Letters to the editor
Student priority
Editor:
We want students in the humanities to understand the reasoning
behind
the administrative reorganization of the Humanities Division –
the subject
of a recent Bruin article ("Department clustering creates
strange
bedfellow," Nov. 14) and Viewpoint piece ("Humanities merger
sells all
involved short," Nov. 16).
First, a little background. UCLA’s budget – including the budget
for the
humanities – was cut dramatically, effective July 1, 1994. The
Humanities
Division alone was required to sustain a cut of $1.4 million in
annually
recurring expenditures.
Our highest priority in the face of this reduction was to
preserve the
academic quality of the humanities, with a special concern for
the quality
of undergraduate and graduate education.
We could have taken the entire $1.4 million out of our teaching
budget,
but that would have put an intolerable burden on our students.
Had we done
so, classes would be larger than they currently are, scores of
courses
would be permanently eliminated, and undergraduate education
would suffer.
The alternative was to reduce our much smaller administrative
budget.
Both the teaching and the administrative budgets had already
been
subjected to previous rounds of budget cuts, and painful cuts
could not be
avoided. We were not eager to reduce the administrative budget
either, but
the alternatives were worse.
Contrary to the Viewpoint piece, our administrative
reorganization has
produced needed savings of almost one-half million dollars
annually. The
decision to take these funds out of the administrative side of
the
humanities has saved some 100 courses per year. The decision was
difficult,
but we remain convinced that it was the correct one in the best
interests
of students.
The front page Daily Bruin article suggested that the separation
of
French, Germanic, Italian, Scandinavian, comparative literature
and romance
languages/linguistics faculty from their administrative staff –
and the
resulting diminishment of their sense of community – was owed to
the
administrative reorganization. It was not.
The faculty/staff separation predated the reorganization by six
months
and was a direct consequence of the Northridge earthquake, which
displaced
all Royce Hall occupants. The staff were moved into Murphy Hall;
the
faculty, initially housed in a Westwood office building, have
recently and
mercifully been able to move back to campus into temporary
quarters.
Faculty and staff will be immediately reunited on the first day
that we
are allowed to move back into Royce Hall.
UCLA’s departments and programs in the humanities are strong,
and we are
working hard to see that they remain so. In the face of painful
budget
cuts, our goal is to inflict as little damage on academic
programs as
possible.
Pauline Yu
Dean of Humanities
Dave Wilson
Assistant Dean of Humanities
Lost tradition
Editor:
Missing: one graduation hood. If found, please return to the
graduating
class of 1996.
Have any of you seniors (or anyone else for that matter) noticed
that we
don’t wear hoods at graduation anymore? We used to. Other
schools do. We
even wear them when we take our yearbook/senior portrait
pictures. Do you
wonder what happened to them?
Why it is that we don’t wear them when we walk on that special
day in
June? Now for those of you that have no idea what we are talking
about, we
are referring to the hoods – those white and yellow pieces of
cloth that
drape over your shoulders and down your back, distinguishing
your college
graduation pictures from those of high school.
Now, you may be wondering why we are spending so much time on a
subject
that only affects a select few students, but hoods are part of
a
long-standing college tradition which has been noticeably absent
from our
commencement ceremonies for quite some time now.
We believe that it is time to bring this tradition back. (Think
of how
good our pictures will look in color!!!!) If any of you are
planning to
graduate (we know you exist) and feel as we do, speak now, or be
doomed to
wear ALL BLACK (unless you are an honor student) on that "joyous
occasion."
Keep in mind that the June sun in Los Angeles is mighty hot on
all black
polyester.
Please stop by the general representative’s office in Kerckhoff
311 and
leave word with Cheryl Chang, Nancy Licker or Maita Schuster.
This is the
first step of the rest of your life – make it a colorful
one.
Maita Schuster
Fourth-year
HistoryNancy Licker
Fifth-year
Psychology