Thursday, May 21, 1998
Real bruins south
By Rachel Munoz
Daily Bruin Staff
Classes that run up to four days a week and coming to school on
Friday? Don’t be scared, it’s only for south campus majors.
But one student who doesn’t complain is Glenn Glazer, a
fourth-year pure mathematics student. At 35, Glazer knows what it
is like to be out there in the "real world" and easily describes
the life of a student, even a south campus student, as
paradisiacal.
Wonder what he would think if he changed his major to art
history.
For Glazer, the easy life begins bright and early at 5 a.m. Not
because of early classes, but because he likes to get up and
study.
The outfit of choice today is a mustard yellow T-shirt,
decorated with Indian art, hanging far below his belt loops. Like
many students, he wears Levi’s and gray socks peek through his
neutral-colored Birkenstock shoes. Sunglasses rest on his head and
his left ear bears a black hoop earring.
He takes his time getting ready and then feasts on a breakfast
of coffee, bread, a Trader Joe’s multivitamin, and a shake composed
of a raw egg, Quick, and milk.
Backpack in tow, at 6:30 a.m. he unlocks the door of the office,
shared by the head Programming in Computing (PIC) lab technician,
the head PIC lab assistant, the senior PIC lab assistant (Glazer),
and the Student Math Center tutors. This is where he begins his
many hours of studying for the day.
Distinguishing this office are the endless feet of cables that
can be found virtually all over the small, windowless space. Next
to a hanging paper showing off Glazer’s busy schedule is a paper
with five foreign alphabets on it. He says he keeps this for the
times when he needs a letter to stand for a variable and he has
simply run out of options.
One hour later, like clockwork, he moves through the halls of
the Math Science Building and Boelter Hall to the hidden south
campus Cafe Seas to buy the first of many cups of low-tech coffee
for the day.
"I have a serious coffee jones," Glazer said. "When they open me
up after I die, it’s going to come out brown."
He then relays a quote from a famous mathematician: math is a
machine for turning coffee into theorems.
After his coffee break, it’s back to the office to continue
working on proofs until his 9 a.m. class which challenges his brain
in complex analysis. Leaving backpack behind, Glazer equips himself
with a mechanical pencil and clipboard. For the three years that
Glazer has been at UCLA, his mechanical pencils and clipboard have
taken him through a wide array of classes, but Glazer easily
decided that math was his love.
"To me (math) is an art," he said. "The whole world around us
could be described in mathematical terms."
Glazer is passionate about what he studies. And rightly so. It
took him eight years at three different community colleges while
working full time at a real estate firm before he could transfer to
UCLA.
He has three more quarters before he completes his bachelor’s
degree, but will stay at UCLA to finish working on a master’s in
education that he has already started. The lover of science fiction
and fantasy is also pursuing a specialization in computing and
hopes for an emphasis on algebra and logic.
Walking from his 9 a.m. class to his 10 a.m. class, Glazer says
hello to many students passing in the halls, describing the math
department as one big happy family.
For the next 50 minutes, Glazer concentrates on more math, but
this time it’s set theory. He describes this class as proving all
the things that people take for granted, such as:
A is less than or equal to B
B is less than or equal to A,
therefore A=B.
After class he usually gets his lunch at the Bomb Shelter. Today
he had the treat of arriving early and getting the tater tots
leftover from breakfast which accompanied his chicken breast
sandwich.
But lunch is no reason to rest. While eating, Glazer walks into
Westwood Village to buy his monthly parking in the lot under
Macy’s.
"I park in Westwood because I couldn’t get parking (on campus),"
he said. The nearby apartment which he shares with his father
prevents him from receiving a permit.
Glazer enjoys the beautiful weather as he makes his way back to
campus. First he stops off at the PIC lab to check his e-mail. He
has received messages from a loose group of people that send
humorous e-mails to one another.
Back at the office, homework and studying call once again. He
has a couple of hours to study before his next class at 2 p.m. will
call him away. Glazer bends over the desk, neatly yet speedily
working on practice proofs for Friday’s midterm. Occasionally, he
slurps his coffee; then another student looking for chalk
interrupts him. Silence prevails, only broken when he cries out,
"Oh, of course," after contemplating a problem.
Two o’clock arrives sooner than later and Glazer heads off to
learn about polynomials that are irreducible, the "F"
characteristic, and what it means to express the roots in radicals.
Glazer appears to be one of those students who always receives the
full credit for participation and attendance.
He notes that he has not missed a single lecture for any of his
classes in his three years at UCLA.
Glazer’s last break for the day allows him to head back to his
office once again to tend to the duty of filing his daily lecture
notes away. It seems that Glazer barely has time for more than that
before he checks his e-mail again at the PIC lab and then finds his
way up to the 6th floor of the Math Science building for a math
education class.
To the surprise of the students and the professors, a math
department meeting was being held in their classroom. As those
involved in the meeting wrapped it up, students outside conversed
on the differences between north and south campus students.
"We have classes on Friday," said Jane Kim, a fourth-year
applied mathematics student. "And (north campus students) have more
time to go shopping."
Third-year applied mathematics student Jason Parker had other
negative things to say.
"We have homework due on Friday and you can’t go out and party,"
Parker said. "North Campus has a sculpture garden, we have a giant
ear. Enough said!"
Today’s education class focuses on how people read and perceive
different directions. The scene is somehow reminiscent of
elementary school as colored paper, rulers, and scissors are passed
out.
"No running with them," joked Glenn of the scissors he will use
for his project. His professor laughs.
The two-hour class finally ends at 6 p.m. and Glazer heads home.
Typically, he would go back to his office to study more if he
wasn’t pleased with his productivity level, but tonight he decides
he has done enough.
Glazer climbs into his white four-door Mercury Topaz, which
showcases a Darwin fish and a Free Tibet sticker. From the rear
view mirror hangs a Japanese headband which reads in Japanese,
"Welcome honored visitor of Japan."
Glazer enjoys the ride home so he can participate in one of his
favorite pastimes, listening to music. He likes everything from
straight-up rock to Bach to reggae to the Irish fiddle.
For the next few hours, Glazer takes it easy. After popping in a
frozen dinner and chatting with his dad, he checks his e-mail and
plays computer games. He likes computer games because they hold his
interest and allow for a certain amount of interaction.
Glazer admits that he never watches TV saying simply, "I don’t
like TV. By and large, it’s idiotic or insulting."
Forget homework – he has spent his time at school doing that.
Bedtime comes when most students are either just hitting the books
or are getting ready to party for the night: 10 p.m.
JAMIE SCANLON-JACOBS/Daily Bruin
Glenn Glazer takes a break while studying his set theory.