Zubi is a fourth-year psychobiology student.
By Affnan Zubi
Here we are once again, caught up in the storm of Beat ‘SC
week, worrying whether or not UCLA’s football team can bounce
back from last year’s humiliating defeat to USC. Breaking
that eight-year winning streak came as a major shock to the entire
campus, not to mention the rest of Los Angeles. And this year our
chances of regaining our title are slim to none.
I have not attended a single football game, let alone watched an
entire game on television. I used to have pride in UCLA’s
football team and men’s basketball team, especially because
we had such a long winning streak against our cross-town rivals. I
would tell friends and family members, “just you watch,
we’re going to beat USC again this year.”
I joined the thousands of other students on campus who take
great pride in and boast about our school’s world-renowned
athletics department. But last year’s parking scandal and the
upset of the winning streak brought disappointment to UCLA and its
students.
Any student who believes that winning sports or receiving awards
for advances in research are the only accomplishments that can
bring a sense of pride, honor, and prestige to our university is
sorely mistaken.
I’d be the first to admit that sports and research are a
large part of what brings money and prestige to the school. But to
the average students, sports are just a form of entertainment, and
research is just an extra accomplishment for their graduate school
applications.
Unfortunately, most UCLA students are unaware of the many
programs for community service available, including programs
developed by students themselves.
For example, the Community Programs Office, housed in the
Men’s Gym, is home to a number of programs geared toward
enriching the lives of many children and adults with limited
options. One of the projects that has had a tremendous impact on
the lives of the less fortunate is the University Muslim Medical
Association (UMMA) Volunteer Project.
UVP, now in its fifth year, aims to provide the UMMA Free Clinic
with volunteer support. The UMMA Free Clinic is the first and only
Muslim-run free clinic established in the United States. The clinic
is located in South Central Los Angeles, an area that is one of the
most underserved, destitute, and crime-ridden communities in the
nation. It is only blocks away from the epicenter of the 1992 L.A.
riots.
Born out of the idea that health care should be a right and not
a privilege, UMMA was created nine years ago by a group of eight
Muslim students at UCLA. The initial intention was that the clinic
would be nothing more than a trailer to serve the poor of Los
Angeles regardless of their race, background or religion.
The group of medical, graduate and undergraduate students chose
to work with any group, Muslim or non-Muslim, that shared
UMMA’s goal of community service and the Muslim belief in
compassion for the needy.
The project proved to be a tremendous undertaking that would
last four years. The group ran into all sorts of legal, financial
and logistical problems.
But this did not deter them from accomplishing their goal. The
group of students first received sponsorship from Drew University
and the UCLA School of Medicine, and received financial support
from the city.
In 1996, construction was completed and UMMA opened its doors to
begin serving the indigent population of Los Angeles. Instead of
just opening a trailer, UCLA students pushed to open a
state-of-the-art facility with free services. Patients range from
infants to the elderly.
The clinic also offers free HIV testing, on-site mammograms,
immunizations, and vision and hearing screenings. About 90 percent
of the patients are local residents. The other 10 percent are
Muslim patients. Some of the patients drive over 60 miles to visit
the clinic.
This illustrates that there is a group of people out there that
is determined to set aside its differences and serve the community,
regardless of their religious affiliation or the color of their
skin.
Today, however, the clinic is in serious trouble. The original
grants and funding it received have begun to run out. The
increasing number of patients will soon deplete the clinic’s
small income.
Although the clinic has applied for county funding and grants
from private foundations, this money will not be available for at
least seven months. The clinic faces closure at the end of this
year if it does not receive enough support from the community to
continue its service for at least another year.
UMMA plans to hold a fundraiser this Saturday, November 18th, at
the Sequoia Conference Center in Buena Park. The outcome of this
fundraiser will make a difference for over 5,000 people.
So, while many of us at UCLA will get fired up this week and
take part in the Beat ‘SC week activities, it’s sad
that few of us know anything about the kinds of
“touchdowns” that are scored by the volunteer doctors,
nurses and students at UMMA, who consider the improvement in the
health and well-being of others their own special kind of
victory.
Why is it that athletics get so much attention from the school,
the media and the public, while something that is so important
receives little attention?
People who volunteer their time and money to worthy causes are
often asked why do they do it. What do you get in return? Having
volunteered at the clinic now for almost a year and a half and
having become one of the directors of UVP this year, I believe I
can answer this question without hesitation.
Besides the satisfaction that I get from helping out someone in
need, there is also the moral sense of duty and responsibility that
I have in helping to keep UMMA from closing its doors.
UMMA was established at UCLA in an attempt to remedy social ills
and is proof that it doesn’t matter who you are, what you
believe in, where you come from, or what your socio-economic status
is; everyone deserves the right to have basic health care.
It is for these reasons that I take pride in calling myself a
UCLA Bruin. So instead of sitting around and watching a football
game this Saturday, I’m going to be doing my part to directly
affect the lives of the over 5,000 people who depend on UMMA.