UCLA: “˜Drop the Laptop,’ pick up campus life

Tens of thousands of students pass by the Fowler Museum every
day on their way to and from class, but not many attend the
exhibits. Students who can actually locate the off-campus Hammer
Museum probably don’t know the museum hosted a reading by
David Foster Wallace last Friday and Jonathan Franzen is scheduled
to speak in December.

The UCLA College’s media campaign titled “Drop the
Laptop,” aims to reverse such low levels of student
involvement in the university.

The program is anchored on the opening of a new Web portal that
features a more comprehensive campus events calendar than the UCLA
community has had in the past. It highlights the arts, museums,
lectures, conferences and athletics ““ and showcases
individuals and events.

The UCLA home page, the university’s primary public face,
is also being redesigned.

The goal of the campaign is to get students to leave their
computers, take off their headphones, and have experiences outside
the classroom, UCLA College representatives say.

The collaborative effort by the UCLA College, Office of
Residential Life, the Alumni Association, the UCLA Foundation, the
School of Theatre, Film and Television, and UCLA Live, among
others, is just one small part of “building a stronger
understanding of what UCLA is about,” said Harlan Lebo, a
spokesperson for the UCLA College.

“Students don’t understand what an amazing place
they go to at UCLA. … So many students leave here never knowing
the full range of wonders that there are on this campus. What we
have on this campus is at least the cultural offerings of a large
city,” Lebo said.

As many in the UCLA College have predicted, students generally
aren’t aware of the many resources the university offers.

“Honestly, it doesn’t seem like we have a whole lot
of events,” said Ginger Menkal, a fourth-year psychology
student.

Fourth-year communication studies student Rena Ramirez said,
“I didn’t really know what kind of events were going
on. I wouldn’t even know where to look if I wanted to find
out about them.”

The UCLA College is hopeful that student attendance at various
events will markedly increase now that students have resources to
become informed. “Drop the Laptop” is over a year in
the making and was originally developed after listening to student
opinions.

The program continues to be shaped by students in the form of a
student advisory committee to guide efforts to further involve and
engage students.

In addition to the Web site, the campaign includes
advertisements in the form of weekly calendars of events in the
Daily Bruin, and events will be promoted on a monthly basis through
posters and advertisements on student media kiosks.

The first spotlight on the Web site highlights 2004 UCLA Film
Graduate Adam Martin, who has developed a video spot for NCAA
athletics at the university.

Funding was made possible by a $50,000 grant from the UCLA
Foundation, an organization that manages private gifts and
endowments to the university.

“While students are here they should be taking advantage
of (the university),” said Lawrence Lokman, a spokesman for
UCLA.

“Students seem to kind of take it for granted right at
this world-class university that we have world-class dance, a
world-class film program, world-class museums,” Lokman
added.

Those involved in the “Drop the Laptop” campaign are
hopeful that students will not only now have the ability to
participate in events and utilize these resources while they are at
UCLA, but also that they will stay more involved in the university
as alumni.

“Four years passes quickly. That’s kind of the
message,” Lokman said.

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