Young’s affirmative action support in name only

Young’s affirmative action support in name only

By John Pfeiffer

Just when Chancellor Charles Young seems to be basking in the
glory of his defense of affirmative action, we are reminded of the
other ­ and far more typical ­ face of our long-reigning
Chancellor.

Thanks to a stupid real estate deal appropriately called "The
Bluffs," Chancellor Young and his Murphy Hall cronies have cost
UCLA $7 million (Daily Bruin, April 3, 1995). When we first learned
in 1993 that UCLA would possibly lose millions due to Young’s
entrepreneurial flair, the chancellor revealed he would have to
draw on campus funds to cover the losses, telling the L.A. Times at
that point that this would mean "reducing the future allocations
we’re currently making for academic purposes of one kind or
another." And that’s exactly what happened.

Of course, Murphy Hall bureaucrats will quickly argue that the
monies covering the loss came from the chancellor’s discretionary
fund and therefore do not adversely affect education. But we know
better.

Instead of using $7 million to hire more staff, provide more
financial aid to students hard-hit by fee hikes, or improve student
retention programs, we must shift public monies to Chuck Young’s
friends in corporate America.

Remember, this is the same guy who ­ within the last few
years ­ has also allocated funds for such white elephants as
the $2.3 million Westwood Boulevard "gateway," the $5 million
Westwood Playhouse and the $560,000 UCLA "anniversary celebration"
last spring. In defending the $560,000, Young promised that the
expenditure would result in an increase over five years of $100
million in donations to UCLA; how’s the fundraising coming along,
chancellor?

Let us recall that Chancellor Young has been engaged in this
spending binge while the university has been laying off
hard-working staff people (and disproportionately women and people
of color) in the name of "restructuring" and "downsizing." At the
same time, his administration seems to be doing everything in its
power to weaken the staff unions ­ the only form of protection
staff people have. Finally, Chancellor Young has generally
supported the huge increases in student fees which have negatively
impacted the racial/ethnic and economic class diversity of the
student population.

It is easy to mouth support for affirmative action and the vague
goal of having a university that reflects the diversity of the
general population. This requires, however, a willingness to
challenge the social relationships and structures that marginalize
people of color and the working class in the first place.

As evidenced by the latest waste of scarce university funds,
Chancellor Young and his grossly overpaid underlings in Murphy Hall
support affirmative action only in name. What they really support
is the status quo, one from which they and the social classes with
which they identify benefit handsomely.

Pfeiffer is an undergraduate anthropology student.