Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva discusses the local response to the ‘devastating’ California wildfires on ‘The Big Money Show.’
Students at the University of California, Los Angeles campus took to TikTok to criticize and scrutinize the school’s leadership for their slow response to potential safety threats from the devastating wildfires.
It wasn’t until Wednesday night that Chancellor Julio Frenk announced that UCLA would reduce campus operations, cancel undergraduate classes and move graduate classes to a remote location Thursday and Friday due to multiple wildfires in the area.
As of early Thursday, at least five people have died and more than 28,000 acres have burned as residents and UCLA students watch the flames spread.
“UCLA? The university doesn’t care that much (about its students’ lungs),” TikToker @negativesmart wrote while snapping a red, smoke-filled sky in their so-called dorm room.
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“LA may be burning, but don’t worry, UCLA says everything is normal,” said another TikTok video by @ayiana.scott, which has been viewed more than 1 million times.
UCLA students on TikTok were unhappy with campus leaders’ delayed decision to slow operations and cancel classes on Thursday and Friday. (Getty Images)
Additional videos posted by users @jiwonapieceofme and @chelsealstone on social media have received hundreds of thousands of views and show the close-up reality of the campus fires, with captions such as: “Hey UCLA, [what do you mean] I still have class??!!??” and “Hey UCLA I wonder if I still plan to go to my class tomorrow morning?”
The university’s chancellor said in a letter announcing the temporary closure: “While there is no immediate fire danger on our campus, given the expected change in air patterns in the coming hours, it is likely that the air quality in Westwood will become worse.”
“POV: Getting out [because] UCLA took their word back a few hours later saying ‘we’re safe,'” recorded another student with the handle @kennedyhayashi as he packed his bags and faced long lines of cars and other school leavers.
Fox Business’ Lisa Kennedy discusses the latest updates on the devastating California wildfires in LA County on ‘The Bottom Line.’
As the sun barely peeked out of the dark, smoky, midday sky, TikToker @eireneding offered the comparison of “UCLA saying everything is fine. [versus] all the students are freaking out,” and included a weather report of “unhealthy” air quality.
“We will continue to monitor the situation in the area and are committed to continuing to adjust the facility’s operations if necessary,” the UCLA chancellor said in a letter Wednesday night. “Any changes to classes after the next two days will be decided in collaboration with the Education Senate, and we will immediately share them via BruinALERT with our community.”
UCLA employees have been told to contact management if they can work remotely, but health centers will remain open and fully operational Thursday and Friday.
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CRMBC CEO and insurance industry expert Kaya Stanley explains how there is no national surplus to deal with the ‘catastrophic’ economic losses associated with the Los Angeles wildfires.
However, students’ TikTok videos — and comments reacting to the photos — before Frank’s official announcement to reduce campus operations show strong opposition to the latest decision.
“The fact that UCLA did not cancel all classes is irresponsible;” “I wish the UCLA staff was given the same option. We are still working [forced] going to work;” “All my life I’ve been told that UCLA is an amazing school, but they just don’t respect their students.”
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