ideals. With such sharp
minds and cutting-edge technology at UCLA, we may even work
miracles to improve the global quality of living. Of course, that
takes a huge effort, but you and I are nascent superheros.
Don’t let anyone tell you differently.