Take five minutes to fight for your education
By Barbara Brazil
and John Du
These are the top 10 things that John Du, your student government's external vice president, can do in five minutes:
10. Tie his shoe laces.
9. Brush his teeth.
8. Move 2 feet in a Murphy Hall line.
7. Travel 1 mile on the 405 freeway during rush hour.
6. Take a dump.
5. Get through to URSA (if he's lucky).
4. Have sex.
3. Pick his nose.
2. Bite his toenail.
1. Help you RECLAIM YOUR EDUCATION!
Here at UCLA, the Students First! officers in the Undergraduate Students Association Council are implementing the "FIVE MINUTE CAMPAIGN" to reclaim our education. We figure that if you can spend five minutes performing trivial tasks, you can spend five minutes to fight for your education. In five minutes, you can register to vote, sign a postcard and make a phone call to your representative or regent.
The "FIVE MINUTE CAMPAIGN" is designed with the understanding that most students simply do not have 10 hours a week to advocate student issues. (Even though we'd like that to be true.) At the same time, the "FIVE MINUTE CAMPAIGN" is designed to involve students concerned about systematic attacks on education.
Since 1991, fees have increased 135 percent, and federal financial aid - Pell Grants, Perkins Loans, State Student Incentive Grants (Cal-Grants) - faces potential cuts. In addition, affirmative action programs have been eliminated by the UC Regents, and immigrant rights are once again threatened by fear and scapegoating. These attacks affect us all.
Rising registration fees mean shifting hours away from school to work. Cuts to financial aid mean 60 percent of UCLA students who receive aid will either work longer hours or drop out. The elimination of affirmative action will result in a 50 percent drop in African American enrollment, and a 30 to 45 percent drop in Chicano and Latino enrollment, ultimately affecting every student's educational opportunity.
Over 25 percent of all UCLA students who receive financial aid are legal residents who pay taxes and are going through the process of acquiring citizenship. Republicans plan on passing legislation that may deny all types of federal aid, including financial aid, to legal residents.
We all care about the direction in which our education is headed. Apathy is a myth that was concocted to disempower students. If there were a way to get involved and contribute to a meaningful cause, we would all do it, especially if it only took five minutes.
How effective can students be if we work collectively? Last year, students across the state, in conjunction with the University of California Students Association, gained enough support from the public and the state legislature to stop a fee increase. This year, the United States Students Association played an integral role in restoring $10 billion in federal student aid. Students worked in solidarity all over the state in the last few months to stop another registration fee hike for the coming year.
Students First! representatives will be on Bruin Walk and in Campbell Hall every week Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. There will be a different focus every week, like defeating the California Civil Rights Initiative and stopping financial aid cuts. Drop by and pick up an informational pamphlet on these issues.
While you're at it, take five minutes to register to vote, sign a post card and make a phone call to your representative or regent. Primaries for the 1996 elections are in March, so register to vote if you have recently moved.
Brazil and Du are Students First! representatives. Brazil is the undergraduate internal vice president; Du is external vice president.Comments to webmaster@db.asucla.ucla.edu