Few events on campus this year were as disturbing as Bruin
Republicans’ campaign against MEChA.
Without adequately presenting its concerns to MEChA leaders,
Bruin Republicans launched an “all-out media blitz”
with the goal of stripping MEChA of university funding and its
official student organization status.
The Bruin Republicans charged that MEChA was racist because of a
racially charged document linked to MEChA ““ a document dating
back to 1969. Astonishingly, the Bruin Republicans likened MEChA to
the Nazi Party.
As a result of its campaign, Bruin Republicans gained notoriety
and received tens of thousands of dollars from sympathetic
conservatives. But in the process, the group destroyed any hope of
constructive relations between Bruin Republicans and countless
other student groups that were rightly outraged by the
group’s actions.
The Bruin Republicans’ campaign stands as an example of
how student organizations can serve as a destructive force on the
UCLA campus.
The Daily Bruin Editorial Board reflects on the strengths
and weaknesses of UCLA at the end of spring quarter. Considering
news events, people, policies and trends, the board has compiled a
list of UCLA’s best and UCLA’s worst. The remaining
“best and worst” editorials will run this
week.