USAC looks to stop hate crimes with education

Monday, February 8, 1999

USAC looks to stop hate crimes with education

CRIME: Campaign calls on students to make UCLA campus more
safe

By Mike de la Rocha

A week ago, the Undergraduate Students Association Council
(USAC), kicked off its year-long Hate Crimes Prevention Campaign
with a series of educational events entitled the "Week of
Remembrance."

For many of you, you’re probably wondering why we, your student
government, care about this issue or what we are trying to
accomplish from this campaign. Hopefully, I’ll be able to shed a
greater light upon why over 25 student organizations, the United
States Student Association (USSA) and USAC believe that hate crimes
are an important issue that affects all of our lives.

First off, I need to dispel the common misconception that hate
crimes only affect certain communities.

Hate crimes are defined as acts of violence against a person
based upon their perceived or actual religion, race, sexual
orientation, ethnicity, disability, gender or national origin.

Every one of us fits these categories in one way or another.
Thus, all of us are potential victims of a hate crime. Now that we
understand that at any moment each of us could become a potential
target of a hate crime, it makes sense to begin a pro-active
campaign directed at educating the campus, creating a university
policy (since UCLA currently has no hate crime policy), and gaining
more resources like escort services or campus phones.

Overwhelmingly, studies – and many of our own experiences – show
that hate crimes increase when there’s a change in the demographics
of an area.

Here at UCLA, we are going through a period where the make-up of
our student body has changed drastically in the last year. With the
university’s implementation of Proposition 209, SP-1 and SP-2, not
only have the numbers of students of color dropped dramatically,
but now there’s "an atmosphere of isolation and misunderstanding in
which acts of discrimination and hate crimes are more likely to
occur" (USAC Resolution in Support of Hate Crimes Prevention
Campaign).

During this last week, I have had the opportunity to talk with a
number of students who feel that the university and certain
students’ responses to Proposition 209 is indeed creating a more
hostile and intolerant environment.

Actually, I can understand why I’ve heard so many freshman want
to transfer out of the university.

I can understand how frustrating it becomes to sit in a
classroom and hear insensitive comments, because I myself am
increasingly becoming angry at the changing culture of this
campus.

In order to take a proactive stance against the rise of
intolerance on campus, we launched the Hate Crimes Prevention
Campaign with the "Week of Remembrance." Throughout the week, we
collected over two thousand student signatures supporting our
efforts to expand the Federal Hate Crimes Prevention Bill which
would amend current federal hate crime law to (1) protect against
crimes based on real or perceived sexual orientation, gender and
disability, and (2) eliminate the requirement that victims of hate
crimes be engaged in a "federally protected activity," such as
voting and attending school.

We also finished the "Hate Crimes Survival Kit," a direct
resource that provides students with general information about hate
crimes, school policies, campus resources and safety tips.

What does this all mean?

Well, it means that we are off to a good start in our campaign
to educate students about this issue and demand that the UCLA
administration provide us with a safe, healthy and conducive
learning environment.

While the "Week of Remembrance" was the beginning of a long-term
campaign, we also understand that, historically, no change has ever
occurred on this campus without the support of community members
and educated students.

While many, including some at the Daily Bruin, see change as
occurring overnight, I feel that we are succeeding in raising the
awareness and consciousness of this campus.

While one of our goals is to increase student turnout at events,
we first must make students aware of issues that are relevant to
their daily lives. Instead of criticizing the failure of the
university to address these issues, the Daily Bruin and others
should contribute more to those students trying to create change on
this campus.

If we really want to make our university more accountable to
providing us with a safe environment, we must work together toward
the creating of a hate crimes policy and university action, such as
an implementation of an ethnic and gender studies requirement for
graduation, and more holistic admission policies, which would truly
transform this university.

If you believe in making concrete changes on this campus please
come by any one of our offices located in Kerckhoff Hall and/or get
involved in the number of organizations actively participating in
the Hate Crimes Prevention Campaign.

De la Rocha is an Undergraduate Students Association Council
general representative.

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