Since orientation at UCLA, it was evident that there is a
divide between north campus and south campus. During the tour, they mentioned
things about the beauty of the north campus buildings and the stressed out
faces of the south campus majors. When I was accepted into UCLA, I was a Math
for teaching major. After taking a few south campus classes and a few north
campus classes, it was evident that I was not very good at Math. It is my
favorite subject but when it came to taking it as a class, it was not my strong
subject. What is unfortunate about this is that there is a stereotype that
south campus majors don’t have a social life as seen in this video. Therefore,
instead of giving Math another chance, I just moved straight to majoring in
Sociology with a minor in Education.
C.P. Snow talks about how the reason for the divide of the
“two cultures” is our educational system (Snow). At UCLA, it is seen as a huge
divide, north campus vs. south. It is a known thing and a huge competition—not
just in school but with my friends as well. One of my best friends is a south
campus major and many times, he makes comments about how I must not really
struggle in school because I am a north campus major. I believe that both
majors have their differences and hardships and shouldn’t be compared on the
same scale. Like Professor Vesna wrote in her paper, “Bridging and synthesizing many worlds while composing
‘something else’ becomes the art.” (Vesna, 124) I think that collaboration of
“both types” of smarts can create something incredible.
References
https://vimeo.com/31009318
http://www.theuclafund.ucla.edu/news/nvschallengewinner.aspx
http://www.brainpickings.org/2012/04/25/e-o-wilson-on-art/
Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. New York: Cambridge, 1959. Print.
Vesna, Victoria. "Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between." Leonardo. 34(2001): 121-125. Print.
