The seemingly-innocent and idyllic University of California, Santa Barbara—perhaps the only college campus located directly on one of the world’s great oceans—has been ranked at the very top of a listing of “America’s Most Dangerous Universities.” Its sister campuses of UCLA and Berkeley rank as #2 and #19 respectively.[2] This tragic “honor” demands immediate attention, remedies, “fixes,” and careful and unending scrutiny by all who care deeply about the University of California and its ten campuses.[3]
Instead of attacking the messenger or the study’s findings—and in keeping with the words that appear on the University of California’s seal, “Let There Be Light”—positive, proactive steps must be taken immediately to address the critical problems. Neither these three nor any other U.C. campuses should appear on this or any similar listings ever again. Actions must be taken now before life-changing or -ending tragedies occur.
The University and each of its campuses owe this to their students, parents, alumni, faculty members and other employees, the communities in which they are located, and to all Californians whom they serve. Clearly, the vast number of American universities have never appeared on this or any other similar listings. They must be doing something right; and arguably they can provide valuable lessons and guidance to the University of California, UCSB, UCLA and Berkeley.
Indeed, UCLA’s archrival in sports, the ghetto-bound University of Southern California, did not make the list. Leadership is needed now, more than ever before. It counts for nothing that UCLA was considered the most difficult American university to get into, for its entering freshman class in the fall of 2018. Similarly, all of the U.C.’s Nobel Prize winners mean nothing if the campuses are not safe for students, faculty, visitors and the like.
© 2018, Timothy D. Naegele
[1] Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass). He and his firm, Timothy D. Naegele & Associates, specialize in Banking and Financial Institutions Law, Internet Law, Litigation and other matters (see www.naegele.com and Timothy D. Naegele Resume). He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service). Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., www.naegele.com/whats_new.html#articles), and can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com
[2] See https://insurify.com/insights/ivory-tower-incidents-americas-most-dangerous-universities/ (“Ivory Tower Incidents: America’s Most Dangerous Universities”) [Ivory Tower Incidents-America_s Most Dangerous Universities-Insurify]
[3] See, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California (“University of California”)
On a personal note, the author attended all three U.C. campuses; he has degrees from two of them, UCLA and Berkeley; and he has been deeply involved with UCSB—where he served as Vice President of the Freshman Class, President of the Sophomore Class, and Vice President of the student body. Also, he has served on the Board of Directors of the UCSB Alumni Association (1980-86), and as a Trustee of the UCSB Foundation (1987-1990); and his family members are UCSB graduates.
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