Letter to the Editor

Lack of diversity lets down students

UCLA admissions demonstrates a lack of commitment to diversity
and irresponsibility toward the communities that UCLA purports to
serve.

The graduate admissions Web site states that “diversity is
essential to producing graduates who are capable of leading a
multi-cultural society.”

If there is a lack of diversity within our classrooms, how can
we lead such a society? The university’s negligent action
““ ineffectively recruiting and denying admission to qualified
black students ““ cheats the graduate students who UCLA has
promised to educate.

Their action also cheats undergraduates. How can they hope to
build a great future on a misrepresentative view of the
present?

The Freshman Clusters Program boasts classrooms where a student
learns from a variety of perspectives. With few black students,
these perspectives are not only lacking but in some cases missing
altogether. This gives undergraduate students an ill-informed
perception of academic and life issues and leaves them ill-equipped
for the world.

The university must fix this problem: improve outreach programs,
re-examine the admissions policy, give undergraduates a complete
education, and fulfill its promise to graduate students.

Therí Alyce Pickens

President,

Black Graduate Student Association