Major environmental event near campus overlooked
The Daily Bruin neglected to report on a major piece of news.
On Saturday, UCLA and Loyola Marymount University students staged a demonstration for climate action coinciding with more than 4,000 other events in more than 170 other countries.
That is to say, the Bruin overlooked a local event that was part of the biggest day of action the planet has ever seen.
This demonstration functioned to voice public concern to politicians as they approached voting on a global warming bill in the Senate, and in light of the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, where momentous decisions are at stake.
Fox News was at the climate action demonstration and included video footage of the energetic and passionate students on the Saturday evening news.
When Fox News publishes a story on a college event ““ moreover, an environmental event ““ the Daily Bruin should be embarrassed to have gone without reporting it.
No Daily Bruin reporter walked the short distance off campus to the Federal Building.
Furthermore, a directly related column on global warming by Avni Nijhawan appeared on Monday ”“ ironically titled “Global warming cannot become forgotten issue.”
In blatant disregard for the student-based event of political activism, the writer mentioned that students could take action on the matter. She wrote, “We often feel powerless to make a dent in an issue. “¦ We (at UCLA) are fortunate to have many options when it comes to bettering the environment.”
After mentioning organizations and classes, no specifics were included by the writer. How informed could a reader have become by reading this statement when neither details nor resources were cited?
Students should still be afforded specific resources for outlets to face this powerless feeling on global warming, including:
“¢bull; UCLA Sustainability
“¢bull; E3: Ecology, Economy, Equity
“¢bull; UCLA Graduate Student Association’s Sustainable Resource Center
“¢bull; United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009
Rebecca Miller
Fourth year, anthropology and environmental science
Los Angeles subway projects need your input
In regards to Lina Chung’s column, “LA transport system, Westside subway, long overdue” on Monday, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is pleased that the Daily Bruin is following planning activities for the Westside Subway Extension project.
With the passage of Measure R and the recent adoption of Metro’s Long Range Transportation Plan, this project is on the fast track to provide much-needed traffic relief not just for the Westside but the entire Los Angeles County area.
Many details of the subway are still being determined in the environmental studies currently underway.
We’ve had tremendous public participation and would like to invite all UCLA students, faculty and staff to join us in planning this project.
An important opportunity is coming up to give input on the locations of the planned stations.
We will be discussing the Century City, Westwood/UCLA and Westwood/Veterans Affairs stations on Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Wadsworth Theatre at the VA grounds.
For more information, visit www.metro.net/westside and join the “Metro Westside Subway Extension” group on Facebook.
Dave Sotero
Senior public information officer, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority