Program unresponsive to student needs

Wednesday, October 14, 1998

Program unresponsive to student needs

AAP: Critics allege strong pro-administration bias, clamor for
representation

By Andy Shah

Daily Bruin Contributor

Some members of the Affirmative Action Coalition have recently
expressed their discontent with the Academic Advancement Program
(AAP), claiming the administration-run program does not adequately
represent students and was unaccommodating to some student groups
during the summer.

Some members of the coalition have complained that AAP does not
have the strong student voice that other retention programs have,
because it is run by the administration.

"AAP is very institutionalized," said P.J. Gagajena,
Undergraduate Students Association Council (USAC) internal vice
president and coalition member. "There needs to be more student
representation."

AAP was started in order to get students from disadvantaged
communities to succeed academically, stay in college and graduate.
AAP offers mentorship, counseling, and tutoring to students in the
program.

Student leaders also said that AAP was unresponsive to some
student advocacy groups’ requests to be present and meet incoming
students at the Freshman Summer Program and the Transfer Summer
Program, summer sessions aimed specifically toward incoming AAP
students to help them become acclimated to the campus.

USAC President Stacy Lee said that it was more difficult for
some underrepresented students’ groups – which usually use the
programs as an opportunity to to introduce themselves to incoming
students – to get space in these programs this year than it has
been in the past.

"They were not really accommodating," said Lee. "It was just
massive confusion, because it was hard for some groups to get a
space."

But AAP administrators said these claims are false.

AAP Director Adolfo Bermeo said that there are many examples of
student representation in his program.

"The counselors and tutors who run programs for AAP are students
themselves," he said. "I work with a lot of people and they all
have a significant voice."

Laura Sencion-Mendoza, summer programs coordinator for AAP, said
that her office sent out letters and made calls to student groups
inviting them to come to the summer programs.

"But only some came, some didn’t," she said.

Representatives from both groups said they are unhappy with the
"he-said, she-said" type of rhetoric that is being exchanged
between the groups.

"This is definitely hurting students," Gagajena said. "This
divide-and-conquer tactic excludes … students."

Bermeo said he isn’t sure where the tension between the groups
specifically stems from.

But he said he suspects it may have stemmed from a Spring 1998
AAP newsletter, which featured pictures of Chancellor Albert
Carnesale and excerpts from a speech about outreach he gave to
students and parents at AAP’s annual spring conference

Bermeo said this newsletter may have created a rift between the
two groups because some members of the coalition said they felt
Carnesale wasn’t sincere enough in his outreach efforts to
underrepresented minorities and didn’t take a definitive stance on
Proposition 209.

Consequently, it may have appeared to students that AAP was
aligning itself with the administration, Bermeo said, creating an
"us against them" atmosphere between AAP and students.

Lee said the newsletter was adding to "the administration’s big
(public relations) move to make it seem that the problem (with
drops in minority enrollment) weren’t as big as they were."

But Bermeo said he doesn’t believe attacking the chancellor is
the right strategy.

"I don’t believe Chancellor Carnesale is the enemy," he said. "I
don’t always agree with him, but he’s not responsible (for the drop
in minority enrollment)."

Lee said that Bermeo should have been more open to students who
were not happy with the chancellor’s outreach efforts.

"If he had that many students who weren’t satisfied with what
the chancellor was doing, he should have listened to us rather than
beefing up the chancellor’s image," she said.

She added that these events may have led to the problems that
occurred in the summer.

But Lee said "historical tension" has always existed between
Bermeo and student groups, especially ones that have retention
components to their groups, like the American Indian Student
Association’s RAIN!, the Retention of American Indians Now!

Although Lee said she believes that AAP does produce good
results, she said Bermeo should recognize the achievements of other
groups as well.

"(Bermeo) takes credit for everything, and yes, his program does
produce results, but that’s because they’re done (in conjunction)
with other campus retention centers," she said.

Bermeo said he believes another source of tension is that he
doesn’t "agree with the coalition 100 percent."

"I’m not going to sit aside and watch AAP get bad-mouthed just
because I don’t toe the party line," he said.

Bermeo added that he supports what the coalition’s goals are in
terms of access to higher education for disadvantaged groups.

"The battle is not between the coalition and AAP," he said.
"Both groups were devastated by the effects Proposition 209 had on
admission rates (of underrepresented minorities)."

Coalition members also agree that the fight isn’t against AAP,
but said that because AAP is an administrative program, there will
always be differences between the groups.

"There’s always going to be tension between the administration
and students," said Cori Shepherd, a member of the coalition and
the African Student Union.

"In the past, the AAP and (former Chancellor Charles Young) have
been more vocal about affirmative action," she added. "That level
of support has gone down."

But Bermeo said that he believes AAP has a different role than
the coalition. He added that he thinks some coalition members may
be "romanticizing" the notion of social justice.

Shepherd said the issue does not have to do with AAP’s work.

"We don’t have a problem with AAP as a program," she said.

Both groups said they are willing to work with each other to
work out any differences.

"We have similar goals, but we differ tactically," Bermeo said.
"I’m willing to talk to students."

Comments, feedback, problems?

© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]