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EDITORIAL BOARD Editor in Chief  Timothy Kudo

Managing Editor

 Michael Falcone

Viewpoint Editor

 Cuauhtemoc Ortega

Staff Representatives

 Maegan Carberry

 Edward Chiao

 Kelly Rayburn

Editorial Board Assistants

 Maegan Carberry

 Edward Chiao

  Unsigned editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily Bruin Editorial Board. All other columns, letters and artwork represent the opinions of their authors.   All submitted material must bear the author's name, address, telephone number, registration number, or affiliation with UCLA. Names will not be withheld except in extreme cases.   The Bruin complies with the Communication Board's policy prohibiting the publication of articles that perpetuate derogatory cultural or ethnic stereotypes.   When multiple authors submit material, some names may be kept on file rather than published with the material. The Bruin reserves the right to edit submitted material and to determine its placement in the paper. All submissions become the property of The Bruin. The Communications Board has a media grievance procedure for resolving complaints against any of its publications. For a copy of the complete procedure, contact the Publications office at 118 Kerckhoff Hall. Daily Bruin 118 Kerckhoff Hall 308 Westwood Plaza Los Angeles, CA 90024 (310) 825-9898

Dr. Seuss, The Berenstein Bears, Ramona Quimby – we all had our favorite childhood books in grade school. But for many young students in Los Angeles public schools, these books are a luxury they cannot afford.

But Bruin Up Books can change this. The program, created by Megan Franke, the Faculty in Residence for Courtside in Sunset Village, is designed to get residence hall students to donate books via Scholastic book order forms. The books will then be donated to kids in local schools. These are the same book order forms we brought home to our parents each year when we were in elementary school. Now, resident hall students can pass on this experience to students in need.

With book prices ranging from 95 cents to $5.95, even students on the tightest budgets can afford to donate several books. Pass up the X-cape arcade for a day or pack a bag lunch instead of spending $5 for lunch on campus. With the ambitious goal of donating 6,000 books to L.A. schools, every small contribution from students helps.

We hope the Bruin Up Books program will be successful enough to convince Franke and others to expand the program beyond the residence halls. If every student at UCLA donates just one book, L.A.’s inner-city school districts could receive a windfall of over 30,000 books – all at a minimal individual cost.

The seemingly small donation would provide long-lasting benefits to schools and their students. Access to books helps foster students’ reading, comprehension and creative skills. This establishes a foundation for young students to tackle more complex reading and critical subjects in high school, helping them become more prepared for college.