Submission: UCLA must enact policies to improve campus climate

On Feb. 5, students learned of a racist and misogynistic flier that was mailed to the UCLA Asian American Studies Center. On Feb. 6, students were notified of an anonymous flier mailed to the USC Asian Pacific American Student Services, the very same one that the AASC received.While the flier itself was already disturbing, this incident was a symptom of a larger issue at hand: the hostile campus climate that exists here at UCLA.

This flier has done more than just cause outrage. It has reminded us that our educational institution has failed and continues to fail people of color.

Hate incidents against students of color have occurred year after year at UCLA, and yet no policies from the administration have been changed or created to make our learning environment a safer place. We demand higher representation of people of color in senior officer levels who will be able to advocate for policies that address hostile campus climate issues. Since we are student leaders who work closely with our community, it is critical for us to participate in the hiring process of not only the new position of vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion, but also of other staff positions that are implemented to promote compassion and understanding for the campus community. Given the trend of these hate incidents, it is also troubling that there is no dedicated administrative position to nurture students of color for leadership development growth.

The struggles of neighboring campuses echo the need for change. Students and faculty at California State University, Los Angeles are currently working toward the addition of ethnic studies into the general education requirement. Currently, ethnic studies classes only count as electives. At UCLA, it is no different. We have some of the most prestigious ethnic studies programs, such as our Asian American Studies Center and department, and yet they have suffered large budget cuts that can lead to the decrease of an already-low academic representation of people of color. Even today, the Afro-American Studies program is still housed interdepartmentally rather than having departmental status.

These programs, as taught by people of color, legitimize our narratives and academically represent the struggles that generations of people of color have endured. Yet, if the university cannot provide continuous support for ethnic and gender studies, how can it claim to be inclusive? Accompanied by the lack of administrative representation, how can it claim to foster diversity? These issues are indicative of the university’s failure to people of color.

Thus, we call upon the university to enact the following, which reflect proactive change for a healthy campus climate:

1. Reinstatement of a leadership development coordinator in the Asian American Studies Center as a high-priority position.

2. Implementation of a university-wide academic diversity requirement.

3. Increased representation of people of color at all levels of administration who will be able to understand and advocate for the issues of students of color.

4. Permanent investment for ethnic studies and gender studies programs.

5. Tenure for faculty of color, who have been historically underrepresented at all university levels.

6. Establishment of a multicultural center that is regulated by students to promote cross-cultural engagement and understanding.

7. Disaggregated admissions and graduation rates freely available to the public.

We have the responsibility as students of UCLA, and as people, to have our voices heard and recognized. As long as these demands remain unmet by the university, we will never be silent.

We will be hosting a town hall in the Student Activities Center basement to discuss our demands Wednesday at 6 p.m. This event is open to all students and community members.

Uyen Hoang
Director of the Asian Pacific Coalition at UCLA

Tony Tonnu
Assistant director of internal affairs of the Asian Pacific Coalition

Jazz Kiang
Assistant director of external affairs of the Asian Pacific Coalition

Heidi Lung
Administrative coordinator of the Asian Pacific Coalition

Joanna Lee
Administrative coordinator of the Vietnamese Student Union at UCLA

Anh Nguyen
President of the Vietnamese Student Union