Ending affirmative action a grave mistake
By Daily Bruin Staff
July 13, 1997 9:00 p.m.
Monday, 7/14/97 Ending affirmative action a grave mistake The
message is clear: minority students feel they will not be
comfortable at UCs
The first results of the UC Regents’ controversial ban on
race-based admissions are beginning to trickle in – and they are
frightening and discouraging, to say the least. The number of
minority students planning to attend the UC Berkeley Boalt Hall
School of Law has dropped significantly. Particularly disturbing is
that none of the 14 African American students accepted decided to
enroll this fall. The elimination of racial consideration in the
admissions process took effect for graduate students entering this
fall. The devastating consequences are a clear warning to other
schools – don’t do what the UC Regents did, at least not until all
the results come in. What are the specific effects of the regents’
draconian actions? Well, for starters the sole African American
student who might attend Boalt was accepted last year and deferred
admission until this fall. Only eighteen of the 48 admitted Latino
students have accepted, while no (that’s right none, zip, zero)
Native American students will attend. These figures do not bode
well for campus diversity and community empowerment. The policies
are showing similar results at the UCLA Law School. The drop in
applicants reveal that minority students are reluctant to even
apply to UCs. The numbers of Latino, African American and Native
American applicants are down, while white applications are up and
Asian Americans are holding steady. The numbers suggest many
minority students no longer feel welcome here – a message clearly
delivered with the termination of affirmative action. The issue of
alienation – students feeling unwelcome, or unwanted – is serious.
Daria Neal, chairwoman of the Black Law Students Association, told
the Daily Bruin, "I think students are discouraged from applying to
UCLA because they think they won’t get in or they think the
environment will be hostile." "Everyone wanted to know how many
other black students had been admitted. They were concerned they
were going to come and be the only (black) person," said Hashona
Braun, co-president of Law Students of African Descent at Boalt in
the LA Times (June 28, 1997). Feeling comfortable on campus is a
reasonable concern. It’s normal to feel more at ease around people
with similar backgrounds and experiences. At UCLA the projected
figures show African Americans will only comprise 2.39 percent of
the Fall 1997 class and Native Americans, just like Berkeley, will
be zero. UCLA has always prided itself on ethnic diversity. When
you take that away, the school loses much appeal. It is unlikely a
prospective minority student would decide to attend an undiverse
school when they can go elsewhere. Students and university
officials are concerned because diversity is an invaluable factor
in the academic and social development public universities are
supposed to offer. College should be a training ground for us to
learn to interact with people from different cultures, but when
diversity is scarce, you take that opportunity away from everyone.
The new policy has already done its damage. (And this is just the
first round.) Next up are the undergraduates applying for Fall 1998
admission. At this point all we can do is speculate as to what the
raw data will look like. However, if the application and enrollment
figures for the 1996 and 1997 school-years are any indicators,
future minority enrollment will take a nose dive. Racial diversity
and any semblance of equal opportunity are fast becoming antiquated
concepts. Minority students feel unwelcome at the university.
There’s an air of alienation surrounding the UC campuses.
Universities and policy-makers nationwide need to look at these
negative consequences of the UC Regents regressive actions. Heed
the warning: Beware of our miserable mistake! Previous Daily Bruin
Stories: AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: Democratic legislators urge regents to
reconsider graduate admissions plan
Proposition 209 blocked by federal review lawsuit
