Every year at freshman convocation, the chancellor announces the increased academic excellence of incoming students, as evidenced by higher GPAs and superior SAT scores. Unfortunately for the campus, many students, in their rush to sustain these kinds of lofty academic standards, neglect a crucial part of a quality education – developing a relationship with their community.
Too many students have lost sight of what it means to earn a liberal arts education. While many students learn the basic skills necessary to thriving in their chosen careers, they often lack any meaningful ties to the individuals living on their floors or sitting next to them in their classes.
Unfortunately, UCLA students aren’t alone in this attitude; they reflect American culture’s glorification of individualism, to the detriment of communal responsibility. This larger societal problem is no excuse for college students, though, because with our degrees comes a responsibility: We must lead our generation and we must do so with a “proper education” supporting us.
That education can not be found solely in any book or lecture hall. Students must adopt this learning by interacting with others – outside of the classroom.
Recent events, however, prove that this kind of collective, campus involvement is happening less and less. At the same time, the sad consequences of this inaction are becoming clear enough.
During the summer, at least 19 football players abused the use of disabled parking placards, thoughtlessly violating the rights of the disabled community. Not only did the impending scandal impose damage on the team’s morale, it also left a mark of shame on the university. The student-athletes involved weren’t the only ones who realized their continuous insensitivity to the rights of the disabled community.
And nowadays, even protests seem to garner little campus-wide reaction. When the law school’s dwindling number of underrepresented minorities prompted law students to protest, few outside of the demonstration seemed to care, or help in the fight.
As undergraduates continue the same struggle – this time while lobbying for the repeal of SP-1, the 1995 Regents measure that banned affirmative action in admissions – many other students seem disinterested.
All students, however, should care about the issue of affirmative action, because of the gains it made in attempting to level the playing field in a society still suffering from institutional racism. Its end has benefited no one, and has effectively resegregated the UC’s top campuses.
The November elections also proved California voters were disinterested – apparently the rights of homosexuals and children meant nothing, as both hateful Propositions 21 and 22 passed into law. Measures like these deserve the attention, and abhorrence, of UCLA students. Whether or not they feel the direct effects of such legislation, these new laws involve individuals in our community – anyone who has ever loved anyone of the same sex or who has been young and accused of a crime.
Early this quarter, a string of hate-related incidents shocked many students. A man kicked an African American woman on the steps of Campbell Hall while yelling racial slurs, the offices of certain student advocacy groups were vandalized with pictures of swastikas, and posters depicting people of color were mutilated. These events are a reflection of tensions in our society that university students should not be ignoring.
Racial tensions also heightened on campus during the recent USAC elections, as different students tossed accusations of discrimination back and forth, frequently without bothering to justify their claims. All this, and less than 25 percent of undergraduates turned out to vote. Again, this example demonstrates a lack of student interest and active participation in the campus community.
Still, the victory won by academic student employees for higher wages and better benefits should serve as an example of the power of student solidarity. Most of the people who fought for these rights will not be here to enjoy the fruits of their work. But they were driven by a social responsibility that transcended narrow self-interest.
Clearly, students need to re-evaluate their definition of what it means to attain a “quality” education. While we are entitled to concrete academic preparation for the world we will soon will enter, we should also seek out educational experiences that will broaden our world view and make us conscious of social conditions, even if they don’t affect us directly.
With the privilege of attending such a prestigious educational institution, comes an important social responsibility. UCLA students are part of an elite group in society. We are the future CEOs, politicians, the lawyers, doctors and teachers. We must be prepared to use our future status to benefit others, as well as ourselves.
Important lessons can be learned from participation and on-campus involvement; these lessons are crucial to educating truly enlightened future leaders.