As the deadline to pass the California State Budget approaches in June, the high-stakes game of political chicken between University of California President Janet Napolitano and Gov. Jerry Brown is heating up. Napolitano is leveraging a tuition hike that can be entirely prevented if Brown increases funding to the UC by an additional $100 million […]
Author Archives: Kunal Patel
Kunal Patel: For rest of presidency, Obama should show resolve in keeping promises
With time winding down in Barack Obama’s presidency, the ever-daunting question that history asks is: How do we judge the eight years he’ll have spent in the Oval office? This question is difficult to address when discussing Obama’s presidency, given that he started it with such fanfare. The catchy 2008 slogan “Change we can believe […]
Kunal Patel: Gov. Brown must consult advisory committee when appointing regents
Without a doubt, Gov. Jerry Brown has provided concrete results in his most recent term as head of the state. From making tough decisions in the form of budget cuts and temporary tax hikes, Brown has – for the most part – done a fantastic job at balancing the state’s budget. But amid all that […]
Kunal Patel: Vaccination for HPV critical for college students
As California is gripped by a sudden spike in cases of measles, conversations about the importance of vaccination abound. But there’s one specific type of infection – and corresponding vaccination – that is largely ignored in the conversation about immunization, even while it bears critical importance for the college-aged population: human papillomavirus. Given that one […]
Additional competency exams could reduce redundancy of GEs
In the never-ending struggle to balance college coursework with extracurricular activities, jobs and life in general, there comes a time when certain coursework becomes an undue and frankly unnecessary burden. And by certain coursework, I mean specific general electives, which are mandatory requirements for UCLA students to graduate. The theory behind required general electives is […]
Kunal Patel: Reducing administrative pay will not effectively cut UC costs
For the last few months leading up to Wednesday’s University of California Board of Regents meeting, the state has persistently asked that the UC open up its books and listen to state suggestions as a way to reduce its cost structure. And as an olive branch of good faith to Gov. Jerry Brown, the Board […]
Kunal Patel: Master Plan must account for higher resident demand
Once upon a time, California’s public higher education system was the golden crown of all the services that the state provided. But without proper maintenance, public higher education today vaguely resembles the ideals that were envisioned by the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education in California. The Master Plan unified California Community Colleges, the California […]