Coalition urges repeal of Proposition 209

Tuesday, May 12, 1998

Coalition urges repeal of Proposition 209

AFFIRMATIVE: UCLA can no longer ignore effects of racism on
admissions

By Cori Shepard

UCLA Affirmative Action Coalition

The admissions policies implemented by the UCLA administration
in the wake of Proposition 209 have devastated our campus and are
threatening to resegregate higher education in California. The
current policies are based on racist standards which systematically
exclude African Americans, American Indians, Chicana/os, Latina/os
and Pacific Islanders at all levels within the university. The
attack on affirmative action also damages the ability of Asians to
obtain equality within graduate schools, faculty and high levels of
administration; this particularly hurts Pilipinos and Southeast
Asians. We seek to build a broad-based movement for justice,
democracy and equality, and we will not allow divisive tactics of
the right-wing to pit our communities against each other in this
fight.

Discrimination continues to persist in American society as it
has for four centuries. We reject outright the assertion that white
males have become disadvantaged in America. White males continue to
occupy the overwhelming majority of positions of power, influence
and status in society, and the "old boys’ network" of privilege and
exclusion is alive and well: 95 percent of all executives in
America’s largest corporations are white males; 95 percent of
university presidents are white and 88 percent are male. At UCLA,
African Americans and Latina/os each comprise 5 percent or less of
all faculty and executive administration.

While we strongly support measures to combat class inequality,
affirmative action is necessary to address racism and sexism. There
are barriers and hardships that all working-class people face, but
this is no justification for abolishing affirmative action.
Separate measures must be enacted to eliminate poverty,
homelessness and unemployment from society, particularly since
people of color suffer disproportionately from these social ills.
However, until racism and sexism are abolished, race-conscious and
gender-conscious policies are indispensible to achieving democratic
goals.

We are defending affirmative action as part of our general goal
to increase access to education and diversify the campus
environment. Ultimately, access to higher education can only be
ensured through open admissions, fee reductions and investment in
quality K-12 public education.

Supporters of Proposition 209 have failed to provide any
measures which democratize the university and have shown that they
are only interested in upholding an elitist view of higher
education that shuts people out. Moreover, proponents of
Proposition 209 have sought to further marginalize and exclude
people of color from UCLA by attacking ethnic studies programs and
centers, and seeking to abolish student of color organizations and
activities. We will not allow the contributions that people of
color have made to UCLA to be wiped away by Proposition 209. We
believe that education is a right, not a privilege, and we demand
an education that is relevant to our communities.

We view the implementation of Proposition 209 as part of a
broad-based attack on the gains our communities made through the
civil rights movement. We oppose the right-wing attempt to silence,
marginalize and exclude women, homosexuals, people of color and
workers. We recognize that Proposition 226 is designed to shut
workers out of electoral politics precisely at the time when
immigrants and people of color are beginning to achieve democratic
union representation. We recognize that Proposition 227 is a
Eurocentric, English-only initiative that threatens the democratic
rights of public education students. We are working to defeat both
of these initiatives, and we acknowledge the important connections
that students must make with the community.

Because they have refused to denounce Proposition 209,
Chancellor Albert Carnesale and the UCLA administration are acting
in ways which make them complicit with racism and exclusion.
Freshman admissions are down 33 percent for Chicana/os and
Latina/os, 43percent for American Indians and 43 percent for
African Americans, and enrollments are projected to drop even
further.

Moreover, the administration has refused nearly every demand
from students of color for an overhaul of the admissions policies,
student input into the admissions process, and non-compliance with
immoral and unjust laws. Instead, the administration has offered
belated, half-hearted efforts to promote diversity through outreach
programs which place the bulk of responsibility (and subsequent
blame for failure) upon students of color to repair the damage done
by the Office of Admissions.

Given the administration’s intransigence in response to our
calls for action, we are compelled to mobilize mass resistance to
the unjust and immoral laws and policies that promote racism,
sexism and inequality. We do not concur with Chancellor Carnesale’s
opinion that "some unjust laws should be adhered to."

History has proven the words of Frederick Douglass to be true,
time and time again: "Without struggle, there is no progress." We
seek inspiration from leaders like King, Mandela and Gandhi, who
engaged in acts of civil disobedience in defiance of injustice. We
will not sit back and watch UCLA become a bastion of wealth and
privilege while the hopes and dreams of our communities are
shattered.

Our stance is clear: Proposition 209 must be repealed.

In the interest of serving the student body and general
interests of the public, UCLA should be doing everything in its
power to resist Proposition 209 and fight for its repeal. Until
UCLA commits to defying Proposition 209, "business-as-usual" at
UCLA can only lead to increased levels of racism and
inequality.

In addition, UCLA has a responsibility to inform the public
about the negative impact of Proposition 209 and to promote
educational vehicles which counter the ignorant, selfish and racist
sentiments that led to the passage of Proposition 209. UCLA also
has a responsibility to support legal strategies and legislative
efforts such as the Educational Equal Opportunity Initiative and
California Assembly Constitutional Amendment 3, which seek to
overturn Proposition 209.

We call upon all people of conscience to join the Affirmative
Action Coalition in support of its demands that:

1. Chancellor Carnesale issue an immediate statement of
university non-compliance with Proposition 209 and the UC Regents
SP-I

2. A moratorium be placed on all admissions and recruitment
activities

3. There be a reform of the academic and holistic criteria for
undergraduate admissions

4. Permanent representation of recognized Underrepresented
Student Organizations be established on all committees that make
decisions regarding outreach programs and admissions policies

5. College recruitment and preparation centers be established in
the most educationally disadvantaged areas of Los Angeles
County

6. Chancellor Carnesale issue a public statement denouncing
Proposition 209 and the UC Regents SP-1 because of the effects they
have had on underrepresented minority admissions and the overall
diversity of UCLA.