Daily Bruin won’t give up its liberty for USAC

EDITORIAL BOARD Editor in
Chief  Timothy Kudo

Managing Editor
 Michael Falcone

Viewpoint Editor
 Cuauhtemoc Ortega

Staff Representatives
 Maegan Carberry
 Edward Chiao
 Kelly Rayburn

Editorial Board Assistants
 Maegan Carberry
 Edward Chiao

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Undergraduate Students Association Council general
representative David Dahle is right: USAC and the Daily Bruin both
serve the UCLA community. But where the two campus entities’
objectives overlap in some small areas, our overall purposes are
entirely different.

Dahle suggests that in order to improve the university, the two
should agree on mutual goals and work together to remove the
“culture of suspicion” that plagues our mutual
progress. But the day a newspaper loses its skepticism or submits
itself to partnerships with people or groups in power is the day
individual liberty and a free and responsible press is lost.

It may seem impossible ““ or laughable ““ that liberty
could be lost between a student government and college newspaper.
Who takes either that seriously? But as the future leaders of this
nation, we must consider the consequences of these smaller
scenarios and how they represent larger conflicts.

Think of the current national debate over the way Vice President
Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld have limited
press coverage of the war on terrorism. It shows the relationship
between government and media, even at the collegiate level, is
important because if people don’t know what their government
is doing, for or against them, their freedom and ability to make
informed decisions is compromised.

This is why the Daily Bruin strives to provide accurate
coverage. We try to be a mirror reflecting the events and issues
involving student government, athletics, campus groups, faculty,
the administration and individual students. We are not always
perfect, but who is? But this is why we invite editorial
submissions and letters to the editor from outside students and
groups. In this way we are both fair and accountable to our
readers.

The Bruin shares Dahle’s concerns regarding student
apathy, as we have discussed countless times in our daily
editorials and standard coverage. However, our vision of what
causes the problem is not aligned with Dahle’s interpretation
that students don’t know what USAC is and does. While being
uninformed is certainly a problem, the larger factor influencing
student apathy is the correct perception that USAC is a narrowly
interested body.

In an effort to pursue their primary cause ““ the progress
of underrepresented students at UCLA ““ the council’s
majority party, Student Empowerment!, and its predecessors Praxis
and Students First! have alienated the majority of students. And
while The Bruin has ardently supported the progress of
underrepresented students, this editorial board does not stand
behind a single-issue government. This university’s students
have many practical needs ““ quality of education, housing,
parking and financial aid ““ that cannot be ignored, even in
the pursuit of social change.

We join Dahle in seeking improved coverage of USAC, because
improvement is why we come to work every day. But we will never
forgo our objectivity in the pursuit of “mutual goals,”
and we will continue to react to events on campus as we see
them.

We want a working relationship with USAC that involves mutual
respect and cooperation. But The Bruin and USAC will never be
partners. We hope the only partnerships The Bruin ever has will be
with our readers.