UCLA classes may be going uphill ““ literally.
In an effort to increase interaction between professors and students, faculty and administrators are considering starting a program in the Hitch Suites called the Humanities Residential College.
Although the idea hasn’t been finalized yet, its goal is to create a liberal arts style residential college on the Hill that consists of several “houses,” each with a different area of interest pertaining to the humanities. This college, open to students of all majors, would create a dedicated space for discussion and debate on various humanities topics. Faculty members would be tutors as well as teach classes more frequently on the Hill.
While the attempt to combine learning and living to improve undergraduate education is commendable, a physical college in which students of the same ““ or similar ““ major reside may be impractical for the majority of students who live on the Hill: freshmen.
Instead, the program should target upperclassmen whose need for faculty feedback is most pertinent to their career plans.
In one or two years, freshmen will likely have the option of living in the new college upon applying to UCLA.
But I doubt many students would choose the Humanities Residential College, which will hold around 400 students, over standard living before taking a single humanities class.
The current name of the program itself could also mislead students into thinking that the program is only for those who have (or want to have) a major in the humanities.
A humanities-centric living space may also limit the kinds of people freshmen meet.
Because diversity is a key tenet of UCLA, it makes sense that students should be exposed to all kinds of people during their first two years.
While more student-faculty interaction is a desperate need at a large university like UCLA, and an interdisciplinary approach would give students a better perspective, a humanities college ought to be reserved for upperclassmen only.
Administrators should consider dividing the Hill by class standing first and then offering juniors and seniors the more intimate liberal arts college setting. Many upperclassmen have established career plans, know what their interests are and tend to be less interested in socializing with their neighbors.
They are also the ones who most urgently need faculty for their upper division coursework, research and even letters of recommendation. Moreover, Hitch Suites is one of the most isolated dormitories on the Hill and is better suited for juniors and seniors rather than freshmen.
But for this to work, the Hill’s predominance of underclassmen needs to change. My proposed class division follows a model at Harvard, where most students live in on-campus housing for all four years and actually take pride in their living quarters.
Although a four-year housing guarantee is already in the works, if administrators wish to see long-term residents at UCLA, they must provide greater incentives for upperclassmen, and the opportunity to live in a Humanities College would be an important one of them.
The Humanities Residential College should be structured as apartment-style living, but with the added benefit of academic advising. Administrators could provide additional incentives for older students: less supervision, bigger rooms and spaces that can be reserved for private events.
The Humanities Residential College is an excellent idea, but it needs to target the right group.
Would you live in a Humanities Hitch? E-mail Nijhawan at anijhawan@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to opinion@media.ucla.edu.