In the midst of the current militarization of downtown Los Angeles as a supposed "protective" measure for the DNC, many may be unaware of the hundreds of California Highway Patrol officers that are being housed in the Sunset Village dormitories at UCLA. Since last Thursday, several agencies of the CHP have converged at UCLA, presumably as a back-up to the LAPD. This may stem from the fact that UCLA is an institution of the state, just like the CHP, in addition to the close proximity of the Westwood Federal Building. Although the Daily Bruin did make mention of the officers' arrival in a front column in last

Monday's paper, there was no mention of who were the specific administrative powers to give consent to what has become an annoying intrusion into UCLA's liberal academic environment.

Currently, the UCLA dorms are home to several new students participating in the Freshman and Transfer Summer Programs, which facilitate the transition of low income and underrepresented high school and community college students to the campus' environment and academic rigors. As of today, there have already been complaints of harassment of students by officers, particularly towards African Americans,

including a student tutor, as well as towards female students in general. This past weekend, three

students were pulled over directly outside the dorms, wherein they were searched and interrogated as

to why they were there. When one student asked why they were being harassed, one officer allegedly threatened to throw her in jail. Several co-eds have also complained of being sexually harassed by

uniformed and plain-clothes officers while simply hanging out around the dormitory area.

Students are already under pressure to perform well in the intensive and competitive summer programs, and now they have to endure further stress from the unsolicited attention of state patrol officers. In a nutshell, the open free space for intellectual and personal growth at UCLA has been corrupted. This is the way in which students are being introduced to a supposedly elite institution of academia, and it beckons one to ask as to whether the same action would have been done at Harvard or even USC. Those in the administration, including the Chancellor's office, should be held accountable for this disruption of learning.

Okay, let me get this straight, renting rooms to State Traffic Officers constitutes a military presence? These are private citizens, who happen to have chosen to keep you safe on the highway at considerable risk to themselves as their means of making a living. UCLA dormitories are for rent to large groups every summer, including youth camps, diet camps, religous groups, business conferences and a multitude of government and private seminars and training programs. Tell me who should be excluded and who should be the judge of this? When you see those officers off duty at the residence halls, you are seeing and speaking to American Citizens just like yourself, many of them alumni of UCLA and representative of every race, religion, sexual orientation and culture, so while you march around preaching about the intolerance of others, take a look in the mirror. You are suffering from the same blind hatred that you object to in others, you just aim it at the uniform instead of the skin color. Careful dear, your hypocrisy is showing.

given thes police are off duty why are they carrying out

"stop and search" on students within campus?

Due to the friendly nature of some students at UCLA, the CHP have been forced to maintain full time security on thier own cars and property. It seems that some folks think it is a great idea to damage police vehicles and waste our tax dollars for childish games.

Okay Mr. Observer, who exactly are you observing here? Are

you in a room in Sunset Village, using a power book and getting a

free ride to harass young women and men on my tax dollars? I'm

paying to send you and your other authoritarian predator friends into an

institution of higher learning to intimidate our children. Your

materialistic concern with dented squad cars is disturbing,

considering that the police put dents in people with rubber bullets. The

state will provide you with all the spanking new squad cars you need

whether a tax paying citizen protests it or not. So please don't

try to deceive anybody with the tired, twentieth century "your tax

dollars" argument. Get with the times, pendejo!