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Marchers hold night protest on campus

By Daily Bruin Staff

Nov. 18, 1996 9:00 p.m.

Tuesday, November 19, 1996

SAGE:

Affirmative action supporters gather in order to ‘heal wounds’By
Ryan Ozimek

Daily Bruin Contributor

Illuminated by the orange tinge of over a hundred candles, a
group of about 200 student and non-student affirmative action
supporters walked through campus last night in a pro-affirmative
action march organized solely by individual students.

"The point of this march is to heal (the) wounds" caused by
Proposition 209 and the actions of the UC Regents, said recent UCLA
graduate Mario Valenzuela. "A lot of people were frustrated and
hurt, and in order to stay strong, we need to come together,"
Valenzuela added.

Those on hand for the march included Undergraduate Students’
Association Council (USAC) President John Du, who came in support
of the demonstrator’s cause.

"These are students who really care, and they’re here to show
their anger and find a solution to racism, homophobia and
classism," Du said. "The students are speaking out on their
own."

Valenzuela said that they decided to hold the rally at night to
let people know that this wasn’t a protest, but instead a march of
solidarity.

"This isn’t something we made for others to see but for people
to participate in," Valenzuela said. "This is by the people and for
the people."

The first half of the evening’s events included what organizers
called the "mourning" period. The second half of the march was for
demonstrators to build strength and solidarity in their fight.

"The problem is a lot bigger than just affirmative action,"
Valenzuela said. "That was only a Band-Aid to society’s larger
problems … and people shouldn’t have to fight for these
Band-Aids."

Although organizers believed the message of the march was to
promote equality, some students passing by the demonstration felt
differently.

"They seem more concerned about special treatment for themselves
rather than for equality," said Frank Tiernan, a second-year
computer science and engineering student. "I don’t hear them
demanding equality, only special treatment."

But others in support of the demonstration disagreed, adding
that the march was intended to let the campus community know about
the possible ill effects of Proposition 209.

"Racism today might not be outright like cross burning, but it’s
the little things that add up," said Gabe Magana, a second year
psychology student.

Unified by their candles and white masks, the marchers walked
through campus as their chants rang out across the deserted
campus.

After marching through Royce Plaza, the group stopped in front
of Campbell Hall, where Mellanie Ransey, a fifth-year history
student, sang about racism.

"We chose these steps because it was here that two students were
gunned down," Ransey said, referring to a violent 1960’s protest
where students were killed by stray gunfire.

After her voice echoed away into the night, Ransey asked the
marchers to take off their paper masks and put them in a trash can
where a fire was already burning.

"We burned them because that is what the university wants us to
be, and this is our way of saying ‘Hell no,’" Ransey said.

The march wrapped up in Schoenberg Plaza, where Aztec dancers
began dancing to the beat of drums in the plaza’s center.

Dressed in authentic indigenous costume, the dancers asked for
the crowd to join them in "preparation for the fight."

Soon, the entire crowd began dancing in the center of the plaza
as smiles grew on the marchers’ faces.

JUSTIN WARREN/Daily Bruin

Protesters don paper plates to symbolize the potential effects
of Proposition 209 while students march through campus with candles
Monday night in this double-exposed image.

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