picture of chancellor with students

Monday, October 20, 1997

Chancellor holds office hours for students

Response to e-mail message high; Bruins optimistic about
accessibility

By Mason Stockstill

Daily Bruin Contributor

"I feel like a dentist," joked Chancellor Albert Carnesale, as
he came to usher in his next guest from the "waiting room" just
outside his office.

Carnesale met one-on-one with a few students Friday as part of
what will possibly become a regular monthly tradition of "office
hours."

The chancellor sent out an e-mail message to the entire campus
on Wednesday, inviting students to meet with him personally so that
he can hear from students with a wide variety of interests and
concerns.

"These meetings will help me to hear and discuss your concerns,
criticisms, suggestions and aspirations," the message read.

Because of time constraints, only eight students were able to
meet with the chancellor, for approximately 10 minutes each, during
the 1-2 p.m. time slot.

Gloria Stypinski, the chancellor’s chief of staff, said because
student response was so large, a separate meeting had to be set up
so that more students could be heard.

"Since we had so many responses, we set up an hour-long meeting
for everyone who could not get into the one-on-one meeting," she
said.

However, because of e-mail problems, not all students who
responded to the initial message were notified of the second
meeting before it took place.

The second meeting took place at 2:30 p.m., and about 20
students came to take part in a discussion with the chancellor and
Robert Naples, vice chancellor of student affairs.

Of the students who managed to get into the first round of
office hours, a few came with issues to discuss, but other students
just wanted to meet the chancellor and say hello.

"I just wanted to meet the chancellor," said Jae Kim.

But Jasmine Lee, a third-year psychology student, came with a
petition in hand and a gripe to share with the chancellor – that of
the transportation problem on campus.

"Ever since the limited bus route to UCLA was canceled, many
students are having a very difficult time getting to school," Lee
said.

"All the campus express buses are packed full of students," she
continued.

Lee presented her petition – "a one-woman campaign," she said –
to the chancellor.

Also on hand to visit with Carnesale were USAC Internal Vice
President Carol Lee and Elizabeth Geyer, her chief of staff.

"We just wanted to see how the chancellor would handle the issue
of student access," Lee said.

"It was somewhat disappointing because there wasn’t really
enough time to get any dialogue going on any issues," Lee said
after her meeting.

"There was only enough time to bring up an issue, but not enough
time to discuss it thoroughly," she continued.

Richard Villegas, a sixth-year student in English and Chicano
Studies, agreed, but said that the meeting’s productiveness met his
expectations.

"It’s about as effective as one student can be," Villegas
said.

Villegas had met with the chancellor to ask him to consider
changing the Cesar Chavez Center for Interdisciplinary Instruction
in Chicana and Chicano Studies from a center to a department, which
would result in more funds and prestige for the fledgling
program.

Carnesale’s willingness to meet with students stands in stark
contrast to Chancellor Emeritus Charles Young, who gained a
reputation for being inaccessible to students during his final
years in the job.

As a new chancellor who is still learning about UCLA, Carnesale
told students that he hoped having office hours would enable them
to "bring something to my attention you think I should know. The
only way I’m going to learn is by hearing from the students."

And the students who met with the chancellor during the general
meeting had plenty to bring to his attention. They addressed issues
such as the impending closure of Mira Hershey Hall and the loss of
on-campus graduate student housing, to ROTC discrimination against
gays and lesbians.

Both Carnesale and Naples listened to them all. Carnesale
stressed that although he could not personally attend to each
matter, he would bring the issues to the attention of those in
charge. He also suggested that students write to him with their
concerns, as another means of communicating with him.

All in all, students said they were encouraged that their
chancellor seemed to be taking an interest in their welfare.

Geyer, however, suggested that a different format for meeting
with students would benefit both the chancellor and participating
students more than short meetings.

"Maybe he could do a town-hall meeting, invite students to a
slightly larger venue to meet with them," she said.

Young had held a similar meeting in the past, a meeting in
Ackerman Grand Ballroom that only attracted about a dozen students
and a few reporters.

Carol Lee also noted that when USAC holds meetings of a similar
nature, turnout is low at those as well.

"It’s too bad students don’t come to us more often, since we
have nearly 20 hours of office hours each week," Lee said.

"This event shows us that there is student concern out there
that needs to be addressed, and we’re glad that the chancellor is
taking the time to address it," she added.

Chancellor Carnesale meets with students to discuss issues
during his first office hours Friday afternoon.