Bruin Alumni Association
Encyclopedia
The Bruin Alumni Association is a conservative group for alumni of University of California, Los Angeles
. It has no official affiliation with the University of California
or the official UCLA Alumni Association. It is a private, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2005 by Andrew Jones, who graduated from UCLA in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and a minor in public policy. Jones runs the organization largely on his own with private donations.
The association has gained notoriety for its "Exposing UCLA's Radical Professors" initiative (UCLAProfs.com), which offered to pay students to inform on faculty "actively proselytizing their extreme views in the classroom, whether or not the commentary is relevant to the class topic." The association seeks to tackle what Jones alleges is a strong liberal bias (what he describes as a "cancer of political radicalism") at UCLA, by soliciting donations from alumni, then using the money to campaign against activist professors, the UCLA Alumni Association and administrators.
Although the group says it is concerned about radical professors of any political stripe, in its initial "Dirty 30" of teachers it names, all are identified only with left-wing or liberal causes. Jones, former chairman of UCLA's Bruin Republicans student group, was a firebrand conservative activist while a student at UCLA, active in Republican causes http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/articles.asp?id=34052, and founder of the conservative campus publication the UCLA Criterion. As a student Jones was known as a controversial agitator
, gaining notoriety for a 2003 publicity stunt
called the "Affirmative Action Bake Sale" where he offered lower prices on baked goods to minority students, mirroring the preferences inherent in affirmative action itself. http://www.capitolweekly.net/news/article.html?article_id=434
As justification for exposing those he considers to be radical professors, Jones says, "One aspect of this radicalization, outlined [on the website], is an unholy alliance between anti-war professors, radical Muslim students, and a pliant administration. Working together, they have made UCLA a major organizing center for opposition to the War on Terror." http://www.bruinalumni.com/aboutus.html Other issues common to the conservative cause the association finds objectionable are diversity http://www.bruinalumni.com/articles/diversityatucla1.html and the related topic, affirmative action
http://www.bruinalumni.com/articles/racialgames1.html.
To assist in "exposing the most radical professors" at UCLA, the association offered students $100 to record classroom lectures of suspect faculty, $50 for notes and materials, and $10 for advisory and all professor-distributed materials. http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/01/18/ucla The offer was originally made on the association's website, asking them to report any "professor who just can't stop talking about President Bush, about the war in Iraq, about the Republican Party, or any other ideological issue."
UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale denounced the campaign as "reprehensible" and school officials warned that selling, distributing recordings of classroom lectures without an instructor's consent might violate university policy. UCLA spokesman Phil Hampton said the university was sending Jones a letter warning him that faculty hold copyrights to all their course materials and that in their view, his campaign encouraged students to violate school policy and the UCLA Student Code of Conduct.
The offer to pay informers was dropped by Jones on January 22, 2006 saying the payment program had become "a distraction from the real problem, which is classroom indoctrination by UCLA professors." http://www.uclaprofs.com/letter.html
The association claims to have an advisory council of over 20 members, consisting of conservative activists, scholars – including four UCLA professors – and which at one time included state Sen. Bill Morrow. News of the campaign prompted former Congressman Jim Rogan, who helped lead the drive for impeachment
of former President Bill Clinton
in the U.S. House of Representatives, to insist the association not list him as an advisory council member. Rogan says his name was listed without his permission and his contact with the association consisted of one phone conversation. http://www.capitolweekly.net/news/article.html?article_id=434 At least two other members of the advisory board have resigned over the group's efforts to have students record their professors.
Critics of Jones's website have expressed concern that Jones has not drawn a sharp enough distinction between what so-called "radical" professors do and say inside the classroom and what they do outside of it, such as signing petitions and engaging in other sorts of political activities.
Despite widespread media attention UCLAProfs.com received in early 2006, no professor profiles beyond the initial "Dirty 30" have ever been added the website.
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
. It has no official affiliation with the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
or the official UCLA Alumni Association. It is a private, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2005 by Andrew Jones, who graduated from UCLA in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and a minor in public policy. Jones runs the organization largely on his own with private donations.
