Students should take advantage of academic lectures to expand knowledge beyond their majors

Although I have never taken a public policy class, I have an understanding of California’s democratic structure and current fiscal crisis ““ all thanks to the lecture “The People’s Will: Reforming the Way We Govern California” I attended on Tuesday night.

Such departmental lectures offer students an easy, convenient opportunity to explore new ideas and subjects they have not experienced in the classroom. Students can learn about everything from long-term economic development to the science of dermatology from experts well-versed in their fields.

Unfortunately, these events are one of the most underutilized academic and networking resources on campus. At all of the events I have attended over the years, there has been consistently low attendance from undergraduate students, with the audience mainly comprised of graduate students, faculty and interested community members. Effective and expansive marketing could help draw more students to these lectures.

A number of students may refrain from attending because they fear that the event will be boring and just like another class. In fact, these lectures are nothing like class. At talks, the atmosphere is much more relaxed, giving even mildly informed students the opportunity to contribute to an important debate or discussion.

Such events allow students to engage experts in intellectual discourse and interact with the kind of world-renowned figures that UCLA attracts. Last week, for example, economist Joseph Stiglitz gave a talk and held a discussion on the U.S. financial crisis.

Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize winner and former chief economist of the World Bank, was named one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” last week.

The lectures are ideal for students in their first or second years who are still trying to figure out their majors. While it’s not possible to take classes in every discipline during a quarter, it is possible to attend a few of these lectures and build a greater understanding of subjects one may not be studying in class. Even for upperclassmen who are considering graduate school but are unsure about which subject to study, the lectures are an ideal place to test the water.

Moreover, such events offer in-depth and condensed coverage of relevant topics. For example, the Luskin School of Public Affairs event I attended Tuesday taught me about the future of California ““ something that is of vital importance to every undergraduate student at this school.

There are so many talks happening on campus every quarter that students are sure to find something which appeals to them personally. The opportunities for networking with professors from potential grad schools, professionals in your field and even your current professors abound.

The intimate setting of many smaller talks offers an opening to converse with someone whose work interests you. As a political science student and a graduating senior, I have learned about countless think tanks, graduate school programs and nongovernmental organizations from lectures, which has helped immensely in my future plans.

Part of the reason that students miss these opportunities is that they may not know about them.

Research centers tend only to advertise to related departments and post flyers in limited areas of campus. While this is certainly an effective way to reach out to interested graduate students and faculty, the general student population will not know about the event.

It would be impractical to suggest that research centers, with their limited budgets and manpower, should set up on Bruin Walk and flyer all day. But centers can have a presence in undergraduate classrooms.

Centers can take a page out of the student group handbook and send people who work in their offices to announce events in relevant lectures. Professors can also be enlisted to announce relevant or interesting events to their classes, and social networking is an effective means of reaching out to a wide range of students across campus.

Without a doubt, it takes a certain level of nerdiness to attend these academic lectures. But at UCLA, everyone is passionate enough about something to enjoy learning and interacting with experts on the subject.

Have you attended an academic lecture? Email Khan at [email protected]. Send general comments to [email protected].