Monday, April 22, 1996
UCSA hosts ‘color’ful conference
Student activists across California seek political directionBy
Patrick Marantal
Daily Bruin Staff
Delegates from the northern California College of Siskiyous at
Weed to the University of California, San Diego, migrated to UCLA
to discuss issues affecting students of color.
For three days, 175 students at both the graduate and
undergraduate level met and watched cultural events, attended
workshops and participated in caucuses. Topics for the
seventh-annual Students of Color Conference ranged from labor
movement ups and downs to immigrant legislation and reform.
"It’s become an annual thing that’s traditional at this point,"
said Kris Kohler, chair of the University of California Student
Association (UCSA). "It arose out of pressure by people of color on
UCSA to address issues of unrepresented students at UCs. For me, it
serves as … somewhat of a yardstick to see if we’re representing
all students as well as we could and/or what we have to work
on."
The UCSA-sponsored event was executed through the UCLA external
vice president’s office. Titled "Achieving Self-Determination
through Collective Action," the conference enjoyed the support of
four UCLA student advocacy groups  the African Student Union,
American Indian Student Association, MEChA and Samahang
Pilipino.
Despite the prevailing belief that the affirmative action debate
is the sole concern of students of color, organizers explained that
the policy was but one of many topics discussed during the
conference. For instance, previous topics included environmental
concerns and lesbian, gay and bisexual issues.
And during this weekend’s three day event, the focus of the
workshops ranged from establishing academic centers for ethnic,
queer or women’s studies to registering more voters from their
respective communities.
Also, organizers held caucuses directed toward individuals of
one specific background or another. For example, Friday’s agenda
included People of Color caucuses, during which participants
separated into groups made up of people from their own ethnic
backgrounds.
"I think in general when students of color, women of color come
together it’s a very powerful statement," said Alyssa Kang, a
member of the Asian Pacific Coalition.
While participants reaped the benefits of the event this April,
organizers  including members of this year’s undergraduate
student government and students from other UC campuses  have
been preparing for the conference since August.
And due to the attendance of non-UC students, the event was
judged a success, said Michelle Gosom, the UC and state affairs
director for the external vice president’s office.
"I’ve heard a lot of positive feedback from the workshops,"
Gosom said. "Some (students) were able to set up a goal to achieve
by the next conference or for the next academic school year."
Others also added that the workshops provided an opportunity to
network with different students who dealt with similar issues.
"I came to this conference because there are many students from
UC Santa Cruz who wanted to come to talk about the issues,"
explained Diane Cameron, a second-year women’s studies student from
UC Santa Cruz. "I am also here because Santa Cruz is the least
diverse UC campus. Either you’re problem or part of the
solution."
MY LINH TRUONG
Andi Meck, (left) a fourth-year sociology student and member of
the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, discusses the struggle to
support political prisoners in the United States. The meeting was
part of a statewide Students of Color Conference at UCLA.