On Feb. 22, A.S. President Christopher Sweeten delivered the first-ever State of the Campus address to an audience of students, administrators and A.S. councilmembers. “The state of the campus is strong, but shows signs of needing improvement,” he began, taking a middle-of-the-road approach that those giving such addresses often do. He went on to lament the state of SRTV, the confusing application and college-ranking process that potential Tritons face, the formula used to fund O.A.S.I.S. and La Jolla’s high housing prices and condo conversions.
He berated the athletics department for operating in the red, applauded the transfer student housing construction begun on North Campus and detailed a plan to negotiate a Greek housing system modeled after the University of Texas at Austin, with Greek houses spread throughout the city.
Some of his complaints, however, were more personal. Explaining that he must work almost full-time to support himself while also juggling the responsibilities of A.S. president and his studies, he asked for an increase in funding for student leaders. Nevermind that they already receive stipends.
Had outreach representatives not reached him at his high school, Sweeten said he would not be at UCSD. Using this anecdote as evidence that the efforts work, he touted student-initiated outreach and discussed a program that would have each of the six colleges adopt a high school south of Interstate 8.
Below, Opinion writers give their thoughts on Sweeten’s comments.
UCSD Must Minimize Its Scientific Bias and Aim for Academic Balance
It wasn’t until the question-and-answer session following A.S. President Christopher Sweeten’s speech that he touched on UCSD’s divisive and perennial debate: science vs. nonscience.
“I see science buildings popping up all the time,” he said. “I think it’s about time we popped up more social science buildings, as well as expanding the theater district.”
Regardless of whether science is a more inherently valuable course of study than the humanities and social sciences, the fact remains that UCSD students in the nonsciences tend to develop the complexes of neglected, overlooked middle children. They see UCSD touted as a hot school for science, while many of its nonscience programs exist quietly with equally stellar ratings. And they see numerous high-tech buildings built for the science and engineering students, while classes in the humanities and social sciences struggle in cramped, crumbling, out-of-the-way classrooms. In short, they see that all the money and fame flow to the sciences.
UCSD flourishes as a science school and a research university, and that can’t be denied. But UCSD competes with both UC Berkeley and UCLA for smart students with all different interests, including visual arts, political science, history and communication. As a public university that will always be compared to the other UC campuses, there’s no reason for UCSD to insist on being one-dimensional when such a strategy makes it lose potential assets to UC Berkeley, UCLA or other universities, and pushes smart students by the wayside once they come here.
This lopsided emphasis also contributes to a sense of alienation on campus (which, as we increasingly see, can have fatal consequences), as well as a crop of graduates who lack interpersonal and writing skills. The world is not just about science — UCSD shouldn’t be, either.
— Marianne Madden
Opinion Editor
Sweeten Overshoots His and the Council’s Influence
A.S. President Christopher Sweeten faced a bit of a daunting task in giving the first State of the Campus address. He had to talk about problems in student life, problems with budgets, problems with the administration — all without having it sound like aimless whining.
Because he pulled that off quite well, Sweeten can be forgiven for not really saying anything particularly new or innovative. Anyone who watches the State of the Union address knows how shocking it would be to hear a ground-breaking, innovative political speech come out of the president’s mouth. These speeches are for broad outlines and the occasional self-congratulation, though Sweeten mercifully refrained from singing his or the A.S. Council’s praises too much. Assuming that all real decisions will be made in more private venues, the only thing to judge is the worthiness of the issues Sweeten brought up, and whether they are really within the ability of the council to deal with.
Unfortunately, the harsh reality is that the majority of things that will most affect students are beyond Sweeten’s power. The greatest thing about the SRTV issue (from a political perspective) is that it’s something that can be dealt with in the here and now. It’s contentious, it’s sexy (pardon the pun) and it requires students to actually stand up for themselves and demand some control. The same cannot be said of other issues Sweeten brought up: Student loan problems that may stem from the federal budget cuts, and the lack of a signature “UCSD experience.”
It’d be great if Sweeten stormed the Capitol and lead protests against the cutback of funds to help students pay for college, but I suspect the most he’s going to do is complain to the appropriate administrators. That’s not a slam, and I’m happy to be proven wrong — but there’s just not much he can do.
Similarly, Sweeten devoted time to talking about a “plan to take back La Jolla.” But in all honesty, students never had La Jolla, at least not in recent memory. For UCSD to become the dominant community would constitute a hostile takeover, and it’s going to take a long time after we’re gone.
— Hanna Camp
Associate Opinion Editor
UCSD Not Yet ‘One Great University’
It’s safe to say that the state of the campus, at least in the last four years, has been deathly boring. UCSD, largely a commuter school, lacks the spirit and student pride that makes a university both well-known and well-liked. While UCSD, without argument, has always made great academic advances, we have neglected to address the low degree of student satisfaction on campus. A secluded haven in La Jolla, our presence has been shadowed by growing condos and a community that wants to bask in our academic achievements while deflecting the presence of a “real” college town.
A.S. President Christopher Sweeten addressed the need to “take back La Jolla” and to create the college city that most students dreamt of before attending UCSD, but it seems like a daunting task to take on the condo-crazy developers or ask for something as rambunctious as a Greek row. To strengthen our spirit core, perhaps we should start closer to home and unify all UCSD students. Somewhere in between the porn scandals, scientific research and emphasis on separate colleges, UCSD has lost the “one great university” part of our creed. If we work on instilling UCSD pride in our students, pride from the community will come naturally.
— Grace Fong
Staff Writer
Sweeten Right to Call for Outreach
With all the drama surrounding SRTV, Chris Sweeten has taken his share of criticism this year, but after his State of the Campus address he deserves a few compliments, especially for his plans regarding student outreach.
Since the new national budget will cut education by $1.5 billion, Sweeten’s plan for each UCSD college to adopt an underprivileged high school and work with the school in hopes of bringing more underprivileged students to UCSD is an excellent idea. Of course, while any real change in admissions numbers of underprivileged students will require years of work and immense funding, Sweeten’s proposal is a brave start to correcting current discrepancies. Since the only effective way to increase the number of underprivileged students at UCSD is to improve their K-12 education, the plan attacks the proper problem and thus, shows real promise for success.
In addition, the outreach program would strengthen ties between UCSD and the surrounding community, an important step in spreading education beyond the classroom walls of the university campus. Moreover it would help fulfill the social responsibility that every four-year university needs if its students truly intend to improve the world around them.
— Natasha Naraghi
Staff Writer
Tritons’ School Spirit Is Unique
Back when Revelle College was in its First (and only) College heyday, conch shells, aka Triton’s Trumpet, opened commencement in a blaze of school spirit. Nowadays there are six colleges, but it’s the library that presently symbolizes intercampus unity, even if it’s only through shared study space. This switch in identity doesn’t bode well for the campus.
A.S. President Christopher Sweeten asks if “we even know what the spirit of the Triton is.” Spirit is integrity and community, but for a research-oriented institution, spirit takes the form of grading curves and Facebook groupies — all impersonal and single-minded.
Students should be about more than just learning and digital networking. At UCSD’s inception, Roger Revelle dreamt of creating multifaceted scholars ready to swap sonnets for chemicals. UCSD has the opportunity to achieve Revelle’s vision, but it will require a solid base in community. Without school spirit, students may just as well take correspondence classes. There would be no real-world experience or human compassion — and no wisdom. For this reason, the segregation between colleges and commuters requires more consideration.
Sweeten believes that UCSD should reward students with more than just a diploma. All four years are a unique experience, and no intercollegiate competition is needed to prove the existence of school spirit — just careful attention.
— Maryann Kimoto
Staff Writer