The association has gained notoriety for its "Exposing UCLA's Radical Professors" initiative (UCLAProfs.com), which offered to pay students to inform on faculty "actively proselytizing their extreme views in the classroom, whether or not the commentary is relevant to the class topic." The association seeks to tackle what Jones alleges is a strong liberal bias (what he describes as a "cancer of political radicalism") at UCLA, by soliciting donations from alumni, then using the money to campaign against activist professors, the UCLA Alumni Association and administrators.
Although the group says it is concerned about radical professors of any political stripe, in its initial "Dirty 30" of teachers it names, all are identified only with left-wing or liberal causes. Jones, former chairman of UCLA's Bruin Republicans student group, was a firebrand conservative activist while a student at UCLA, active in Republican causes http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/articles.asp?id=34052, and founder of the conservative campus publication the UCLA Criterion. As a student Jones was known as a controversial agitator
Agitator
An agitator is a person who actively supports some ideology or movement with speeches and especially actions. The Agitators were a political movement as well as elected representatives of soldiers, including the New Model Army of Oliver Cromwell, during the English Civil War. They were also known...
, gaining notoriety for a 2003 publicity stunt
Publicity stunt
A publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract the public's attention to the event's organizers or their cause. Publicity stunts can be professionally organized or set up by amateurs...
called the "Affirmative Action Bake Sale" where he offered lower prices on baked goods to minority students, mirroring the preferences inherent in affirmative action itself. http://www.capitolweekly.net/news/article.html?article_id=434
As justification for exposing those he considers to be radical professors, Jones says, "One aspect of this radicalization, outlined [on the website], is an unholy alliance between anti-war professors, radical Muslim students, and a pliant administration. Working together, they have made UCLA a major organizing center for opposition to the War on Terror." http://www.bruinalumni.com/aboutus.html Other issues common to the conservative cause the association finds objectionable are diversity http://www.bruinalumni.com/articles/diversityatucla1.html and the related topic, affirmative action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
http://www.bruinalumni.com/articles/racialgames1.html.
To assist in "exposing the most radical professors" at UCLA, the association offered students $100 to record classroom lectures of suspect faculty, $50 for notes and materials, and $10 for advisory and all professor-distributed materials. http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/01/18/ucla The offer was originally made on the association's website, asking them to report any "professor who just can't stop talking about President Bush, about the war in Iraq, about the Republican Party, or any other ideological issue."
UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale denounced the campaign as "reprehensible" and school officials warned that selling, distributing recordings of classroom lectures without an instructor's consent might violate university policy. UCLA spokesman Phil Hampton said the university was sending Jones a letter warning him that faculty hold copyrights to all their course materials and that in their view, his campaign encouraged students to violate school policy and the UCLA Student Code of Conduct.
The offer to pay informers was dropped by Jones on January 22, 2006 saying the payment program had become "a distraction from the real problem, which is classroom indoctrination by UCLA professors." http://www.uclaprofs.com/letter.html
The association claims to have an advisory council of over 20 members, consisting of conservative activists, scholars – including four UCLA professors – and which at one time included state Sen. Bill Morrow. News of the campaign prompted former Congressman Jim Rogan, who helped lead the drive for impeachment
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
of former President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
in the U.S. House of Representatives, to insist the association not list him as an advisory council member. Rogan says his name was listed without his permission and his contact with the association consisted of one phone conversation. http://www.capitolweekly.net/news/article.html?article_id=434 At least two other members of the advisory board have resigned over the group's efforts to have students record their professors.
Critics of Jones's website have expressed concern that Jones has not drawn a sharp enough distinction between what so-called "radical" professors do and say inside the classroom and what they do outside of it, such as signing petitions and engaging in other sorts of political activities.
Despite widespread media attention UCLAProfs.com received in early 2006, no professor profiles beyond the initial "Dirty 30" have ever been added the website.
External links
- Bruin Alumni Association website
- Exposing UCLA's Radical Professors initiative
- Alumni group pushes right New association hopes to air conservative voice in guiding UCLA’s direction. Daily Bruin, August, 2005
- Official UCLA Alumni Association