At a time when grade point averages exceeding 4.0 are no longer
exceptional and UCLA admittees receive an average of 1333 on the
SAT, many students are turning to formal SAT preparation courses
and summer camps to maintain a competitive edge in the college
admissions process.

Since the outbreak of war in Iraq, administrators and teachers
at the university’s elementary school have taken the time to
react and reflect on the conflict with some of the youngest members
of the UCLA community.

Congressman Barney Frank, D-Mass., has introduced legislation
that would repeal a law barring convicted drug offenders from
receiving financial aid.
“I don’t condone illegal drug use,” Frank said
in a press release, “but in my opinion it is a mistake to use
the student financial aid system as a blanket method of punishing
people who are convicted of minor drug violations.”
Under the current law, mandated by the Higher Education
Act’s drug provision, convicted students over age 18 are
ineligible for aid for one year from the time of conviction for
their first offense.

Over three years after the worst school shooting in U.S.
history, students packed Ackerman Grand Ballroom Tuesday night to
hear about the life and legacy of one of the victims.

Despite pledges by university officials to protect the quality
of education, the declining quantity of teaching assistants in some
departments suggests the contrary.
“We’ve gone from a time where almost any professor
with a legitimate need for a teaching assistant received one, to a
time where that’s just not a reality anymore,” said
Kathy Bawn, associate professor and vice chair of political science
undergraduate studies at UCLA.

Different strokes may come to different folks, but all UCLA
undergraduate students are now paying an extra $405 a year for
their education.
For Aldaberto Medina, financial aid has been crucial in funding
his education.

Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani delivered an address
on “Leadership in Difficult Times” at UCLA Dec. 12,
kicking off a three-day interdisciplinary conference held on
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Despite a multi-year economic downturn and a decline in private
sector hiring, the federal government is stepping up its recruiting
efforts on college campuses.
The government has been much more aggressive in its job
recruiting this year, said Kathy Sims, director of the UCLA Career
Center.

The UC system faces budget cuts in light of a projected $21
billion state budget deficit through the 2003-2004 fiscal year,
according to nonpartisan legislative financial analyst Elizabeth
Hill.