UCLA Budget Issue

Californian's again failed to produce any progress in terms of balancing the government budget by rejecting all of last weeks special election propositions. This leaves UCLA with a massive budget shortage that needs to be addressed. UCLA has seen diminished state funding ever since the bill was passed that made students actually pay fees to attend the university. Thats right, there once was a time when students attending UCLA for free. So, how can we fix this problem?

The obvious answer is to make all of our alumni pay the university back. Honestly. Graduates from UCLA do not donate any where near the funds that alumni of private universities generously shell out for there alma-mater. That is why I am presenting the Bruin Initiative Fund.

The Bruin Initiative Fund is a possible drive that will promote sustained alumni giving far into the future.  The basis of the fund is simple and it starts with enlightening our alumni at the dire consequences that the university is facing. Then, the University will ask alumni to each donate a nominal amount, lets say 250 dollars. Now if we consider that UCLA graduates around 8000 students each year, over the past 50 years, then the fund would generate an annual income 100 million dollars. I know that is idealistic at best, but the numbers are there and many of our alumni could afford to give the school 250. You drive a mercedes, give us some cash. 

Not only would the fund raise money that the university desperately needs, it will also foster a sense of accountability and social responsibility to an institution that will lead America, and the world, into tomorrow. Not only that, it will help foster a sense of community that will improve alumni relations and remind alumni of just how fantastic their four years in westwood were.