UCLA: the birthplace of the internet. Too bad the university never got past the 1970s connection speed. Students on the Hill have become numb to dial-up era connection, spotty Wi-Fi and switching between UCLA’s two main Wi-Fi networks in the hopes one might actually work. In 2010, Wi-Fi wasn’t even fully available in all the […]
Author Archives: Leslie Landis
College Board’s ‘adversity score’ fails to address inequities of SAT
Every year, a new batch of nervous high schoolers sharpen their No. 2 pencils, take a couple of deep breaths and open up the SAT booklet. But battling for that golden ticket to college has never been easy – and the SAT has never been fair. The exam disfavors those who come from lower socioeconomic […]
Convoluted club applications inhibit ability of students to join organizations
When incoming freshmen arrive at UCLA for Bruin Day, they are immediately told there are more than 1,000 clubs they can join. What they aren’t told is they probably won’t get into most of them. Joining many of the most popular and desirable clubs on campus involves filling out an extensive application. And every club […]
Without effective outreach, diversity deficit will continue to plague student body
Los Angeles is the picture of diversity. UCLA, however, is not. The University of California is prohibited from using race as a factor in the admissions process due to California Proposition 209, which was passed in 1996. The University has consequently implemented a class-based admissions approach, which doesn’t take race into consideration. UCLA’s recent methods […]
Possibility of defunding history departments emerges with decline in majors
“So what are you going to do with a history degree?” My realtor recently asked me this when I went to sign my lease for an apartment. When I told him I wanted to work at a nonprofit or a think tank, he shook his head. “You need a path,” he told me. “You should […]
Students don’t know enough about e-cigarettes. UCLA should fix that.
We’ve all been traumatized from a young age by the disturbing anti-smoking commercials showing images of diseased lungs and former smokers using a voice box. By the time we were old enough to buy cigarettes, we understood they were bad for us. But this was the early 2000s, and e-cigarettes hadn’t become popular. Fast forward […]
Assistant professor of Italian wins prestigious publication award
When Andrea Moudarres developed his doctoral dissertation at Yale University, he did not expect that it would one day turn into an award-winning manuscript. Moudarres, an assistant professor of Italian at UCLA, was recently awarded the 21st annual Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Publication Award for a Manuscript in Italian Literary Studies. He received the award […]