On Friday, January 20, 2006, the Bruin Alumni Association retained the services of Kevin Snider (chief counsel of the Pacific Justice Institute) in dealing with UCLA’s challenges against our offer to pay UCLA students $10, $50 or $100 for varying levels of documentation of abusive professorial behavior.  (see PDF of UCLA's letter).

Mr. Snider concluded that our program fell well within the constitutional news-gathering protections of the First Amendment. (see PDF of PJI's letter)  While the BAA and Mr. Snider remain convinced that we would ultimately prevail in court, we also recognize that the offer has become a distraction from the real problem, which is classroom indoctrination by UCLA professors. 

Moreover, UCLA’s repeated assertions that student assistance in our news-gathering program would constitute a violation of UCLA's Student Code of Conduct have had a chilling effect on their willingness to participate.  The BAA and Mr. Snider maintain that such paid student newsgathering is legal, and the Code’s provisions are overbroad.  Nonetheless, we do not wish to place UCLA’s already vulnerable and abused students in jeopardy of administrative persecution. 

Accordingly, as of 1:00 p.m. today, January 22, 2006, the Bruin Alumni Association is ending its offer to pay students for evidence of unprofessional professor behavior.  However, we continue to encourage students to consult with the BAA (anonymously if necessary) for advice in reporting, documenting, and publicizing abusive professor behavior in past or current classes.

Sincerely,

Andrew Jones

President, Bruin Alumni Association