Students speak with stomachs
Students should be outraged that fascist student activists seek
to terminate Taco Bell’s contract with UCLA. The Daily Bruin
reports that Taco Bell is the second-most frequented restaurant on
campus, meaning that the silent majority are voting with their
pocket books to keep Taco Bell on campus.
Just because some activists demand that Taco Bell be removed
doesn’t mean the activists should be listened to or have
their demands met. If the activists want Taco Bell removed from
campus, they must convince students not to eat there
voluntarily.
Taco Bell has proven itself able to compete successfully with
the other businesses on campus and should be rewarded for serving
students’ interests by offering low-priced food for students
on a budget. Therefore it should be allowed to stay and continue
satisfying its customers.
Daniel Gordon Fourth-year, communication
studies
URC helps students
I’m sorry to hear that Christina Paganini felt discouraged
by her visit to the Undergraduate Research Center
(“Inadequate Counseling Hurts Students,” Nov. 18).
While it’s true the URCs do not maintain an electronic
database of available research positions, we do post in our offices
research opportunities the faculty has let us know about and do
offer workshops and individual counseling to any student interested
in becoming involved in undergraduate research.
Since UCLA is a research university, all faculty are engaged in
research. During our student research program orientation workshops
and in individual meetings, we familiarize students with the tools
and strategies for finding their best possible faculty mentor, and
for creating their most rewarding research experience. First and
foremost, we direct them to the online faculty research database
(www.research.ucla.edu/faculty) and encourage them to understand
that to become involved in the university research community is
indeed to become involved in “the real world.” In that
world, the most satisfying match between interests and
opportunities comes when one carefully defines her or his
interests, learns to articulate them clearly and confidently, and
networks with those who share them.Â
Dr. Reed Wilson, Director Undergraduate Research Center
Humanities and Social Sciences
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BAMN is undemocratic
By Any Means Necessary ““ the name alone should strike fear
into any advocate of democracy.
The group’s recent actions only solidify the claim that it
is “thuggish” and “bullying.” By
demanding the removal of a regent for no other reason than its
disagreement over the topic of affirmative action, it is
essentially trying to eliminate the voice on the other side of the
issue, and hence take the concept of choice out of our
democracy.
Just as McCarthy discovered the magic word during the red scare,
BAMN activists have found and exploited the term
“racist,” using it to spread fear and inflict damage
upon the reputation of its opponents. The members claim that
“ignorance and prejudice form the basis of all opposition to
affirmative action.” A group that is arrogant enough to make
such a statement and use any means necessary to achieve its goals
is not only misguided, it’s downright dangerous.
If we have learned anything from history, it is that injustices
arise when a group is so set in its own justifications it fails to
consider an opposing point of view. Such is the case with
BAMN. Only through its sort of skewed lens can it call a bill
rejecting racial preferences “racist.” You might
call it imprudent or ineffective, but to call it prejudice is
ridiculous.
Whether you approve of affirmative action is irrelevant, as is
your opinion of Ward Connerly. What is at stake now is
democracy. Will we allow BAMN to bully its opponents out of
office? Or will we see these tactics for what they are ““
haughty and manipulative?
Troy Masters Second-year, computer science and
engineering