As a recently paroled inmate of UCLA, I’ve been asking myself the above questions, but mainly asking, what now? The intent behind this column is to attempt to answer that question. At the minimum to present a possible answer.

Plan a college farewell

So for starters, how about doing something simple like take a vacation?

You’ve just spent the last four plus years studying your butt off to earn your degree or to get into grad school. The road ahead to your life is just beginning, but right now you have an opportune moment.

Once you start in the real world with a job or grad school you’ll notice a difference in your free time. You have more of it, but it isn’t usable.

For example, when you are working, your day has very fixed boundaries; get in the office around 9, get out around 6. There is no homework, no weekend projects, nothing. Once you leave the office, your time is yours, which is really cool because now you will have time to do things regular people do, like sleep, relax, read books, and have fun.

The only hang up with working is that you no longer have long vacations in which you can travel, or visit old friends. You have to first earn time off, then once you’ve earned enough hours you have to get permission from your boss to use that time.

Unlike school you can’t blow off a week of work just because you felt like it or you wanted to travel. You’ll get fired for that.

So as a grad-to-be, you might want to plan on some kind of final farewell to your college life. A farewell to waking up at 1pm, missing classes as you felt like it, roaming around SoCal on a whim, attending various conferences and, a farewell to your college friends.

We all go to our separate corners of the world after we graduate, and once life kicks in, be it marriage, work, family, and so on, you won’t be seeing your friends as often.

For example, one of my roommates works in an office that is about a 3 minute ride from mine. For nearly a month now, we haven’t had a chance to meet up because our schedules just aren’t syncing up.

So all your friends may be in SoCal, maybe even in your city, but you might not see them as often as you like because you are both busy.

That being said, you and your friends should try to plan some kind of farewell/ “hello future” adventure together.

Travel abroad…

If you have been granted some wealth by Allah, maybe you want to consider visiting another country. Places like Europe, Africa, Australia, or your home country come to mind as possible locations. Since you have some free time available, try to schedule such trips during off peak times for better fares. Hit up websites like Groupon or Livingsocial to find deals on various kinds of trips.

If you are on a budget, a new thing is to hook up with a relief organization that is doing work in an area you’d like to visit. Often times such organizations need help with building schools, homes, or other kinds of infrastructure. As part of your pay they will fly you out to Haiti, to Africa, or elsewhere in the world, provide a place to stay, and give you around a week to “vacation” in the area once the work is done. These trips can be free or nearly free and would be an amazing way to give both sadaqah and seeing the world.

…or go somewhere closer to home

Now if you are broke, much like the author of this blog, then this alternative is even better: simply hang out with your friends for some time after graduation before they all have to go their separate ways.

LA is home to some pretty cool sites and activities. You can go horseback riding up to the Hollywood sign, hiking in Malibu, cruising on LA’s Numbergring, ice skating, karting, star gazing, shopping, eating, movie going, exploring, and the list goes on and on. There is plenty of stuff to do in LA that doesn’t cost much. You can even get to some of it using the bus or try to get a buddy with a car.

Do your best to end your UCLA experience well, as what comes next in your life is going to be interesting…

After my last quarter, I went to Point Dume (Malibu, CA) with my favorite brothers.

Al-Talib interviews Hamza Siddiqui, a spoken word artist, who is a Junior at the University of the Pacific. In this exclusive interview, Siddiqui performs two spoken word pieces, one of which has not been publicly performed yet. Siddiqui is an artist aspiring to shed light and educate others about global societal issues. He also appeared on TEDx.

We asked students where they love studying the most. Here are 10 study spots (in no particular order) around the UCLA campus you should check out.  (A map is included at the end.)

Book stacks at the Young Research Library (Photo: Flickr/AlaskanLibrarian).

1. Young Research Library

The newly renovated first floor study lounge has a modern look that students will appreciate. In case you start feeling too cozy while studying, there’s also a cafe on the first floor.

2. Engineering Library

“They have that calm, cozy, and silent-stormy mood and atmosphere,” says  one student. The library is less packed during study season, as not many people know about it.

