Rebuttal misrepresents author’s position on multicultural groups

George Turner’s rebuttal, “Submission errs in
understanding basic mission of student groups” ( Oct. 1),
while making many valid points, unfortunately misrepresents my
position regarding segregation on campus, multicultural groups and
the Academic Advancement Program in particular. I agree with many
of the statements Turner makes regarding the general missions of
certain organizations such as AAP. However, he fails to understand
the point of my submission: simply that people can easily separate
themselves into ethnic cliques, instead of engaging with students
who may be different.

In my submission, I pointed out various institutions and social
structures available to students that could potentially cause
separation between ethnicities on campus. For example, many
students on campus were probably unaware of the Freshman Summer
Program before reading my submission. The fact that students remain
unaware of a program that according to Turner, makes students feel
welcome, “who would never feel welcome here,” is rather
unwelcoming in itself. If FSP became a widely advertised and open
program, I would be more inclined to agree with Turner.

Additionally, Daily Bruin editors made many changes to my
submission. One example is with regard to my definition of AAP
““ which Turner cites as “poor.” Changes to that
paragraph did change my original meaning, but, nevertheless, I do
explain that AAP accepts the applications of many students, most of
which are considered at-risk for various reasons. Turner’s
characterization of me as hateful assumes that I am making a value
judgement, when in reality, I am pointing out the demographics of
such programs and organizations.

Finally, the four main goals Turner listed as the purpose of
campus multicultural organizations are true to some extent. It
cannot, however, be denied that sometimes campus activities
escalate toward violence. Last year, at the March 5 rally against
the war in Iraq, I witnessed physical attacks led by students
linked to one of the various multicultural organizations. Should we
just continue to ignore this behavior?

Paganini is a third-year geography and political science
student.