Letter to the EditorRace-based program still necessary
Editor:
This is in response to Sonja Gedeon’s Oct. 3 column. Although
she
affirms support of affirmative action, her arguments actually
undermine the
program.
Gedeon’s language, when referring to "hate, bigotry and
other
manifestations of the darker side of man," support the
ideologies of white supremacy that persons of color are inferior
and
negative.
History tells us that affirmative action was implemented not for
the
purpose of achieving diversity, as Gedeon maintains, but as
a
means of addressing a particular historical pattern of racial
oppression —
specifically, the institution of slavery and Jim Crow laws and
their
contemporary outgrowths against people of African descent.
Affirmative action was (and where it exists, is) a token effort
to
attack institutionalized racism. Never was it intended to deal
with the
issues of sexism, homophobia, heterosexism or disability-related
biases
(regardless of what some proponents say). Fundamentally,
affirmative
action, in principle and practice, was and must remain a
race-based
program.
The use of diversity did not come up until the Bakke Supreme
Court
decision, in which Justice Powell prevailed over Justice
Marshal’s
historical argument. Powell, in essence, would concur with
Gedeon when she
writes "could it be that they (the opponents of affirmative
action) do not
realize that individuals bring diversity to the [university]
community by
virtue of their ethnicity or gender?" By moving away from race,
the Bakke
case said that affirmative action was no longer necessary for
historical
redress or to address present inequalities.
How can we as proponents support and use the rhetoric of the
Supreme
Court case that lead to its demise? To do this is to internalize
oppressive
ideologies and become the promoters of racial hierarchies.
Inherent in the diversity argument is the inclusion of white
women. Not
only is this contrary to the roots of affirmative action (race)
and its
designed effect (racial oppression and inequalities), it
promotes the
maintenance of racial hierarchies. White women, by virtue of
their racial
classification, enjoy a social position above all others except
white men.
When you include them in this system they advance at the same
rate (or
higher) as everyone else, yet the gap remains the same (or
grows).
Affirmative action is a tool used by its recipients to empower
their
oppressed and underdeveloped communities. It is incumbent on us
to
understand that only indigenous entities can provide for our
self-determination. Without this we are doomed to remain
confined in our
oppressive state.
I am not at UCLA to serve the University or anyone else, except
people
of African descent. If others happen to benefit, all the better.
Educating
my oppressors is not my primary objective. Rather than fight
for
representation and acceptance by our cultural and economic
oppressors, we
should stand up right and affirm our own action.
J. Jioni Palmer
Nommo
Editor in Chief
GPAs & SATs do count
Editor:
In response to Sonja Gedeon’s column from Oct 3: What’s wrong
with
basing college admissions on GPAs and SAT scores, anyway? Aren’t
those far
better indicators than race of who will be the most
successful
academically?
If you believe this type of system will contribute to the
"annihilation
of social progress" by threatening diversity, you’re implying
one of two
things. Either you’re giving in to the "Bell Curve" theory by
suggesting
that African Americans’ and Latina/os’ GPAs and SAT scores are
too low to
merit consideration by UC admissions (unlikely), or you’re
becoming
hysterical in your attempt to preserve a racial spoils system
(very
likely).
UC is not an open-admissions institution and, hopefully, never
will be.
I consider it a privilege to be attending UCLA; nobody owes it
to me or to
any other student.
As long as the primary purpose of a college education is to
prepare for
post-education employment, I say, let only the most qualified
people in,
regardless of ethnicity. Or is that racist, too?Mike Cooper
Third-year
Business Economics