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Daniel Neuman is about to realize UCLA needs more from a vice
chancellor than they’ve seen in recent years. Neuman, the
newly appointed executive vice chancellor, not only faces difficult
budget cut decisions in the coming year, but he also inherits a
campus divided on all levels. His boss, Chancellor Albert
Carnesale, has changed the position of EVC and labeled the UC
budget as the position’s top priority. Neuman must help
Carnesale realize that while budget concerns are paramount, it is
equally important for UCLA’s top administrators, be it the
EVC or chancellor himself, to create a more inclusive campus
community for UCLA’s students, staff and faculty.
As it stands now, UCLA is a particularly fractured community.
The rising cost of housing has pushed many students to commute to
school, limiting their experience of UCLA to simply attending class
and taking exams.
The problem, though, runs deeper than housing. There is no
single issue on this campus that brings all students together. Even
if there were, the pace of the exchange of ideas in recent years
would suggest no one would engage it anyway. Classes are too large
to be conducive to real discussion and students don’t know
enough of their peers to create the opportunity to associate
outside the classroom.
Neuman, however, has a good idea of the divide between students
and faculty. He wants to foster an academic community, akin to
Europe’s most prestigious universities, where students and
professors can exchange ideas, amongst themselves and with each
other, outside of the strict classroom setting. He wants to
increase the public space on campus and insists that public
discussion cannot be considered a “luxurious
afterthought.”
Chancellor Carnesale, though, may feel otherwise as he believes
the EVC position will be geared toward handling the fiscal
intricacies of the university in the upcoming years. While these
issues are important and interwoven with the fabric of our
community, someone must step in and proactively foster a more
inclusive campus community himself.
Regular attendance at student meetings would be a good start.
USAC and GSA meetings occur regularly, but it is even rarer to see
the administration in attendance than it is the students. The
chancellor, or at the very least a highly recognizable member of
the administration, ought to be concerned enough with the going-ons
and concerns of the student body to show up for their government
meetings.
Attendance at sporting events other than football and basketball
would be a good way to increase visibility as well. Maybe even lead
the student cheer at a basketball game. Standing up for student
concerns in dealings with the Westwood Homeowners Association
wouldn’t hurt either.
It’s easy for Carnesale to talk big about promoting
student concerns, or for Neuman to preach about students and
faculty challenging each other intellectually. But actions speak
much louder than words, and none of their actions directly involve
themselves with the students on a daily basis. The administration
is nosing out USAC in the race to be the most anonymous leadership
entity on this campus. The lack of visibility of both is atrocious,
but it all starts, or in this case, fails to start, at the top. The
apathy that UCLA has become notorious for is bred by
dissatisfaction, and we are most dissatisfied with our
leader’s lack of concern and initiative. Neuman represents a
fresh face as EVC and must use his position to turn this campus
around.