In the administrative struggle for academic efficiency, students have long been left with competing values: the search for personal growth and the promise of monetary returns. The change in the perception of higher education didn’t happen overnight: State funding, across the country, took a dive in 2008, and many states struggled to bounce back in […]
Category Archives: Opinion Columns
Jasmine Aquino: Allowing USAC to campaign on the Hill would promote political dialogue
The flyers, high-fives and small talk from Undergraduate Students Association Council candidates don’t extend to the Hill, but USAC’s importance does. The 14 newly elected student officials will institute policies and services with millions of dollars’ worth of student fees. Every undergraduate student pays into USAC, and they are all affected by its decisions. But […]
Abhishek Shetty: USAC Election Board should extend physical campaigning period
Last Friday’s Undergraduate Students Association Council candidates debate was meant to be an important platform for uninformed voters to learn about the election. Instead, it turned out be a mutual-admiration society between overexcited supporters and their deities. Although that might seem very similar to the crowds at U.S. presidential debates, the USAC candidate debates were […]
Aram Ghoogasian: Lax enforcement of USAC Election Code threatens democratic process
It didn’t take long for the student government election to spiral out of control. Before voting even began, it came to light that the Social Justice Referendum campaign had outspent the agreed-upon campaign finance limit nearly tenfold. The referendum reported that it spent upward of $7,400, far more than the $750 limit for ballot measures, […]
Submission: Supporting Daily Bruin not just a sentimental issue, it’s a moral one
The Daily Bruin is not just a newspaper. Sure, when it’s lying on the ground next to a trash can on Bruin Walk, I’m sure the Daily Bruin might seem like it’s just a newspaper. But having spent years toiling away as a member of the Daily Bruin staff, I urge you to take my […]
Chris Campbell: EVP successor should keep nonpartisan approach, improve communication
There’s been a lot of kerfuffle over incumbent United Students Association Council External Vice President Zach Helder’s tenure, and at the center of the fuss is his use of the term “depoliticized” to describe his vision of the office. It’s been a controversial word, and Helder said that his use of it has been […]
Aram Ghoogasian: Student activism key in uncovering UC Davis chancellor’s corruption
The drama unfolding 15 miles west of Sacramento is worthy of its own television adaptation. University of California, Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi is currently at the center of so many significant controversies that you can’t count them on one hand. The charges against her are many, but they can be summed up relatively well in […]