Speaks Out
By Daily Bruin Staff
May 17, 2001 9:00 p.m.
This week, the UC Board of Regents passed RE-28,
rescinding SP-1 and 2. While Proposition 209 still bans the use of
affirmative action, some say this move has symbolic value. What is
your opinion? Karina Johnson Third-year
English “I support affirmative action because underprivileged
people and minorities historically don’t have as favorable an
opportunity at succeeding than white students. The number of
minority students has been dwindling, in large part because
affirmative action is no longer used. We have to do more than just
repeal SP-1 and 2, since affirmative action is still against the
law. This decision alone doesn’t do enough.”
Josh Trifunovic Second-year Political science
“I consider the regents’ decision valuable in a
symbolic sense. It’s a message that the regents are sending
to California saying that even though the state doesn’t allow
affirmative action, we still believe in it. It also shows that
students can make a change if they put their minds to it; in this
case they did it through protest.” Frank
Nilsen First-year Physics “I’m against
affirmative action because I think people should get into the UC
based on their academic merit. I don’t like any kind of
system that compensates for poor high schools and problems outside
the university. It’s tragic that we have such varying quality
in our schools, but we need to address the problem there. It
doesn’t help to just take people that are not prepared and
admit them into the UC.” Pam Conder
First-year History and geography “I don’t understand
why the regents would make a decision and then repeal it a couple
of years later. It makes me doubt whether they are being swayed by
public opinion or by what they really believe is right. While we
can take other factors into consideration, I don’t think a
person’s skin color should be the most important
consideration. We should look at a student’s transcript and
evaluate their performance, not their picture. I don’t think
people who want to use affirmative action are being fair to
everybody.” Speaks Out compiled by Cuauhtemoc Ortega, Daily
Bruin Senior Staff. Photos by Katy-Tschann Grimm.
