Guest Commentary: A.S. Should Take a More Direct Role in Students’ Lives

Apr 16, 2012

BY MEGGIE LE
A.S. President-Elect

These past four months have truly been an amazing and unforgettable experience. This year, we have seen a truly diverse, not divisive council be elected into office. I am proud to say that next year’s council will be able to accurately represent our diverse UCSD community. My hope for A.S. this year is to take a more direct role in students’ lives as well as a more active role in student movements. I fully believe that A.S. should be for the students, by the students and that is something I want to instill in each and every council member this year.

Making the Slate: Don’t Vote on a Color Scheme

Apr 12, 2012

I have been on the A.S. Council longer than most people would advise to stay sane and have, along with a few others, won and lost elections at all levels of the organization. The time I’ve spent on council has allowed me to offer rare insight into the elections process, going on right now. The processes in which slates are created usually runs something like this: Someone who is interested in running for A.S. President looks for others who want to run for executive positions. This group can either run under a slate that existed in prior elections or create a new one. They then look for other members to join the slate — the process for interested candidates to join a slate is more about who you know than what you know. There may be someone who is very involved in the campus community but because few people in A.S. know about the existence of this person, they will not be included in any major slate. 

A Paid Advantage

Apr 2, 2012

Santa Monica College is planning to offer impacted classes at higher prices during school intersessions to reduce waitlists during the year, a measure that will help students graduate on time.

Quick Takes: Employers Asking For Facebook Passwords

Apr 2, 2012

On March 20, the Associated Press reported that employers across the U.S. are soliciting the Facebook passwords of job applicants as part of the interview process.

Quick Takes: Kony

Mar 12, 2012

On March 5, invisible children released a YouTube video detailing the atrocities that warlord Joseph Kony has done in Uganda and other central African countries since the 1980s. 

A Case of Recklessness: Don’t Make Me Graduate

Mar 12, 2012

The morning after the Sun God Festival two years ago, a friend of mine and I drove to the ridiculous tradition that is the Guardian-Koala sloshball game. Her cheeks still smudged with gold body paint, and her throat still raw from heckling Drake, she told me in a coarse whisper that she was beginning to feel nostalgic. 

Role Reversal

Mar 12, 2012

A new teaching strategy called “flipped classrooms,” in which the bulk of learning is done outside of the classroom while lecture time is used for discussion, could prove advantageous at UCSD.

There’s No Superheroics in This Year’s Super Tuesday

Mar 8, 2012

The results from the biggest day of the Republican primaries thus far are in. Conservative America has spoken. Super Tuesday, a 10-state primary contest with 437 delegates at stake, is the ultimate decider of the political fates of frontrunners Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum and their trailing opponents Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul. 

Quick Takes: “Taste the Lin-sanity” Frozen Yogurt Flavor

Mar 5, 2012

Last week, the Harvard Square Branch of Ben & Jerry’s released a Jeremy Lin-inspired “Taste the Lin-sanity” frozen yogurt flavor that contained fortune cookie crumbs and lychee swirls.

