By RALPH FRAMMOLINO, TIMES STAFF WRITERS and MARK GLADSTONE, TIMES STAFF WRITERS and HENRY WEINSTEIN, TIMES STAFF WRITERS|March 21, 1996
Special consideration in admissions for the rich and well-connected has been part of the UCLA culture for years, extending beyond University of California regents and state politicians to include friends and relatives of local political figures, university officials and major donors, a months-long Times investigation shows.
In some cases, UCLA Chancellor Charles E. Young and his top aides were instrumental in securing spots for lesser qualified or rejected applicants who were sponsored by donors and other supporters. Thousands of confidential records, including electronic communications and memos, reviewed by The Times indicate that the special consideration extended to some of the region's most prominent people.
Among those whose relatives and friends received favorable treatment through what has been a backdoor admission process into UCLA are Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, movie producer Jon Peters, former UCLA football Coach Terry Donahue and Lawrence E. Irell, founder of a prestigious law firm.
In all, records show that since 1980, 900 individuals made more than 2,000 requests on behalf of applicants seeking undergraduate slots, dorm rooms, graduate admissions and entry into the school's highly coveted University Elementary School.
Most were for undergraduate admissions, however, and those requests had a better track record of getting applicants in than applicants who went through the normal process. Nearly 70% of the cases involving VIP students verified by The Times won undergraduate admission, compared to less than 50% for all undergraduate hopefuls, a computer analysis found.
More than 200 students were admitted after initially being rejected, and another 75 were admitted ahead of hundreds of others with better grades and higher Scholastic Assessment Test scores who were turned away.
One major avenue for these back-channel requests has been the university's development staff, responsible for raising millions of dollars in private funds, records show. To a lesser degree, Young and top officials also have served as conduits for the requests, including those from elected officials from the local to federal level.
Once such VIP requests went to UCLA, the would-be students were flagged as "special interest applicants" by the admissions office and their names put on special computer runs for careful and personal monitoring by Admissions Director Rae Lee Siporin, records show.
