Now that I’m graduating, I’m starting to wonder more
and more what my degree is worth.
Graduation is supposed to be one of the proudest moments of your
life, a crowning achievement of education and dedication to
learning.
But how much work does it really take to get that UCLA diploma
these days? While I go to class almost all the time, this feat is
fairly rare for people at The Bruin.
I guess it means I’m a little slow. Other people in the
office don’t go to class yet still get pretty good grades. I
could probably miss half my classes this quarter and do fine.
Maybe it’s a North Campus thing. After all, that’s
the North Campus stereotype.
It’s hard to look at my diploma when I realize that it
really doesn’t take much work to get one. A good crammer can
take most of the quarter off and just focus on finals.
During my time at The Bruin, I covered how school administrators
made it even easier to graduate. Minimum progress requirements may
make students’ lives miserable, but they ensure that students
get in the door and then get out in four years.
After three years in news, I can no longer blame the
administration for forcing students out. They don’t have a
choice. More students are coming to the University of California
every year, and UCLA administrators have to welcome their fair
share with open arms to keep getting state funding.
You can’t herd all these new students into Pauley Pavilion
and lock the doors. You have to put them somewhere, so current
students are pushed out the door.
But this action turns UCLA into a diploma mill, and by forcing
students to take more units, it helps foster an atmosphere where
students come to class and leave once class is over.
No wonder my favorite quarter at UCLA was when I was in
Washington, D.C., far removed from this corrosive
“school” environment.
Thankfully, this isn’t what most people think of when they
think of UCLA. (If it were, new students would not be banging on
the doors.)
Instead, they think of a good public university with good sports
teams that compete across the country. Most people at UCLA know how
the football and basketball teams are doing (unfortunately, given
their recent seasons).
Yet students don’t know much about other sports on campus.
Softball ““ the sport I covered this year for The Bruin
““ is a perennial national title contender, but it seems like
students don’t know where the stadium is.
In my four years at The Bruin I’ve covered how the war in
Iraq affects the campus, how the UC wanted to change the SAT, and
how Los Alamos couldn’t find its shotguns.
But through it all, the most interesting thing I’ve
covered is softball. Win or lose, going to the games is fun, and
most of the time it never really felt like work.
You don’t have to be a sports writer to enjoy sports; you
just have to be willing to stick around campus after classes —
instead of following the typical student mold and going back to
your apartment.
Administrative changes are sucking the life out of the UCLA
experience. The monotony of the diploma mill makes student life
bleak.
Cutting class is one way to break free, but getting interested
in sports is a better solution.
Grand was a 2000-2003 News writer and a 2003-2004 Sports
writer.