Conventional wisdom holds that smartphone apps make our lives easier. But a confusing glut of apps and digital programs designed to enhance safety at UCLA has done the exact opposite. UCLA offers three separate digital campus safety programs: Bruins Safe, BruinAlert and Bruins Safe Online. Each program supplies essential information about campus safety, yet none […]
Category Archives: Opinion Columns
Mariah Furtek: UC-Zipcar partnership should allow one-way travel between campuses
The whistle of a train pierces the quiet afternoon as the carriage rocks from side to side, grimy windows framing a slow-moving California coastline. This may sound like a scene from a docudrama about the California Gold Rush or westward expansion, but it’s actually a description of the antiquated and inconvenient commute many students make […]
Emily Merz: OCHC and Residential Life must work to provide student-driven programming
The scariest part of the Hill may not be its annual Haunted Hill, but rather its massive covert programming budget. It’s not cheap to live on the Hill. At about $15,000 on average for room and board, UCLA is among the most expensive universities to live at in the country. But housing at UCLA doesn’t […]
Pravin Visakan: Ending LGBTQ discrimination begins with more inclusive education
Being queer in California isn’t exactly sunshine and rainbows. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and people of all sexual orientations and genders still face discrimination and harassment in their daily lives. Much of that adversity is experienced in elementary, middle and high schools. The correlation between high rates of bullying and queerness is longstanding. A report […]
Erin Nguyen: UCLA should make available a variety of inclusive sexual health products
Sex! OK, now that I have your attention, let’s talk about a serious problem affecting college students. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report saying the number of sexually transmitted infections in America reached a record high, with college-aged people composing half of the affected population. Luckily, UCLA has been at the […]
UCLA should increase access to clubs by providing improved online resources
The defining UCLA experience is trying to avoid organizations flyering on Bruin Walk. Clubs must accost students as they head to class or swarm Dickson Plaza each fall for the Enormous Activities Fair to ensure everyone knows they exist. If only a website existed for students to find all these organizations without the daily hassle. […]
ASUCLA should remedy drop in textbook sales by stocking fewer books
With textbook sales at Ackerman Union declining, Associated Students UCLA has taken the concept of nonprofit a bit literally. ASUCLA, a nonprofit, student-run organization that oversees on-campus retail sales and the student union building, is expected to lose more than $1 million this fiscal year. The financial loss is the result of a decline in […]