One of my favorite days this summer, oddly enough, was spent at
Young Research Library. I didn’t have any classes to cram
for, any papers to research or even a book to return. Instead, I
spent nearly six hours browsing the first 10 years of the Daily
Bruin.
But on the first issue, 85 years ago on Sept. 29, 1919, it was
the Cub Californian. UCLA was merely the University of California,
Southern Branch and it could be found downtown on Vermont Avenue.
Westwood Village was empty farmland.
Front-page stories told of emerging trends, like French women
wearing pants. Students were skeptical the trend would catch on
here, though some pondered if Cal men might soon be wearing
skirts.
Apartment listings abounded, except you might be surprised where
the decimal point was placed: A single room’s rent was
$12.50.
My favorite headlines concerned The Bruin itself. One November
issue, in a font size typically reserved for victory during war,
declared “CUB CALIFORNIAN PUBLISHES EIGHT PAGE
EDITION.”
I must admit, I was a little jealous. During my three years at
The Bruin there have been many stories I would have liked similar
attention.
For instance, absent from a paper last October was the story of
how, after gun shots were fired upstairs from our office late one
night, the LAPD evicted the staff from Kerckhoff Hall when it was
declared a crime scene. After moving the office to my apartment, we
worked into the early morning, managing to report on the shooting
and publish the next day’s paper.
Or, how in the last year alone the Daily Bruin was named the
best college newspaper in the state twice, in the region once, and
in the nation three times.
And, although we enjoy bragging about our war stories and
awards, we don’t. We are not news.
The only true measure of The Bruin lies in our ability to make
the significant interesting, the important relevant. Our
effectiveness will be measured by how knowledgeable and concerned
you become about this year’s prominent issues.
It’s not an easy task. The Project for Excellence in
Journalism recently revealed that over the past 20 years, the
number of stories in major media about celebrities increased 5
percent while those focused on government dropped 13 percent.
It’s no surprise that readers relish movie star pathos
over political chaos. I’m certain our popularity would
skyrocket if we nixed state budget stories for a gossip column
about professors’ sex lives and ran the crossword puzzle on
the front page ““ but we won’t.
It is our job to prove that there is just as much drama in
Murphy Hall, Sacramento and D.C. as there is on “The
OC.” And when told right, these stories should outshine any
work of fiction.
For example, UCLA students are paying more for their education
today than ever before. Undergraduate fees have nearly doubled over
the past five years. Had they increased at the same rate as
inflation, students would be paying $2,500 less this year. What
forces are responsible for the increase, and how can UCLA
differentiate itself from private universities when the price gap
is closing?
A heated presidential election may, for only the third time in
U.S. history, bring more than 50 percent of youth voters to the
polls. How will they impact the next four, or even the next 20,
years of American politics?
More than 1,000 Americans have died in Iraq, many of whom might
have otherwise been attending college this fall. Why aren’t
more UCLA students at the front lines?
For 85 years, the Daily Bruin has survived because the
questions, and their answers, are never obvious. Nor are they
easily obtained.
In our 86th year, I hope we can provide at least some of the
answers.
Evans is the 2004″“2005 editor in chief. He can be
reached at tevans@media.ucla.edu or (310) 206-0938. Apply to The
Bruin at www.studentmedia.ucla.edu.