I was dismayed to read reports of a so-called “ethics pledge,” circulated during the Undergraduate Students Association Council election, which sought to pressure candidates for student government office to promise they would not take educational trips to Israel offered by some of the most well-regarded Jewish community organizations in the country. In response, I offered […]
Category Archives: Community
Submission: UCLA must follow UCSC’s example, decide to divest
The movement to stop the University of California system from investing in corporations that violate Palestinian human rights reached an important milestone on May 28. After hours of public comment and senate deliberation, the student government at the UC Santa Cruz voted by a 22-14 margin to endorse divestment. Five of the nine undergraduate UC […]
Submission: LA County’s child protection system requires urgent reform
Los Angeles is an amazing town. There’s so much to love: the people, the diversity, the beaches, the mountains, the creativity, the weather and the raw potential to make dreams come true. For many, these dreams start in childhood, but sadly, many children only dream of a life without abuse. No child should have to […]
Letter to the Editor: Normcore trend shows socioeconomic insensitivity
Noor Gill and Amy Lee discussed normcore fashion in their May 22 A&E column, “Normcore trend embraces ironic take on fashion.” However, their article fails to comment upon the cultural insensitivity of the so-called “trend,” which is based on the popular belief that the most fashionable thing to be is “normal.” Normcore is a practical […]
Submission: Reduced time in Spanish, Portuguese classes detrimental
We, the undersigned graduate students and teaching assistants in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at UCLA, want to express our deep concern regarding the imminent “hybridization” of the department’s lower-division language program, which will take effect during the fall 2014 quarter. This initiative comes at a moment when the university’s lack of sufficient physical […]
Submission: Judicial Board verdict on conflict of interest case preserves freedoms
In an email statement to the campus community on May 16, Chancellor Gene Block stressed the importance of civil discourse in campus conversation, saying, “Political speech that stigmatizes or casts aspersions on individuals or particular groups does not promote healthy debate but debases it by trying to intimidate individuals and groups.” By attempting to disguise […]
Submission: USAC ethics statement exacerbates Israeli-Palestinian situation
I often imagine myself, somewhat delusionally, to dwell in the sane center in the battleground that is the Israeli-Palestinian debate in this country. Though branded by some on the right as a self-hating anti-Semite and by some fellow travelers on the left as a Zionist propagandist in disguise, I can’t help but feel that the […]