For many graduating seniors, the past four years at UCLA have
been shaped by world events such as the start of a war and one of
the worst
natural disasters in the nation’s history.
Whether through individual trips to places struck by disaster,
participation in protests or group events and programs, students
have expressed concern over issues that both directly and
indirectly affect their lives.
Though many student groups have worked on issues that are
not
specific to UCLA, some have consistently made an effort to
connect those issues back to the university community.
Adam Elsayed, the outgoing vice president of the Muslim Student
Association, said his group has worked to educate students about
Islam, and combat the anti-Muslim sentiment he felt has been
prevalent in the U.S. ever since Sept. 11.
Elsayed cited immigration rights, the Patriot Act, the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the war in Iraq, and the publication
of Danish cartoons portraying the prophet Muhammad, as a few of the
issues that have raised concern among the members of MSA in the
past four years.
“We try to promote awareness regarding why it’s so
important for our faith that the prophet Muhammad is not depicted
in any way, … and we hope that people take into
consideration the sensitivity that the faith has,” he said
in regard to
the publication of the Danish cartoons.
The Bruin Republicans have also worked to integrate national
issues into the university community. David Lazar, vice chairman of
Bruin Republicans, said the group routinely participates in
voter-registration drives on campus, and that several members
worked on the Bush re-election campaign in 2004.
In recent years, some groups have sprung up to address more
specific national and international issues within the university
setting.
The Darfur Action Committee, a coalition of several student
groups, was created in November 2004 to protest a situation in
Sudan that Congress has labeled genocide.
The Darfur Action Committee has functioned as part of a
nationwide network dedicated to pressuring the government of Sudan
to help the people of Darfur.
In two years, student leaders had created a Sudan divestment
task force in an effort to urge the University of California
Regents to withdraw holdings from the region.
In March, the regents voted to divest from its investments in
nine companies with holdings in Sudan.
Some groups, though, have focused on issues that affect UCLA
more directly.
In light of the decreasing percentage of underrepresented
minorities admitted to the UC, MEChA has worked with administrators
in hopes of changing the university’s admissions process.
In addition to activities addressing diversity in admissions,
Jenny Galvez, chair of MEChA, noted various policies the group has
worked on in the past, including pushing for higher education for
undocumented immigrants and advocating for affirmative action.
This trend of localizing national issues has begun to spill over
to other campus entities, and in the past few years has been
adopted by student government.
Tina Park, current external vice president of the Undergraduate
Students Association Council, said her slate, Students First!, has
also recently worked to address the decreasing presence of
underrepresented minorities on campus.
She added that Students First! worked toward the
departmentalization of the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center and
the UCLA Asian American Studies Center.
While the most pressing world issues will certainly change over
the next four years, student groups have set a trend of making
those issues relevant to UCLA.