Sure, Welcome Week makes it seems like things are going to be
all fun and games this year, but we all know better than that.
Here’s a brief, tragically incomplete list of some issues
students will have to come to grips with once again this year.
“¢bull;Impersonal education: Complaining about distant
professors and lackadaisical teaching assistants is more than
common at UCLA, but students rarely bother to turn the finger of
blame inward. Few students seek out their professors or TAs for a
discussion outside of class unless they are trying to drop it or
switch out of their 8 a.m. discussion section.
It isn’t professors’ fault lectures number in the
hundreds, and they can’t be expected to call all of their
students just to check in. Those that want a more personal
education need to take it upon themselves to go to office hours or
call their professors to discuss intriguing ideas the class has
raised. The bottom line is students can receive a personal
education at UCLA if they really want it ““ the unfortunate
part is many don’t.
“¢bull;Financial Aid: This has been affected at many levels in
the last year. Not only has President Bush cut federal aid
programs, (reducing Pell Grants for many students), Cal Grant
distribution has also been threatened by the unstable state budget
situation. Of course, students can always get more loans, but this
has long term implications ““ namely, students losing free
money from the government and falling deeper into debt.
The financial aid issue really boils down to access to education
““ without the former, the latter suffers, especially for
students of low income backgrounds who have no other means of
paying the costs of attending UCLA. At a public institution, money
should not be the reason why otherwise qualified students are not
enrolling. Chancellor Carnesale may be correct in his assertion
that UCLA is still one of the best deals around, but a shortfall of
financial aid could prevent this from being true in the future.
“¢bull;Minimum progress requirement: This new guideline, in its
second year, monitors students’ unit progress every two
quarters, eventually forcing them to take 13 units every quarter,
which in most cases equals four classes.
While ensuring students graduate in four years may sound like a
good idea at first, the plan comes at a cost. Students have less
time to pursue extracurricular activities or fully devote
themselves to a particular class or subject when they are forced to
consistently take a large class load. Some students have to work
multiple jobs and cannot afford to take as many units as those who
don’t. Much like this year’s reduced financial aid
pool, this policy can unintentionally undermine the
university’s aim to make education readily available to
students of every socio-economic background. Exceptions from this
policy can be obtained, but only for some students ““ and even
then they have to brave the Murphy Hall bureaucracy to get
them.
“¢bull;The Middle East Conflict: The debate over who is right or
wrong in a battle ten thousand miles away consumed huge amounts of
the campus’ passion and energy last year. The typical dogma
of both the Israelis and Palestinians was recited with frightening
frequency, and peaceful demonstrations often degenerated into rowdy
protests.
But instead of blaming each other for crimes against humanity
neither has any control over, the Muslim Students Association and
Jewish Student Union should focus on co-programming this year.
Events which bring both communities together for discussion or just
friendship would be a welcome change of pace from the charged
exchanges which have typified their relationship thus far.
Co-planning an event of this nature would set an example of mature
political awareness and understanding for the rest of the
campus.
It has been pointed out that no one should expect the
Palestinians and Israelis fighting in the Middle East to settle
their differences when their respective supporters on campus
can’t do likewise.