Disparity remedy
Editor:
I’d just like to mention something that Michael Reardon,
("Three
thousand students don’t make a majority," Nov. 3) and many other
people
seem to overlook when criticizing affirmative action programs.
There is
life BEFORE ADMISSIONS.
When speaking of "fairness," you neglect to mention that the
target
population of affirmative action programs doesn’t have the
same
opportunities. You said it yourself, the majority of blacks
still live in
poor neighborhoods. Do you think that inner-city schools are up
to par with
middle-class suburban schools (let’s not forget that property
taxes pay for
your neighborhood school)? Is it fair that inner-city youth have
to compete
against students who had better teachers, better facilities,
even time to
study? What are the chances that a young black high school
student working
30 hours a week is going to pay $600 for the Princeton Review to
get that
higher SAT score? Do you see what I’m getting at? Admissions
isn’t the only
place where race is a factor.
You said it yourself, discrimination exists in the workplace,
and
disparity exists between neighborhoods. How can you say that a
program to
equalize these disparities is a bad idea unless you support
disparity and
discrimination? By taking out affirmative action programs you
increase the
gap and empower racists. As long as we feel the effects of
race-based
discrimination, we need race-based affirmative action.Joey
Gil
Third-year
Micro-Biology
American identity
Editor:
It was encouraging to read Creighton T. Harris’ article ("Open
mind
required for interracial dating," Nov. 2) and realize that
someone else
feels the same way about Aaron Howard’s article, ("Interracial
dating,
social responsibility collide," Oct. 27) on interracial dating
as I
did.
Like Harris, I am able to write this article because, other
things
aside, I am the product of an interracial marriage. I can
certainly echo
his thoughts: "I am not confused, I am not in denial, and I am
not in pain
because of my mixed heritage."
To the contrary, I am filled with pride when I reflect upon my
family
history. I am proud to be of Filipino descent, but I am equally
proud of my
British heritage. I am as proud of my Filipino grandfather who
fought in
the U.S. Army during World War II as I am of my white uncle who
flew a jet
in Vietnam. Both of these men were doing their duty for their
country,
America, and it is with America that I identify myself.
When people ask me what I am (and I get that question just about
every
time I meet someone new), I tell them I am Filipino Caucasian.
However,
deep down inside, I just see myself as American.
I dated a variety of girls in high school. Some were Filipino,
some were
white, and some were a little of either, but it wasn’t their
skin color
that made me want to go out with them. I did so because they
were fun to be
around. If I had restricted myself to dating only girls of "my
race," I
would have driven myself to the brink of insanity. I would have
thought,
"Should I go out with Filipino girls because they like my
green-brown eyes
or the white girls because they think I have nicelytanned skin?
Or should I
look for someone with the exact ethnic makeup as mine? And how
exact should
I get? I knew someone who was also half-Filipino, half-white,
but her white
heritage was German-based.
Fortunately, I did not get bogged down in petty concerns such as
these,
and I had a good time no matter who I was seeing. Like Harris,
my
girlfriend is Japanese American, and the funny thing is, there’s
never a
time when I’m with her and I think, "Hey, she’s Japanese and I’m
not." That
would be a pretty shallow thing to think, and my feelings for
her run a lot
deeper than that.
If I’ve learned anything from watching my parents interact, and
from my
own experiences, it’s that true love is blind to race. This
world would be
a much better place to live in if other people could see past
it, too.Jeffrey T. Thayer
Second-year
Chemical Engineering
True colors
Editor:
Congratulations on the establishment of the new European Studies
program
and major! How fortunate that protests, rallies, hunger strikes
or arrests
were not necessary for the implementation of this program. It is
also
wonderful that the U.S. Department of Education and the UC
system support
the program.
We commend the university’s expedient response to last year’s
proposal.
We are so happy that it did not take 25 years of struggle.
This
demonstrates that the university administration can and does act
quickly
when it wants to.
It’s too bad that this standard of efficacy is not applied to
other
programs (i.e. Chicana/o Studies, Women’s Studies, Gay and
Lesbian Studies,
Asian American Studies, African American Studies, American
Indian Studies)
which also have the support of students, faculty and the
community.
In response to the article ("New Major Focuses on
Post-Communist
Europe," Nov. 2), however, we feel some corrections are in
order.
This is not the "first major of its kind at a University of
California."
For example, the Chicana/o Studies program also "offers students
the chance
to abandon their surroundings and explore a new atmosphere."
In terms of the academic framework, we disagree with
Professor
Stefanovska that "no other program here uses this approach."
Chicana/o
Studies is an interdisciplinary program that has a language
requirement,
encourages study abroad (although it can not offer financial
support for
tuition, airfare and housing), and has an intensive seminar
requirement.
The program goes further by requiring a field studies component
which
enhances students’ research experience.
Please understand that our criticism is not directed toward the
European
Studies program and major. We merely want to expose the unjust
treatment by
the administration which legitimizes the study of certain
communities and
cultures while marginalizing "others."Estela Ballon
Graduate student
Sociology
This letter was accompanied by six additional names.