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For many graduating seniors, the past four years at UCLA have been shaped by world events such as the start of a war and one of the worst

natural disasters in the nation’s history.

Whether through individual trips to places struck by disaster, participation in protests or group events and programs, students have expressed concern over issues that both directly and indirectly affect their lives.

Though many student groups have worked on issues that are not

specific to UCLA, some have consistently made an effort to connect those issues back to the university community.

Adam Elsayed, the outgoing vice president of the Muslim Student Association, said his group has worked to educate students about Islam, and combat the anti-Muslim sentiment he felt has been prevalent in the U.S. ever since Sept. 11.

Elsayed cited immigration rights, the Patriot Act, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the war in Iraq, and the publication of Danish cartoons portraying the prophet Muhammad, as a few of the issues that have raised concern among the members of MSA in the past four years.

“We try to promote awareness regarding why it’s so important for our faith that the prophet Muhammad is not depicted in any way, ... and we hope that people take into

consideration the sensitivity that the faith has,” he said in regard to

the publication of the Danish cartoons.

The Bruin Republicans have also worked to integrate national issues into the university community. David Lazar, vice chairman of Bruin Republicans, said the group routinely participates in voter-registration drives on campus, and that several members worked on the Bush re-election campaign in 2004.

In recent years, some groups have sprung up to address more specific national and international issues within the university setting.

The Darfur Action Committee, a coalition of several student groups, was created in November 2004 to protest a situation in Sudan that Congress has labeled genocide.

The Darfur Action Committee has functioned as part of a nationwide network dedicated to pressuring the government of Sudan to help the people of Darfur.

In two years, student leaders had created a Sudan divestment task force in an effort to urge the University of California Regents to withdraw holdings from the region.

In March, the regents voted to divest from its investments in nine companies with holdings in Sudan.

Some groups, though, have focused on issues that affect UCLA more directly.

In light of the decreasing percentage of underrepresented minorities admitted to the UC, MEChA has worked with administrators in hopes of changing the university’s admissions process.

In addition to activities addressing diversity in admissions, Jenny Galvez, chair of MEChA, noted various policies the group has worked on in the past, including pushing for higher education for undocumented immigrants and advocating for affirmative action.

This trend of localizing national issues has begun to spill over to other campus entities, and in the past few years has been adopted by student government.

Tina Park, current external vice president of the Undergraduate Students Association Council, said her slate, Students First!, has also recently worked to address the decreasing presence of underrepresented minorities on campus.

She added that Students First! worked toward the departmentalization of the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center and the UCLA Asian American Studies Center.

While the most pressing world issues will certainly change over the next four years, student groups have set a trend of making those issues relevant to UCLA.