Aram Ghoogasian: Leaked frat minutes should be a catalyst for serious reflection

White supremacy has always lived in the American fraternity house, whether or not the members wear hoods. From the vestiges of Jim Crow, to racist songs about lynching at the University of Oklahoma last year, to a blackface party here at UCLA just this fall, Greek life has been an incubator of racism for so […]

Aram Ghoogasian: Lax enforcement of USAC Election Code threatens democratic process

It didn’t take long for the student government election to spiral out of control. Before voting even began, it came to light that the Social Justice Referendum campaign had outspent the agreed-upon campaign finance limit nearly tenfold. The referendum reported that it spent upward of $7,400, far more than the $750 limit for ballot measures, […]

Aram Ghoogasian: Student activism key in uncovering UC Davis chancellor’s corruption

The drama unfolding 15 miles west of Sacramento is worthy of its own television adaptation. University of California, Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi is currently at the center of so many significant controversies that you can’t count them on one hand. The charges against her are many, but they can be summed up relatively well in […]

Aram Ghoogasian: California’s minimum wage increase is a matter of justice, equality

The governor of the country’s most populous state signed legislation Monday to raise its minimum wage to $15 per hour, a move being celebrated by labor and bemoaned by capital. In a time when income and wealth inequality have become some of the most pressing issues in the nation – and when 43 percent of […]

Aram Ghoogasian: Dance Marathon should educate dancers on political aspects of AIDS

Dancing with your friends for 26 hours while wearing a ridiculous getup won’t tell you much about pediatric AIDS. Once a year, UCLA students attending Dance Marathon spend an inordinate amount of time dancing in Pauley Pavilion. The reason they participate in this annual ritual is to end pediatric AIDS worldwide. Last year, the event […]

What do the UC’s principles against intolerance mean for Zionism?

The University of California Board of Regents finally adopted its long-awaited Statement of Principles Against Intolerance last week after much debate. If you followed the news at all during the week-long hiatus between the winter and spring quarters, you’d know that Zionism dominated the conversation. Originally, the Final Report of the Regents Working Group on […]

Aram Ghoogasian: UC must do more to protect students from discrimination

The University of California Board of Regents’ attempt to condemn bigotry was as ill-conceived as it was mismanaged. Myriad media outlets published columns criticizing the Final Report of the Regents Working Group on Principles Against Intolerance, which claimed anti-Zionism is a form of discrimination that has “no place at the University of California,” resulting in […]