UCLA in need of proactive leader

This is an exciting year for UCLA students, given the change in
leadership and the search for a new chancellor. As a UCLA graduate
student, I want our new chancellor to express a strong commitment
to support low-cost quality education for graduate and professional
students at UCLA.

Graduate students need a leader who will engage in a constant
dialogue with the governor, state officials and UC Regents to avoid
raises in student fees, which have recently placed an economic
burden on students

Increases in student fees and decreasing graduate student aid at
public institutions such as UCLA severely curtail a student’s
time to complete a graduate-level degree. The increases can also
negatively impact the academic progress of students from lower
socioeconomic areas and underrepresented backgrounds.

Unlike undergraduate students, graduate students do not receive
financial aid in the form of need-based Cal and Pell grants; most
of their aid is merit-based in the form of highly competitive
fellowships.

The chancellor must address the need for graduate-student
financial support by seeking out more opportunities for students to
conduct research and continue graduate study through paid
internships and research fellowship grants.

This aid must be available for all graduate students, including
international and professional students.

Support for underrepresented students is another issue the
chancellor should address. UCLA’s lack of diversity at the
undergraduate level has already been highly publicized in the
media. However, we will not know what impact the under-enrollment
of populations such as black students will have at UCLA until the
freshman undergraduate population reaches the graduate level in
about five years.

It is important to study the impact Proposition 209 has had on
the diversity of the graduate population and the state’s
undergraduate population. UCLA should be at the forefront of
finding solutions to the issues surrounding student and faculty
diversity.

It is up to our chancellor to take charge in the fight for
high-quality, diverse and affordable public education, which is on
the verge of disappearing if our leadership fails to tackle these
challenges head on.

Sanchez is the 2006-2007 Graduate Students Association
president and is a graduate student in education.