Tan is the USAC academic affairs commissioner and can be reached
at [email protected].
By Bryant Tan
I am writing in response to recent criticism by the Daily Bruin
Editorial Board regarding the work I’ve done as USAC Academic
Affairs Commissioner with the Academic Senate, (“Tan silences
student voice in policy issues,” Viewpoint, April 8).
Audre Lorde once said, “Your silence will not protect
you.” And these words call upon all of us to have a voice at
UCLA, especially in making our university more accountable to
students. Being silent will not protect us from being pushed out of
this university faster, being given limited financial aid, or being
able to add a class after fourth week.
Faculty and administration are in a continual dialogue over the
progress of this university. They ponder questions like whether
UCLA is a supportive research environment, what academic calendar
UCLA should work in, and the diversity of students, faculty, and
staff. While there is a continued dialogue among faculty and
administration, I have been committed to ensuring that student
perspectives are heard as well.
In the spirit of shared governance, students play an integral
role in the senate, a faculty governing body, where many questions
about the fate of the university and academic policies are
discussed. This is why I have ensured that the student voice is
active and represented on a majority of senate committees. This
year there are 15 representatives on committees ranging from the
Undergraduate Council, the Committee on Diversity and Equal
Opportunity, the Committee on Academic Freedom, and the Committee
on Teaching.
Four appointments have yet to be made, but representation exists
on key committees that are currently negotiating important
decisions about admissions, the academic calendar, general
education, budget and other academic policies.
This has been my continued commitment to undergraduate students
““ to ensure that student voices are not silenced in this
university.
But the commitment to shared governance and participation of
students throughout the university is not only on the shoulders of
students, USAC, and the Academic Affairs Commission. Faculty,
particularly on the senate, have a responsibility to be accountable
to the students of this university. It is a partnership that is
sometimes ignored and often deprioritized.
Though many members of the faculty have made good efforts in
soliciting student input, the climate in the senate is not always
welcoming of student voices. This climate is reinforced
structurally with limited student representation (many only have
one undergraduate representative) and with student votes being
counted separate. On the body’s Legislative Assembly, which
makes final decisions on policy issues, students cannot vote at
all. Who is truly responsible for silencing students when this is
the case?
Students also remain barred from key discussions like deciding
tenure for professors. Thus, unless your favorite professor has
security of employment, you have little say in whether she or he
should continue to teach at UCLA.
I am actively seeking ways to ensure greater student
participation on all senate committees, particularly where we
currently have no voice. UCLA’s Academic Affairs Commission
is aligning itself with other UCs to fight for senate reform to
include greater student representation and decision-making
power.
I encourage all students, as I have all year, to take an active
role in their education by participating in the senate.
Within it are avenues to have agency in the academic policies
that affect students ““ from minimum progress, to curriculum
content to academic honesty.
Do not let your voice be silenced. Without students, UCLA would
not be the university it is. It is up to us to determine how we
want this university to run. The senate is one of the many ways you
can have a voice in this university, no matter how limited.
Come to the Academic Affairs Commission in 310 Kerckhoff Hall
today and find out more ways you can shape and define your
education.