3. Powell Library

The library is beautiful inside and out. Some say it’s easy to focus here. But this is one of the first places people hit up to study. So during midterms and final seasons, try to exhaust your other options before looking for space here!

4. Kerckhoff Study Lounge

The study lounge can be found on the 2nd and 3rd floors of Kerckhoff, an ideal place for MSA-ers to study if they want to stay close to the Mozlums. It’s also one of the few study spots close to the prayer area behind Kerckhoff.

5. SAC (Student Activity Center) Basement

Good place to study during finals week as they have study hall hours until 3 a.m. They also have their own Vanpool service to drop students off at their dorm or apartment (available only if you study there for at least 1 hour).

6. Lawn next to Janss steps

If you need some fresh air or Vitamin D, you can study in the lawn next to Janss steps. Plus, the view is fantastic!

7. Botanical Garden

A view you will see at the Botanical Garden at UCLA. Can you spot the sunbathing turtles? (Photo: Flickr/cindylu)

The Botanical Garden is a beautiful place every student must visit before graduating (the garden even holds some very rare species). It’s open to public during certain hours, students are free to study there. My personal favorite spot is the “tropical” section. If you are close enough to the water you might spot a few turtles!

8. Kerckhoff Patio

It’s out in the open, you get fresh air (and still remain relatively close to your second home, the MSA office). It’s also right next to the Kerckhoff Coffee shop. Go here only if you are not easily distracted.

9. Starbucks in Westwood

If you are sick of studying on campus, there are plenty of cafes in Westwood (many of them come with free wifi). One student’s favorite is the Starbucks.

10. “Cafe Med” at Center for Health and Sciences

View Study Spots on Campus in a larger map

Featured photo of American flag taken by Flickr user danic.

Part 1: “Non-Violent Movement”

Part 2: “Revolutionary Ideas”

Part 3: “Tangible Demands”

Part 4: “Direct Action”

Part 5 & 6: “Bruins in Tents”

Part 7: “The State of Our Education”

Students at UCLA gathered on Meyerhoff Park on November 1st to show their support for repealing Prop 209.

Demonstration to Repeal Prop 209 – Part 1:

Spoken Word at Demonstration to Repeal Prop 209:

Demonstration to Repeal Prop 209 – Part 3:

(Featured image: Flickr/ B.R.Q.)

(Photo: Filckr/decade_null)

The American incarceration system has made it a point to imprison people, bar them from outside contact, isolate them from society and bunch them together to have “tea-parties”. Meanwhile, they fail to provide them with proper rehabilitation programs and a safe environment to foster development and change.

Put simply: this system just does not work.

How effective can prison be if its only purpose is to house criminals for the duration of their sentence and after their sentence is complete, release them back into society? Not very effective at all.

The fact that up to 60% of inmates are rearrested within 3 years of release only attests to the flaw in the incarceration system. Prisons need to be places that encourage and facilitate change and development within each inmate on a personal level.

Their primary purpose should be to provide inmates with rehabilitation programs, counseling services, educational forums, and real-world mentoring.

Their secondary purpose is to be the medium for criminals to serve their sentences. What happens if the incarceration system continues to fail to invest in inmate refinement? Well, the average cost to house a single adult inmate is nearly $50,000 a year. With nearly a quarter-million inmates (217,000 to be exact) of which over 80% serve more than 5 years, 70% serve more than 10 years, and 40% more than 15. You do the math.

And don’t forget that there’s a 67% chance they’ll go right back in. This system hurts everyone, taxpayers pay from their pockets while inmates pay with their lives.

How do you try to tackle this problem? Changing the system entirely will quite literally take a national revolution. The corporate grip on the government will not loosen easily, there’s just too much money to be made.

But there is another way.

We can target the at-risk youth who would otherwise grow up to become the adult inmates that fall into the hole of cyclic incarceration. We can provide them with the services, skills, and environment they need to develop and mature into productive people will prevent them from filling up prisons and becoming a burden not only upon society, but also upon themselves.

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