Monday, May 18
Community Briefs
Two new UCLA authors showcased at storeThe UCLA Bookzone Author
Series, a discussion and book signing event, recently featured
newly published works by UCLA professors Gordon Berry and
Jacqueline Dje Dje. Berry, with co-editor Joy Keiko Asamen,
professor of psychology at Pepperdine, have published "Research
Paradigms, Television and Social Behavior," which focuses on the
impact of television, especially on children."Television is a
marvelous medium when properly used to educate, inform or
entertain," Berry said. "When not used properly, television
competes with families, religious associations and even peer
groups"Dje Dje, a professor of ethnomusicology, co-edited
"California Soul: Music of Africans in the West" with Eddie
Meadows, a professor at San Diego State.The book is a collection of
relevant articles covering a variety of musical genres from blues
to jazz and gospel. The material focuses on the musical
contributions of Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego. "One of
our purposes in creating this book is to fill a significant void in
the literature," Meadows added.Conference addresses Prop. 209
concernsRecent pieces of legislation such as Proposition 209 are
forcing counselors and advisors to reevaluate the policies and
decisions they make.This confusion was addressed in the annual UC
Academic Advising Conference, which took place Thursday and
Friday.Keith Parker, from the Affirmative Action Office,
understands the confusion that many of the workshop attendees
expressed. "Prop. 209 says that the state shall not discriminate
nor grant preferential treatment," Parker said. "The problem is
that there are no court cases that define what preferential
treatment means."Counselors concerned with keeping the population
at UCLA diverse have advocated actively recruiting minorities that
have already been admitted."We have made a decision with the
chancellor that we should be concerned with the yield of
underrepresented students that come here," said Adolfo Bermeo,
director of the Academic Advancement Program.Supporters rally for
minority studentsOAKLAND “¹ Government teacher Sheila Quintana
tells her students if they do well in school and study hard for
their college entrance exams, they can make it to the UC system.So,
she was more than a bit distraught that, in the first class
admitted since race-based admissions were banned, UC Berkeley
turned away 808 African Americans, Hispanics and American Indians
who had GPAs of 4.0 or better and median SAT scores of 1170.The
Oakland teachers union, of which Quintana is an officer, has held a
news conference demanding the admission of the 808 and also have
organized marches in support of the rejected minorities."We were
told that affirmative action wasn’t necessary because (it was
allowing in) students who weren’t qualified," she said. "How do you
handle the super-qualified students who are still not getting
in?"Berkeley officials say they regret the loss of the students,
but there is nothing they can do."Å’The truth is they were part
of a very large number of good but not really great students who
didn’t meet the competition at Berkeley," said Bob Laird, director
of undergraduate admissions at Berkeley.Some students may be
admitted for the spring semester and others have been offered
places at other UC campuses."My students … ask me, Å’What
should I do to make myself desirable to the colleges?"’ she said.
"I don’t know what to tell them."Compiled from Daily Bruin wire and
staff reports.