Friday, March 13, 1998
Community Briefs
USAC, CALPIRG, GSA fight for financial aid
Three UCLA student groups came together Thursday to "fight for
financial aid" by launching a letter-writing campaign to
Congress.
Representatives from USAC, Graduate Students’ Association (GSA,
and California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG) gathered in
Royce quad to urge students to sign postcards, write letters and
even call representatives to voice their concerns over legislation
designed to cut back financial aid.
"It is crucial that students work together to ensure that
financial aid is protected in the upcoming millennium," said USAC
President Kandea Mosley.
President Clinton’s most recent budget has dramatically cut
several key financial-aid programs, which was the impetus for
students organizing on this issue.
The letters and postcards were directed to Rep. John Kasich,
R-OH, the House Budget Committee Chair.
"We are out here to let Representative Kasich and President
Clinton know that students will not silently watch as their
financial aid is cut," said USAC External Vice President Stacy
Lee.
Organizers said that they had gathered over 300 signatures from
students who passed by.
Affirmative Action rally takes action at Berkeley
A group of UC Berkeley students, professors and community
members rallied on Sproul Plaza on Thursday in a drive to place an
affirmative action initiative on the November 1998 election
ballot.
Students for Educational Opportunity, a campus group that
supports affirmative action, organized the rally to show its
support for the Equal Educational Opportunity Initiative. The
proposed measure, drawn up by Boalt Hall students, is aimed at
reinstating affirmative action policies in all California public
schools. The proposed initiative also attempts to eliminate a
portion of Proposition 209 – the voter-approved 1996 measure that
abolished affirmative action in all public institutions.
"The rally is intended to galvanize people around the issue,"
said Rashad Ibrahim, a third-year Boalt student who is coordinating
the rally. "Berkeley is a place for people to express themselves.
Folks who don’t have the money or control of the media have an
outlet."
In order to place the initiative on the November 1998 ballot,
the organization must gather 770,000 signatures by April 17. But as
a safeguard, they plan to gather at least 1.2 million
signatures.
"We can’t afford to wait," said Andrea Guerrero, a second-year
law student and the initiative’s co-author. "Each year we wait, we
lose tens and thousands of students."
If the students cannot gather the necessary signatures, they
will have to wait until the year 2000 to place the item on the
ballot.
According to Guerrero, they have less than half of the necessary
signatures. But she said that between 100,000 and 200,000 fliers
are being circulated to publicize the initiative. The organization
has also established an extensive network that spans at least 30
universities across the state.
UC Berkeley African-American studies Professor June Jordan and
ethnic studies Professor Ronald Takaki both spoke.
"When they announce (the break down of this year’s entering fall
class), it will be like an earthquake," Takaki said, pointing to a
study by the university that projected next year’s freshman class
as 93 percent white and Asian American.
But Chris Gray, president of the Berkeley College Republicans,
said that the students should not try to alter Proposition 209.
"They ought to just live with it for a little while to see how
it goes," Gray said. "It’s just sour grapes. They can’t live with
what the voters do."
Compiled from Daily Bruin staff and wire reports.PATIL
ARMENIAN
Students sign Calpirg petitions for lower interest rates on
student loans.