CAPPP Washington D.C. internship program faces financial setbacks
By Megan Beauchamp
May 20, 2010 9:46 p.m.
Program cuts in July to the UCLA Center for American Politics and Public Policy’s Quarter in Washington will decrease the staff of the program.
Currently, UCDC has six program administrators, four of whom are exclusively devoted to the UCLA, Berkeley, UCSB or Davis campuses.
As of July 1, there will only be three administrators in charge of placing a total of around 225 students from the various UC campuses into Washington internships, said James Desveaux, associate director of CAPPP and adjunct assistant professor at UCDC. The consolidation plan was initiated by the UC Office of the President.
“We’ll do what we can to help students by utilizing the graduate assistants who we have (in Washington) for the quarter and those who are also here in L.A., but it is also the case that students will have to take more initiative than they did before,” said Joel Aberbach, professor of political science and director of CAPPP.
In response, UCLA’s CAPPP is making a variety of adjustments to maintain the quality of the program under those circumstances, Aberbach said.
For at least the next two years, CAPPP will continue to provide students with a website, an office at UCLA with someone who can help students with their applications, and some assistance with internship placement despite the reduced staff, Desveaux said.
“(Students) depend a lot on this office. From beginning and learning about the program to getting ready to go to DC, this is where they come for advice, deadlines and guidelines,” said Carol Ann Wald, the CAPPP administrator who works directly with student applicants for the Quarter in Washington Program.
Students at UCLA who plan on participating in the program in the future and those who are currently in Washington for the spring session expressed concerns about the negative effects the staff reduction will have on student resources.
“The CAPPP Program is one of the few opportunities UCLA students have to study in a different city and I think it will be detrimental to students when the number of administrators are reduced as a result of budget cuts,” said Jennifer Patton, a third-year global studies and German student currently in Washington.
Future students enrolling in the program are adjusting their plans in order to ensure their ability to not only participate, but to utilize the resources CAPPP offers.
Ethan Scapellati, a second-year political science and history student, said he was initially planning on enrolling in the program spring quarter of his fourth year, but was advised to go his third year because of the cuts.
“The spring program is the hardest to get internships, so it would be nice to have all the help I can get,” Scapellati said.
Despite the changes in Washington, the directors of CAPPP are determined to continue providing students with a prestigious program that offers the opportunity to work, research and study in the nation’s capital.
