Education needs to hold higher priority

Our education is being attacked from all angles. The
militarization of our economy and de-emphasis on education is
affecting all forms of learning.

Our nation has prioritized military-recruitment efforts over the
education of its youth. The cost per military recruit, for example,
has jumped from $6,500 to $11,600 in the past decade. While
the University of California faces nearly $300 million in cuts,
prison spending has increased. 

As our tax dollars are increasingly going toward the military
and prison-industrial complex, less and less is going toward the
funding of education.

In our experiences as UC students, we are feeling this
over-emphasis on the military and prison through our fee
hikes. During a December 2002 meeting, the UC Board of Regents
decided to raise student fees by $135. The across-the-board student
fee increases ““ at the community college, Cal State and UC
level ““ are linked back to our government’s allocation
of resources and represents an access problem for many
students.

Since this decision was made, students across the state have
voiced their concerns regarding the current direction of
education. 

Higher fees equate to lower access to education for everyone,
making our state’s system of public higher education too
expensive for many people. More specifically, it makes access
to the UC even more difficult for socioeconomically disadvantaged
students and communities of color.

Nevertheless, amid these concerns, Gov. Gray Davis proposed a
fee hike of $795 per quarter, which will make the issue of access
even more pressing for a university meant to serve all of the
diverse communities within California.

While these fee-hike decisions are being made by a body not
democratically elected by California residents, specific cuts are
also being directed toward much-needed student support
services. The Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center,
for example, provides students with the services needed to maintain
their own health. The Ashe Center, however, is facing a
potential cut of 25 percent.

The Center for Student Programming, an entity that deals
specifically with the numerous student organizations on our campus,
will also be facing a large cut. 

Important entities like the Student Initiated Outreach
Committee, which works with underprivileged students throughout the
Los Angeles community, will face a third of its funding being
cut. If this cut goes through and unless administrative
support or matching funds compensate for it, the SIOC will be
unable to operate on a basic level, which not only affects the
projects but the communities the SIOC serves throughout the
year. 

Outreach efforts are of even more importance, given the fact
that Proposition 209 prevents the university from exercising
affirmative action programs. 

Since the loss of affirmative action in 1995, the numbers of
underrepresented minority students has dropped dramatically at
UCLA. Since 1995, UCLA has seen a 34 percent drop in the
number of admits for the Latino community, a 52 percent drop
for the black community and a 64.8 percent drop for the
American Indian community (just to name a few). These drops in
our admissions of underrepresented communities shows yet
another problem in our education. 

First, there is the issue of representation. As a public
institution, UCLA should reflect the diversity of communities
throughout Los Angeles and the state. After comparing the
demographics of our state to the demographics of our campus,
however, UCLA appears to be lacking in this area of public
accountability. 

Secondly, there is the issue of diversity throughout our
education. A university education should provide people with
the ability to understand the diverse communities with which they
interact on a daily basis. How can our education achieve this
goal if some of these communities are not even represented in the
classes we take?

There are many things that negatively affect our educational
experiences as students. We encourage all students to become
well informed about these issues, attend informational sessions or
events, and mobilize for the May 14 regents meeting at UC San
Francisco. 

These issues, among others, are too important for us to go
quiet. Our voices need to be heard.

Delgado is the chairperson for Movimiento Estudiantil
Chicana/o de Aztlan.