This post was updated Oct. 13 at 3:00 p.m.
Editor’s note: This post’s headline was updated Oct. 11 at 12:12 p.m. to reflect that the post is an editorial, not an op-ed.
The first Monday of the academic year is usually reserved for first-day jitters. But for the thousands of Bruins who benefit from the Community Programs Office’s services, Sept. 29 represented a failure by UCLA to care for its students’ most fundamental needs.
Last week, the CPO’s Computer Lab, the Basic & Essential Needs Collective Lounge, the Food Closet and main offices shut their doors. These closures point to a troubling sign of UCLA’s wavering commitment to supporting students from marginalized communities.
The CPO temporarily closed due to hiring delays and pending staff extensions, according to a sign posted outside the office. The origins of the hiring issues date back to March, when UCLA began a review of all university positions, as well as a system-wide hiring freeze amid ongoing UC-wide financial difficulties. In July, UCLA did not extend the contracts of five access program project leaders due to federal scrutiny of its diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Such an essential office should not be in the crosshairs of the federal government, let alone those of UCLA.
Created in 1970, the Community Programs Office provides basic services for Bruins while retaining their privacy. The Food Closet supplies food to those facing financial uncertainty. The Computer Lab provides students with computers, high-speed internet and printers. The Food Cart Program delivers food to student organizations to support financially vulnerable students. The SmartRides Service enables commuter students to get to campus when they may otherwise have trouble traveling.
The CPO also conducts an annual Turkey Food Box giveaway. Last Thanksgiving, CPO staff members distributed more than 1,000 boxes to UCLA community members in need.
These programs have tangible impacts on students and community members. Thirty-nine percent of UCLA undergraduate students identify as having “low” or “very low” food security according to a spring 2024 study. Research links food insecurity to lower graduation rates, especially among first-generation college students.
Similarly, a lack of access to adequate technology is associated with leaving school before graduating.
When faced with funding cuts, UCLA must prioritize basic-needs services. Any student going without food or the necessary technology to succeed in class is a failure of the UCLA administration.
The administration has let down its students and gone against its own mission of “creating and fostering a respectful, cooperative, equitable and civil campus environment for our diverse campus communities.”
How can we call UCLA’s campus environment equitable when some students were left hungry on the first day of class? How can we consider our community respectful while some of its members do not have access to the technology to engage in class?
UCLA is facing financial and political pressures, but the university cannot put basic-needs services on the bargaining table.
In order to live up to its duty as a public university, UCLA must affirm its commitment to supporting marginalized communities and dedicate long-term funding toward the CPO and other basic-need services.
“Student Affairs quickly resolved the issue that temporarily affected operations at the Community Programs Office last Monday,” said a spokesperson from UCLA Student Affairs. “We remain committed to providing adequate staffing and resources, especially for our essential basic needs services and offerings.”
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