I’ll never forget the day that I first experienced life as a North Campus major in the rough terrains of South Campus.
When I revealed to an engineer in my math class that I was a political science and physiological science student, he scoffed, “Political science isn’t even real science.” This led me to explain how studying it is important because it governs law and society and to remind him that science is not the only factor driving world progress.
He wasn’t convinced.
Throughout my short-lived journey as a dual-campus major (I made a complete switch to South Campus this year for career-path reasons), I found myself constantly observing the great divide between the two campuses.
Sure, oftentimes this rivalry exists in good fun, promoting individual campus spirit and pride. But it’s no lie that the rift has led to serious misunderstanding and disrespect between the campuses.
“People don’t understand the validity in other disciplines. It’s almost like cross-cultural dialogues,” said Elisabeth Berger, external president of American Medical Student Association.
Common generalizations float in South Campus that North Campus classes are easier, and thus North Campus students have more free time and will get mediocre jobs in the future.
These generalizations survive despite the facts that North Campus classes require dense reading and difficult, time-consuming writing and that science degrees are not necessary for all career success (just look at CEOs).
On the flip side, the stereotypical South Campus student is antisocial, intensely consumed with school work and doesn’t know about current events.
But I know plenty of South Campus students who party hard, are heavily involved with social and political issues (note the number of South Campus clubs affiliated with social outreach), as well as being (gasp) cultured music and art connoisseurs.
Why do such assumptions exist, especially when they are hardly true? Why is there such lack of respect and appreciation between the campuses?
Interviewing students from both sides of the divide has led me to the conclusion that “cross-cultural” misunderstandings exist between the campuses due to many institutional differences.
One of the reasons that North Campus classes may appear “easier” is because they are usually not graded on a curve like South Campus classes are, eliminating stiff competition and allowing greater attainability of higher grades.
As a contrasting example, Communication Studies 10 is a purely North Campus class, yet it is very difficult to achieve a high grade because of its highly competitive nature as a weeder class for communication studies students.
Many assume creativity in North Campus means fabrication, also known as the art of “BS.” Samia Temsah, president of the Political Science Student Organization, doesn’t agree. In her major, it “may seem like you can make up facts, but you have to know the politics and the history.”
But these methodical discrepancies cannot account for differences in difficulty level. The two campuses employ learning approaches too different from one another to have a basis for comparison.
One person might be more apt at writing essays over studying for tests and thus considers writing essays “easier.” Another person may favor studying over writing essays, and thus consider this “easier.”
Since everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, each part of the campus offers difficulty, albeit in different ways.
Andrew Carlos, a fourth-year sociology and math student and the communication coordinator for the Sociology Undergraduate Association, said that both sides of campus offered difficulty: the intensive nature and competition from South Campus, and the immense amount of reading and essay writing from North Campus.
Stereotypes and technical differences aside, it’s easy to forget in the campus’ polarized atmospheres that society today depends on merging liberal arts ideas and the sciences to thrive.
For instance, many careers today depend on scientific background as well as political, historical and writing competence.
Wendy Breckon, a UCLA alumna and environmental lawyer, stated that law frequently coincides with science and technology.
In the more specific areas of law, such as those of chemical and environmental firms and other science-related fields, scientific knowledge is desirable, if not required. In the case of a malpractice attorney, “You pretty much have to end up with a huge medical knowledge,” Breckon said.
It is also a misleading but commonly accepted belief that majors dictate career paths.
While South Campus caters to fixed occupations and North Campus offers open career options, career success ultimately depends on the tenacity to find opportunities and build upon them, regardless of educational background.
For example, Breckon majored in psychobiology during her years at UCLA and eventually decided to pursue law.
The division between the arts and the sciences stands not only internally but in the university’s physical arrangement as well.
But before graduation and entering the real world, it would be wise to realize that in reality, both are equally significant in society today, and thus appreciation and respect is due for both fields.
E-mail Yoo at jyoo@media.ucla.edu.Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.