Wednesday, October 1, 1997
Carnesale welcomes incoming class at graduate students
convoctaion
GRADUATES:
By Frances Lee
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
What do you get when you mix free food, top administrators and
about 200 students of the incoming graduate class?
Intellectual debates regarding the merits of higher education
over a plate of sushi.
That was the scene Monday night at a reception following the
graduate students convocation.
At Schoenberg Hall, Chancellor Albert Carnesale officially
welcomed the incoming graduate students, praising their diversity,
their caliber and their future contributions to society.
"You give meaning and relevance to the research being conducted
(at UCLA)," Carnesale said. "Each of you will be at the forefront
for the quest for knowledge that will change the world.
"We are all students of society’s past, present and future,"
Carnesale said. "Your journey begins here."
Carnesale also noted that he and all the incoming students had
something in common – they were all new to the campus.
This year’s incoming graduate and professional students are the
first class to be affected by the ban on affirmative action as a
deciding factor in admissions. Next spring, undergraduate admission
will be affected by the ban.
However, the chancellor waxed optimistic that diversity at UCLA
will be retained through outreach and retention programs the
university plans to augment and expand.
Andrew Westall, president of the Graduate Students Association
(GSA), took the opportunity to implore graduate students to get
involved with student government. He also touched on the problem of
maintaining diversity at the graduate level, and addressed issues
such as graduate housing, dental insurance, transportation and the
possibility of raising GSA fees.
BRENDA ZUNIGA
Chanceller Albert Carnesale and Claudia Mitchell-Kernan,
vice-chancellor of academic affairs for the graduate division,
speak to students, faculty and staff at the graduate student
convocation Monday night.