UCLA boasts a faculty roster almost as impressive as the starting lineup of its men’s basketball team, but these faculty members aren’t necessarily accessible to their students. The UCLA Academic Senate expects faculty members to hold office hours, yet it allows them the freedom to choose how to make themselves available to students. Unfortunately, some […]
Author Archives: Mariah Furtek
Mariah Furtek: Dining hall dress codes need more clarity to avoid insensitivity
No shoes, no shirt, no service. This isn’t just a silly slogan found outside beachfront restaurants; it is also the UCLA dress code for its residential dining halls, which can be found online. Hailey Black, a first-year pre-human biology and society student, felt the brunt of that policy April 22 when she entered De Neve […]
Mariah Furtek: UCLA must apply Senate Bill 493, educate students about contraceptives
Imagine this: You have just decided to become sexually active. You are confronting fears about unwanted pregnancies, STIs and internalized stigmas about sex and your own body. Now, you must navigate the process of getting contraception, which involves approaching a doctor you probably don’t know in order to discuss an extremely personal decision. For many […]
Mariah Furtek: Implementing MyUCLA notifications would alleviate enrollment stress
A group of students sit huddled around laptops, faces lit by the harsh, sickly glow of the screens. Their fingers move feverishly to refresh the page. No, they aren’t scanning Craigslist in a desperate effort to dump their Coachella tickets after learning Beyoncé won’t be performing. They’re frantically refreshing MyUCLA to see if any spots […]
Mariah Furtek: UCLA should provide adequate space in its gyms for students
Picture a group of sweaty bodies gyrating in time to blaring music, grouped so tightly together they are unable to move freely. No, this isn’t part of Los Angeles’ unregulated, underground club scene – it’s your average Tuesday afternoon workout class at the overcrowded and underdeveloped John Wooden Center. UCLA Recreation’s facilities are no longer […]
Mariah Furtek: Dining Services must improve survey, expand as enrollment increases
If UCLA students manage to escape the “Freshman 15” it won’t be because of a new workout regime – it’ll be because of the long lines they face to get food. Scott Waugh, the executive vice chancellor and provost, has confirmed in an open letter UCLA’s commitment to enroll 1,500 additional undergraduates over the course […]
Student works to combat racism in wake of Trump presidency
Two white men in a passing car yelled racist insults at Michaelle Burbank and her friends as they were on their way to protest President-elect Trump’s election in November. “They yelled at us, called us the N-word, told us to go back to Africa,” said Burbank, a first-year neuroscience student. “I was so in shock […]