Campus groups have given mixed reviews on the university’s
potential switch back to the semester system currently under
investigation by the Academic Senate.
According to the representatives of various campus groups, the
reversion to a two-term year could mean better planning and
programs but could also result in a dip in recruitment and
fundraising.
Berky Nelson, Director of the Center of Student Programming,
said the change would also mean restructuring policy and deadlines
for fund application.
Currently, funds are made available every quarter for student
groups interested in putting on programming, Nelson said.
If any money is left over after events have been put on, he
said, it is all collected and redistributed to other groups in the
following academic term.
Nelson said student groups who missed out on funding would not
have as many chances to reapply for extra funds if the university
was to return to semesters.
“The change would also limit the number of times a group
could put on a certain program,” he said. “They would
only be able to hold things two times a year instead of
three.”
Anica McKesey, Chair of the African Student Union, said the
switch would probably not affect the amount of programming her
organization puts on but would probably increase participation.
“We would have more time for planning and more time for
spreading information, allowing students to participate
more,” she said.
The longer academic periods would mean less of a rush to prepare
events and might allow for more energy to be invested, said
Elizabeth Delgado, student leader for MEChA at UCLA.
“Semesters could certainly mean more time and space for
students to balance out activities with class,” she said.
“In turn, this would mean better distribution and preparation
of events for us.”
But some student groups suggested a change to a semester system
might have some negative side effects on campus groups, including a
potential decrease in recruitment.
“We usually kick off the quarter with a recruitment
drive,” said Erin Walsh, student leader for CALPIRG.
“On semesters, we would do it twice a year instead of three
times; that might result in fewer people joining.”
Similarly, Walsh said fundraising might be affected by the fact
that the year would be divided into two periods instead of
three.
“We can’t ask people to pledge financially more than
once a quarter because that would be redundant and we would bug
people,” she said.
Natasha Rastetari, a student representative for the UCLA chapter
of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the greater diversity
of classes offered on the quarter system provides ACLU with a
greater variety of specialist professors to speak at events they
hold.
“We advocate the quarter system because it makes more
professors available at different times of the year to be guest
speakers at our events,” she said.
And despite more time being available for commitment to planning
and programs on the semester system, MEChA’s Delgado said the
pressure and pace of the quarter system prepared students better
for activism and lobbying in the real world.
“When you leave school, you have to be able to
successfully balance a job and any other outside interests you may
have,” she said. “The quarter system is great
preparation for this, you always have to be on your
feet.”