Bill to increase security against sex offenders
Thumbs up to the Violence Against Women Act of 2000 for requiring
the university police department to make public information about
sex offenders living or working in the area. Both houses of
Congress recently approved the bill and President Bill Clinton is
expected to sign it into law this week. Though the public can
access information regarding sex offenders at local police stations
due to Megan’s Law, they cannot receive this information from
university police under current California Department of Justice
policy. The bill would change this by requiring states to inform
university police departments of on-campus sex offenders and make
it available to the campus community. We support the bill’s
attempt to maximize the security of students and the community but
we do not support the actions of those in some communities who use
the information to picket and protest the offenders. After
completing a jail sentence, even sex offenders should have an
opportunity to start anew. The purpose of this law is not to label
or treat others unfairly, but to give members of the university
community information important to their safety.
Study on LAPD flawed Thumbs down to researchers
from UCLA and USC for poorly conducting a report on racism and
sexism in the Los Angeles Police Department. The report by Wellford
Wilms and Alex Norman of UCLA and USC professor emeritus Warren
Schmidt found little evidence of sexism and racism in the
department, despite allegations of such from the community. The
researchers collected data by interviewing and observing police
officers during ride-alongs. After considering the data accumulated
over a period of six years, researchers claim they found no
significant signs of racism or sexism in the LAPD. Though the study
is valid, the research methods are not. Officers were aware when
researchers were present, and it’s highly unlikely police
officers would consciously carry out sexist or racist activity in
front of university researchers ready to document it. By failing to
take into account perspectives of local community members, the
researchers only got one side of the story. This is an especially
skewed research method, given the recent protests against police
brutality. In effect, the researchers isolated the police
department for analysis rather than placing it in the context of
the community. The study does not show that the LAPD is not racist
or sexist; it simply proves police officers can be on their best
behavior when monitored.
Unit increase in English department unfair
Thumbs down to the Department of English and the Academic Senate
for increasing the amount of units for more than 70 English courses
based on the results of a hastily administered survey limited to
select students. The English department conducted the survey in
order to determine whether the number of units per class reflected
the intensity of the coursework. Though other departments will also
increase the unit value of some classes, students outside the
English department should have been included in the poll. The
English department cannot accurately assess the difficulty of their
courses and justify increasing units until a poll of students in
all departments is conducted. This ensures the amount of units will
be adapted to reflect the relative difficulty of English courses to
other classes. If this unit increase allows English students to
reduce the number of classes needed to graduate, other students
need to be afforded the same opportunity.
Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down represents the majority opinion of the
Daily Bruin Editorial Board. Send feedback to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.