Close the paper. Read that red sentence one more time. The Bill
of Rights guarantees your freedom of speech, but when was the last
time you needed it?
If it’s been more than a week since you said something
provocative or challenged societal norms, it’s been too long.
UCLA, a place full of tremendous minds, doesn’t seem to have
any great thinkers. This institution, supposedly one of the best in
the nation, has become intellectually boring.
People now are more interested in receiving the right answer
than asking the right question. The cramming practices students
developed prior to admission and refined afterwards have spilled
over the barrier between class and private life. UCLA students
often live the Cliff’s Notes version of life ““ skipping
over apparent lulls but only gaining a superficial understanding in
the process.
But the apathy that flows through this campus ““ that ties
a higher percentage of the student body together than any other
commonality I can think of ““ is more hazardous than it
appears. Looking to have a good time at college is one thing, but
when grades and entertainment become students’ sole
prerogative, ignorance is sure to follow.
Check out the “Bubble” Speaks Out sections in this
issue for proof of the student body’s general ignorance.
Multiple students confessed they had become less aware about off
campus issues since enrolling at UCLA; some even seem proud of
their ignorance.
It becomes awfully hard to care about anything when you
don’t know anything to care about. Ignorance and apathy have
fallen into a self-sustaining cycle at UCLA, and sorting out
exactly which causes which is no easier to answer than whether the
chicken preceded the egg. But the first step in breaking the cycle
is becoming informed about the world around you.
Before we graduate, we ought to learn how to lead. And before we
can lead, we have to learn how to think. Otherwise, Bruins will
become known for their abilities as lab technicians and
middle-management types ““ not unrespectable positions, to be
sure, but not at all revered.
More importantly, we’ll end up incapable of answering
life’s big questions for ourselves once there is no one left
to give us the answers. The fault for the downfall of
intellectualism at UCLA and onus to revive it lies solely with the
students. Professors, intelligent as they may be, will never be
able to do more than inspire critical thought. And they’ve
inspired all they can. They can’t live our lives for us.
But students go through life so afraid of giving a supposedly
wrong answer they’ve forgotten how to think. Offering an
opinion which may or may not be right isn’t the equivalent of
sitting at the high-roller table. He who gives an opinion, even a
wrong opinion, will be better known, better-remembered, and
better-respected than the hordes who are afraid to open their
mouths or, in the case of Viewpoint, put pen to paper.
This issue of Viewpoint is a compilation of opinions on issues
directly relating to students. Some are serious, some critical,
some funny, but they all provide invaluable insight about issues
Bruins are confronted with on a daily basis.
All editorials are the end result of a 10-member discussion on
an issue of importance to the editorial board. Debate lies at the
heart of any worthwhile conclusion, and it is this process of
debate we try to harness in developing editorials. Columns and
submissions come from members of the community who have spent
substantial amounts of time developing opinions and
conclusions.
Regardless of a piece’s category, though, all contributors
attempt to explain why the world is the way it is and justify any
necessary change. Viewpoint looks to explain why things are and why
they should be.
That’s not to say all these viewpoints are right. With a
variety of conflicting opinions, we can’t all be right, but
at least these people have the bravery to stick their necks out and
give an opinion, which is more than can be said for many students
on campus.
Making a decision or giving an opinion shouldn’t be a
terrifying thing. I would expect by the time students reach
college, they’ve developed enough critical thinking skills
and confidence in themselves ““ and had enough experience with
failure ““ that they can voice an opinion or two about the
world they live in.
That’s what this page is for. Use Viewpoint to challenge
yourselves and you will answer questions most are afraid to
ask.