Camping out for a cause

At first glance, they looked like 15 close-knit friends sitting
in a circle laughing in the middle of the grassy area of Schoenberg
Quad.

But the signs and tents around them told a different story.

It was close to midnight on Tuesday night and one common belief
had brought these students together ““ the belief that UCLA
should join all the other undergraduate University of California
campuses and implement a diversity requirement.

The tent city is an event organized by a coalition of students
who will camp out in Schoenberg Quad for three days. The event,
which began Tuesday night and will last until Thursday night, is
meant to voice the coalition’s demands about the
requirement.

“It was very powerful to have so many people come together
for a cause,” said Daniela Chavez, a fourth-year history and
Chicana/o studies student who is also a member of MEChA.

The proposed diversity requirement would require all incoming
undergraduates to enroll in a general education course addressing a
diversity-related issue.

The students were dressed in casual attire and were seen wearing
red Students First! shirts and green shirts designed to advocate
the requirement.

New students approaching were greeted and invited to introduce
themselves and name their respective organizations.

The new arrivals were also invited to help themselves to pizza,
chicken wings and drinks located on a table in the center of the
city.

It did not take long for the number of tents and participants to
double, totalling 12 tents and more than 30 students.

Attendees included current officers of the undergraduate student
government and candidates running for 2004-2005 offices, with a
number of additional students representing minority student groups
on campus.

“People came out to support (who) we didn’t even
know,” said Jack Chung, a fourth-year international
development studies and international economics student and a
member of Concerned Asian Pacific Islander Students for Action.

After the informal introductions were over, everyone moved to
the middle of Schoenberg Quad where 17 candlelit signs surrounded
them.

Each sign represented a year during which students at UCLA have
worked toward passing the diversity requirement.

The boards also told stories of important figures in history or
events that have contributed to minority rights on campus.

The students went on to talk about these figures and others who
were not represented. A few also brought up the significance of the
faces in the crowd on Tuesday night and how they will be the ones
who will have the chance to change things for future
generations.

The fact that the participants did not know all of the
individuals and events to which the posters referred reflects how
unaware UCLA students are and how necessary this diversity
requirement is, said Tommy Tseng, who works in the office of USAC
external vice president.

As students sat discussing the issues, community service
officers rode by on their bikes on a few separate occasions.

Throughout the night, the information boards attracted the
attention of passersby who would stop and briefly read some of the
displays.

A few students making their way back to their cars also noticed
a table positioned next to the signs.

The table was covered with a white tablecloth marked with
individuals’ thoughts on diversity.

As the early morning hours approached, one-by-one the
participants headed over to their tents which were shared by two to
four other individuals, depending on the size of the tent.

Before everyone was settled, the sprinklers were activated at
their usual time. Water flowed into some of the tents, soaking some
of the food, equipment and posters before the students found a way
to shut the sprinklers off.

Everyone casually laughed off the incident and went to sleep
anticipating a busy day to follow.

“Those things do not matter … people will stay firm and
strong,” said Steve Moon, an Asian American studies graduate
student.

He was referring to both the sprinklers turning on and the voice
that awakened a lot of people on Wednesday morning.

Around 7 a.m., a man on his bicycle yelled insults at the tents
when he saw the signs in support of the diversity requirement.

The majority of participants woke up and were getting ready to
start their day an hour before the administrative offices of Murphy
Hall opened.