Shortage of funding and financial resources is a common – and touchy – subject at UCLA. For the second year in a row, student groups will be receiving reduced allocations from the Undergraduate Students Association Council Student Organizations Operational Fund, commonly known as SOOF. SOOF provides funding for retreats, T-shirts, advertising and supplies, among other […]
Category Archives: Opinion Columns
Aram Ghoogasian: Vagueness, student fee hurt chances of passing referendum
Few things get students’ blood boiling like fee increases do. That’s what makes asking students to voluntarily raise their own fees such a tricky endeavor. The Bruin Diversity Referendum, a revamp of the referendum that failed to pass in 2013, is on the special election ballot. The referendum proposes a fee increase of $9.93 per […]
Chloe Lew: Outreach would support progress in student engagement for IGNITE
In California, we invest $62,396 per prisoner per year. That’s a trust fund nearly seven times bigger than the one we ration out per K-12 student. But Proposition 47, also known as the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, can help curb over-incarceration and reduce penalties by allowing Californians to vote on whether seven categories of […]
Julia Mccarthy: Focus on concerts, celebrities weakens student voting campaigns
Going to a concert and going to a voting booth are vastly different experiences. But for some reason, both national and UCLA organizations are linking the two, and using celebrity figures and concerts to motivate students to get to the polls after a stop at the concert. At UCLA, this process is beginning with the […]
Zoey Freedman: Proposed soda tax an ineffective solution
If Proposition E and Measure D – which would add a tax to sweetened beverages – pass, living in some parts of California will not be as sweet. Both San Francisco and Berkeley will have measures on their ballots this fall proposing to add a tax of 2 cents and 1 cent per ounce, respectively, […]
Samah Pirzada: Success of plastic bag ban dependent on student commitment
The California ban on single-use plastic bags is a huge step toward reducing litter, but it might not be as effective a change as its advocates assume. On Sept. 30, Gov. Jerry Brown became the first governor to sign a statewide ban on plastic bags in grocery and convenience stores. Many California cities already instituted […]
Aram Ghoogasian: More specific guidelines for general representative position necessary
Trying to do too much and not trying hard enough can be equally dangerous when you’re an elected official, especially when your term is only a year long. Political platforms need to be ambitious enough to yield tangible results or be left at the door. This is a problem that has plagued many Undergraduate […]