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Christine Byrd   Byrd is editor in chief 2000-01. If you want to hear about how absolutely amazing the Daily Bruin staff is this year, e-mail her at cbyrd@media.ucla.edu.  

If I told you the secret to success at UCLA and in life, you’d laugh. It’s WEPAP.

Yes, that’s right. WEPAP.

Say it with me now: work ethic, positive attitude, perseverance.

A successful Bruin told me that one. After he completed his career as a scholarship UCLA baseball player, he went on to teach junior high algebra.

The most dynamic people I’ve ever met from all the places I’ve traveled across the country are UCLA students or alumni. You probably already know many Bruins and you’re going to meet more this year.

And you’re a Bruin too. That must make you a dynamo.

My former teacher still talks to his students about UCLA: how to get in and how to go beyond. And WEPAP is always involved.

It’s because of him that I’m at UCLA. And it’s probably because of WEPAP that you’re now at this university.

It doesn’t matter if you always knew you would get here or if you never dreamed it, whether you’re a brand spanking new freshman or a super-duper sixth-year senior.

It doesn’t matter if you came from a private school where mommy and daddy bought you a new car on your 16th birthday or if you went against the grain and worked your way through high school to help pay the bills.

It doesn’t matter if you got a 1550 on the SAT or a 950.

Now you’re here, and this is probably as close to an equal playing field as you’re ever going to get in your life. Welcome.

We call it U-C-L-A, but really, have you seen L.A. lately?

Take a look around this campus and you’ll see a second-stringer gone winning quarterback. A conservative transfer student elected president of a historically leftist (long ago, arguably communist) undergraduate student council. A youngster from the Bronx grown up to be a chancellor. An intramural hockey player turned founder of a fund for paraplegics. And that baseball player who became my Algebra teacher.

There is a reason everyone changes their major five times at UCLA and a reason the road you once set out on takes dozens of stomach-rolling, high-speed, dizzying turns in your time at UCLA. Growth takes place exponentially around here.

On this campus are world-class professors, state-of-the-art technology, one of the most diverse communities in the world, a notorious nightlife, an acclaimed sports legacy and (not to toot our own horn) arguably the best college newspaper in the nation. Now what are you going to do with all this?

Do something new, try everything – anything. Just as long as you don’t do nothing.

Of course, not everything here is for you. Perhaps you’re tired of parties, or you are burned out on studying, or the big city smog chokes you. Don’t worry, there is much more out there.

But be careful. There will be people who try to corner you in. They will say there is only one path to success, one way to get from point A to point B; that the smog will never go away.

So keep your eyes open. Make sure that you see L.A. for yourself.

You’ll discover countless people taking an unexpected path, going the untried way and having more fun in the process.

Maybe for all its diversity, UCLA isn’t diverse enough for you. Change that. Maybe among all this science and technology, you still wish we had the cure for cancer. Find it. Maybe among all the nuggets of wealth in the surrounding communities, you think the poverty you hit when you drive down Sunset Boulevard is unfair. Fix that.

And I hope the Daily Bruin is part of your guide. In the real world (beyond the television show Survivor), part of being an educated, responsible and successful citizen is being an informed, opinionated citizen. While on campus, you will be asked to vote in national elections and student government elections. Regents who govern the UC system will make decisions influencing the ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of our classrooms. Fees may be initiated, construction may be delayed, athletes may break laws, a struggling student musician may make it big time.

The university, for all it has to offer you, requires action and participation. UCLA did not become the most dynamic school in the world because its students and alumni sat back and let someone else run the show. I hope you don’t let anyone else run your show, either.

Be an informed community member, pay attention and have an opinion. Watch who is in power and who is not.

Maybe you want to be an informer; by all means, come to the Daily Bruin and apply for an internship. Maybe you just realized the need to be an informed student. Then read the paper.

That old cliche, “There’s something for everyone,” well, there’s some truth to it at UCLA, and I’d like to think in The Bruin, as well. Look through the paper every day and you’re bound find something that interests you. And if you come into the office, you’ll find artists, designers, photographers, editors, reporters, columnists, sports writers and movie reviewers – someone like you.

Be passionate. Whether it be in the laboratory, the library, the social scene, a band, student government, a fellowship, an outreach program or the football field – find a passion this year and participate in this amazingly dynamic community. Let the Daily Bruin be your guide and introduce you to this community. Let us show you L.A.

Make it your year. And don’t forget the WEPAP that got you here.