Guest Commentary: Students for Justice in Palestine

Mar 1, 2012

BY MERYEM KAMIL

Students for Justice in Palestine


What is divestment?
     Divestment refers to taking out current investments from a company, in our case for ethical reasons.
Why UCSD?
      This resolution seeks to continue the university’s push for corporate responsibility by advocating for social sustainability. We, as socially-conscious UCSD students, are fundamentally against our institution’s support of a company that profits off of violence.
Why does the proposed resolution target GE and Northrop Grumman?
     Both companies produce parts of Apache helicopters used by the Israeli Defense Forces against Palestinians, documented by Amnesty International.
Why this conflict?
     As an organization that specializes in the region, it is only logical that SJP would focus on the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. Additionally, the conflict gives context to the detrimental business practices of GE and Northrop Grumman.
Does this resolution advocate for the sweeping divestment of the State of Israel?
     No, we are looking at U.S. companies that profit from violent conflict and occupation.
Is this resolution anti-Israel/pro-Palestinian?
     Because our university is invested asymmetrically in an ongoing violent conflict, we already as an institution are choosing to support one side over another. This resolution seeks to do away with the binary of pro-Israeli/pro-Palestinian by focusing on what we can agree on: the need for peace. By removing investments from companies who assist in perpetuating the violence in the area, we are setting up a forum where peace is achievable.
If A.S. Council at UCSD recommends the divestment of these companies, what will we invest in instead?
We look forward to creating a coalition of students on campus that researches companies with a stake in social responsibility.
How is UCSD invested in these companies?
The UC Retirement and Endowment Funds are invested in indexes. The Russel 3000 index includes GE and Northrop Grumman. Investments can be personalized to include and exclude whichever companies the investor wants.
Isn’t investing in these companies profitable?
GE is less than 1 percent value of all the stocks in the U.S.A., financially $210 billion out of $25 trillion. Furthermore, we invest globally and U.S.A. is only 35 percent of the global market, so GE comes out to even less than 0.3 percent of the global market. Northrup Grumman is less than 0.1 percent of U.S. value, or $18 billion out of $25 trillion. Divesting from these companies is not difficult to do. There are over 5,000 companies that can be invested in the U.S. GE and Northrop Grumman are not our only options.
What percentage of these companies’ profits come from weaponry sold that perpetuates the conflict?
About 4 percent of GE’s sales is from weapons and military equipment, and only a portion of that goes to Israeli military, while Northrop Grumman is a military equipment company. It doesn’t matter how much of their profits are involved in violence, it’s a statement against violence. 

Guest Commentary: Tritons for Israel

Mar 1, 2012

BY DANIEL FRIEDMAN

President, Tritons for Israel




Does the resolution target Israel?

Proponents of the resolution claim the resolution does not target Israel, and consequently does not alienate Israeli or pro-Israel students on campus. When looking at the text of the resolution, however, Israel is the only country mentioned, and singled out for collective punishment. Even though both companies specified in the resolution, General Electric and Northrop Grumman, have military contracts with over a dozen other countries, including the United States, Great Britain, Japan and Taiwan, the only country mentioned is the State of Israel. The resolution could achieve the same goals without targeting Israel, but intentionally singles out the only democracy in the Middle East. If the resolution passes, global organizations such as Boycott, Divestment and Sanctioning of Israel will claim this as a huge victory.

Will the resolution divide this campus and alienate students?

The resolution does not foster a more cohesive campus community, but rather further polarizes the already-marginalized set of pro-Israel groups on campus. These progressive, liberal, peace-seeking groups have been increasingly alienated over the past few years; this resolution forces the student government to take a stance on the issue, and will further alienate one of the two sides. When the State of Israel is singled out from a list of eligible sovereign states, students whose identities are linked to the country feel singled out and held to a double standard. Students should be able to attend a university and feel accepted and represented by their student government.

Does this resolution promote a progressive, liberal approach to the conflict?

The resolution requires every student involved in the different aspects of this issue to take a simplified stance, either for or against divestment. In essence, the resolution both ignores and silences the moderate voices advocating for a more nuanced approach to the issues. In this campaign there is no middle ground. The resolution polarizes an already divided group of students, and does not allow for the complex views inherent to the issue. It is a myopic approach to a very complicated issue that must be addressed on campus in a productive forum.  This resolution does not belong before an associated student government because A.S. Council is charged with providing for a more cohesive campus community, and this resolution divides our student population.

What are the possible effects of Divestment?

The resolution does not account for the numerous implications of punishing companies who have deep financial- and research-based connections to our university. Both General Electric and Northrop Grumman, the two companies targeted in the resolution, have research contracts with UCSD, and are a main source of potential jobs for our engineering students. Calling for divestment and blacklisting these companies will potentially harm our reputation with these companies. 

Cram Session

Feb 27, 2012

The 2015 addition of social science and critical thinking sections to the MCAT is a well-intentioned move to make admissions more holistic, but the changes will put too much emphasis on non-medical topics.