Student groups seek to improve social conditions

Wednesday, October 21, 1998

Student groups seek to improve social conditions

DIVERSITY: Real learning comes from considering issues specific
to sexuality, gender and ethnicity

By Rodney Benedito Farrao

People of color, homosexuals and women are constantly criticized
for being vocal on issues that concern them. A spate of articles
that recently appeared in the Daily Bruin looked at these groups
and their points of view as being divisive to society in general
and especially harmful to white males. Writers such as Daniel
Inlender ("Don’t blame white man for your troubles," October 14,
1998) and Alicia Roca ("Real learning means looking past race,"
October 15, 1998) seem to express the supposedly liberal sentiment
of "You’re different, now get over it."

Do Inlender and Roca honestly believe that the various student
groups which represent the causes of their members, often those
side-stepped by the mainstream, have nothing better to do than
concentrate all their efforts on segregating themselves from
society and hating the white male? On the contrary, these
organizations play an essential role in providing a safe space for
students to identify with each other on the basis of race,
sexuality and gender – perspectives which are often left
unaddressed in the larger context.

In taking up these causes, student groups seek to underscore the
common struggle that unifies the diverse experiences of various
peoples. These organizations help their members realize that they
are not alone in the challenges that face them, nor are their
struggles forgotten or insurmountable – even if the rest of society
seems to take them lightly. In other words, these groups provide a
valuable, constructive and proactive service in dealing with the
issues unique to their members, rather than "making scapegoats out
of their fellow human beings," as Inlender believes, or
contributing to "self-segregation," according to Roca.

It is a short-sighted conception that racial, sexual and
gender-specific groups seek to alienate themselves from the
mainstream population of UCLA or the larger society. Rather, the
efforts of these groups are an attempt to gain greater
understanding for their causes, so as to improve social relations
on this campus and in society. Why would these groups not want to
take on the issues that most pertain to them? It takes such groups
to provide the alternative and specific ways in which to educate a
society that often does not, either intentionally or
unintentionally, represent diverse perspectives.

In the same vein, gender and lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender (LGBT) studies, as well as ethnic studies, provide a
learning experience that is more representative of the American
experience and the diversity of the American population.

Recently, University of California Regent Ward Connerly
questioned the necessity of ethnic studies. In light of the demise
of affirmative action, ethnic and other student-groups rightly view
this new assault as yet another attempt to reduce their rights and
the importance of their cultural and historic heritage in this
country. Is it then surprising that students rally together behind
causes such as these in the groups that represent their people and
their interests? Diversity on this campus and elsewhere is being
threatened by such racist laws as Propositions 209 and 227, and
Connerly’s attack on ethnic studies. Therefore, student groups have
a greater relevance in this hostile setting.

Further, it is erroneous to believe that specific groups cater
only to members of similar backgrounds. As Roca points out, "ethnic
clubs … focus on recruiting members of the same identity." Given
the reasons above, why is this a bad thing? While group meetings
often provide a safe space for students to discuss issues relevant
to them in a particular context, the programs created by student
groups are accessible to all.

Student groups are not closed societies. Their duties, it should
be said, extend beyond culture and identity-specific roles and
include helping to educate about and prevent hate crimes.

Since this past summer, as a member of the Concerned Asian
Pacific Islander Students for Action (CAPSA), I have had the
opportunity to work with the Affirmative Action Coalition (AAC) and
the Undergraduate Student Association Council’s General
Representatives on different issues that affect both people of
color and the general student community. Respectively, these issues
include academic outreach efforts and hate-crime prevention. All
three of the aforementioned groups are pan-ethnic.

As far as I can recall, in none of our organizational meetings
did we target the white male as the cause of all evils, nor did we
decide to practice any form of exclusion.

Frankly, we had far more important issues to discuss.

Comments, feedback, problems?

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