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Editorial: UCLA responsible for educating students on forms of discrimination

By Editorial Board

March 17, 2015 2:12 a.m.

A series of missteps by our undergraduate student government which culminated with the nationally publicized questioning of Judicial Board candidate Rachel Beyda because of her involvement with the Jewish community has pointed to a crucial need for university officials to educate students on more subtle instances of discrimination and hate speech.

Students even those who pursue the additional responsibility of acting as elected officials need the guidance and help of an administration that currently seems too often willing to react to major moral and ethical lapses rather than try to prevent them.

The Daily Bruin Editorial Board does not believe the statements made at the Feb. 10 council meeting came from a place of hatred on the part of the councilmembers, but instead from an atmosphere rife with ignorance and suspicion. The statements speak to an environment that has formed on a council and a campus frequently rocked by contentious and bitter debates on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Under these circumstances, it’s possible to accuse students of having ulterior political motives related to the conflict in almost any context.

This is the environment that UCLA administration needs to tackle and change through increased education.

A submission published in the Daily Bruin on March 9 lays out some basic tasks that UCLA could take to battle anti-Semitism on campus, and these examples provide a foundation that can be expanded and built on by the university.

The university should take on a comprehensive effort to educate students on the history and background of some forms of discrimination, to help give context to complicated social issues. A campaign to educate students on less obvious forms of hate speech and discrimination would also go a long way in helping to mold students to be sensitive to how what they say can affect both others and themselves in the future.

In addition, having the university step in to facilitate conversations between student groups invested in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict raises the level of discourse and legitimacy of the discussions about the divisive issues.

Tepid statements decrying the general state of campus climate are obviously not enough when councilmember actions are being broadcasted globally and UCLA is being seen nationally as a den of anti-Semitism and hate.

Chancellor Gene Block called the firestorm over the Beyda confirmation “a teaching moment,” in an interview with The New York Times. It certainly has the potential to be that, but direct action needs to be taken by the university and the chancellor to help improve conditions.

Even as the rest of the world gawks at the fissures that threaten our student unity, our campus is not broken. However, it will take university action to initiate the healing process.

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