In the weeks just before school, the residents of Hedrick Summit received a surprise package in the mail.
Inside was a book that was not to welcome them to the residence plaza. Neither was it about UCLA or even related to being a college student. Instead, the book detailed the work of a doctor who established public health facilities in Haiti.
The book, “Mountains Beyond Mountains,” is part of a much larger initiative called Global Summit, started this year in Hedrick Summit by the Office of Residential Life staff.
Global Summit hopes to facilitate social justice work within the residence plaza.
The program grew out of conversations last year between Resident Director Bridget Le Loup and faculty in residence David Gere.
The Hedrick Summit staff is working to help resident assistants and students focus on activism.
Instead of just having floor pizza parties, floors can work together on something bigger than themselves, Le Loup said.
“Mountains Beyond Mountains” was used to help initiate dialogue within the hall, so students could have a common story to get them talking about social justice.
“The book served as a tool to have the residents all have a shared experience around a piece of literature and to motivate and inspire students to become active and engaged, and to think about the interconnectedness of our world,” Le Loup said.
After a year as the faculty in residence at Hedrick Summit, David Gere, director of the Art | Global Health Center at UCLA, brought up the idea to developing a think tank for activism with the residence plaza to Le Loup.
“I had already seen with my own eyes what 1,000 top UCLA students, all of them in one dorm, were capable of doing, and because Chancellor Block had begun talking about creating a faculty think tank to address real-life problems in Los Angeles,” Gere said, “I thought students should be involved too.”
Gere proposed giving the students “Mountains Beyond Mountains” because the book had profoundly affected him, and Gere hoped the students would be motivated to act after reading it.
“I wasn’t prepared for the jolt the book gave me on a personal level,” Gere said. “You can’t read this book and have a ho-hum response. It really makes you ask, “˜What can I do to make the world better? What’s my responsibility?'”
Just two weeks before the start of school, Gere and Le Loup were able secure enough grant money from the Office of the Chancellor and corporate sponsorship to ensure all the residents received a copy.
However, some students felt it was unnecessary to give a book to all 1,000 residents.
“I think it is a good opportunity for the people who want to get involved, but the fact that they gave a book to everyone is a waste of money,” said Joey Delano, a first-year student who lives in Hedrick Summit. “Most people I know did not read it. In the time right before school starts, no one wants to read.”
Another aspect of the program is that resident assistants will not have a quota for the number of programs they are supposed to organize, but instead resident assistants in Hedrick Summit will be planning not just social events but more meaningful events.
During Zero Week, book discussions were held to get residents talking about Farmer’s story and how they too can make even a small difference.
Assistant Chancellor Antoinette Mongelli, UCLA professors, medical students and others attended the discussions as well.
Students talked about how lucky they felt after reading the book, and they acknowledged that even small changes can reduce the overabundance of resources we use each day, Le Loup said.
One student spoke about how she can no longer complain about living in the dorms in a triple room because she is so privileged to even have that. Another student suggested making small changes in day-to-day life, such as not using a tray in the dining hall in order to use a little less water and to save a little money. The idea is becoming more popular, Varma said.
Hedrick Resident Assistant Gaurav Varma said he thinks it is wonderful the building was able to secure so many books because then people hear about the ideas of the book even if they do not read it themselves.
“Even if they did not read it, at least the students are aware, they are thinking about it and that is a start,” Varma said.
Other residence halls are latching onto the program, as well.
The copies of the books will be passed on to students in Hedrick Hall at the end of the quarter so they can read them during winter break, and other resident directors are asking for the copies for their own buildings for spring break.
Hedrick Summit staff are in the process now of trying to get Farmer to come speak, and they hope he will be able to come to UCLA during winter quarter.