A watershed moment occurred 34 years ago at UCLA, at least for us gym junkies: the John Wooden Center officially opened to the public. On May 2, 1983, the Cultural and Recreational Affairs Department ran a full-page advertisement for the newly opened center with twelve general questions students might have about the Wooden Center. The […]
Author Archives: Abhishek Shetty
Abhishek Shetty: UCLA should look at undergraduate TAs as short-term fix to TA shortage
The instructed may soon become the instructors. At least, that’s what UCLA might look like if the UCLA Academic Senate was to take a stronger approach to the campus’ teaching assistants shortage. It’s no secret the UC is in need of more graduate students. While the undergraduate student population has increased over the past few […]
Abhishek Shetty: State legislators must be more realistic about UC funding constraints
State legislators might seem to care about the well-being of the University of California and its students, but it was painfully clear they came to the dealing table with a deck of marked cards when they negotiated a nonresident enrollment cap with the UC. At a March meeting, the UC Board of Regents had discussed […]
Abhishek Shetty: USAC candidates’ sanctuary campus platforms are infeasible
This post was updated on April 25 at 4 p.m. The year is 2018. America is a dumpster fire. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has expanded into an unimaginably large and unchecked network, almost like a secret police. And when the Bruin community needs a hero, undergraduate student government officers emerge, armed with meaningless symbolism. […]
The Quad: USAC members and the distraction of social media
If you’ve never paid much attention to the undergraduate student government, you’re in good company; the men and women of the council themselves seem to be a bit distracted as well. Over the past six weeks, Daily Bruin Opinion columnists attended USAC meetings to observe council members and their social media and phone habits. For […]
Abhishek Shetty: AB-1887 travel ban should exempt academic pursuits
A UCLA professor is on the brink of finishing a seminal paper, but needs to meet one last time with a professor from the University of Kansas. But California won’t let him go, just so they can send a message to Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback. Last September, the California state legislature passed Assembly Bill 1887, […]
Abhishek Shetty: Student Conduct Committee must increase transparency, student input
“We understand the importance of including students in critical discussions,” wrote Maria Blandizzi, dean of students, in a letter to the editor last year. Turns out there’s still some understanding to do. The Student Conduct Committee, which hears cases of student misconduct, consists of at least three undergraduate student and at least three graduate student […]