Bruin Walk rang with the sounds of drums and songs Wednesday, as the American Indian Student Association demonstrated their disappointment in the low number of accepted students from American Indian backgrounds.
American Indians currently make up 0.4 percent of the total student body, according to the UCLA Office of Analysis and Information Management; thus out of 39,650 students in fall 2008, only 171 of them were American Indian.
With the economy a source for concern, Heather Torres, president of the association, said she fears it may act to further decrease enrollment of American Indian and Alaska Native students.
“It seems like (UCLA) is relying on us to do the recruiting and outreach to students in our community, but the university should be doing it, too,” said Torres, a second-year English student minoring in American Indian studies.
A list of demands was distributed during the rally urging the administration to take action on the issue of low American Indian enrollment. The list requested the hiring of a designated American Indian recruiter, a director for the American Indian Studies Center, and to increase retention efforts within the American Indian community.
Torres said that the rally, which took place in Meyerhoff Park directly
in front of Kerckhoff Hall, was organized in order to demonstrate the
concern about the low rates of enrollment of students from American
Indian communities.
According to a fact sheet that the association passed out at the
rally, no freshman class has had more than 17 American Indian students
admitted per year. The sheet further stated that there have been no
more than 20 American Indian transfer students per transfer class
enrolled since 1996.
“Native students don’t feel at home here.
You don’t see other people that look like you. You feel so isolated
because there’s no one to service our needs,” said Theresa Stewart, a
UCLA alumna who is still active in the association’s organizing task
force and attended the rally.
Torres said she hopes that the
rally will help UCLA administration see that more outreach, support and
retention efforts need to be made to better serve American Indian
communities.
“We are the only UC to not have an American Indian recruiter. Even (UC) Merced has one,” said Jared Dunlap, a fourth-year American Indian studies student.
Though there is no specific recruiter at UCLA for American Indian communities, Elizabeth Kivowitz, a UCLA spokeswoman, reported that the associate director of recruitment and school relations for freshmen and transfer programs also handles American Indian recruitment.
The American Indian Student Association, which was originally founded by UCLA students in 1969, is a social-group-turned-activist organization, Torres said. They focus on outreach to American Indian communities in an attempt to encourage the strengthening of education, wellness and cultural ties. The association does outreach to L.A.-area high schools, community centers, community colleges and the Sherman Indian High School in Riverside. They also host two major outreach events on campus ““ a youth conference and basketball tournament, as well as an annual pow-wow the first weekend of May.
Students from the Muslim Student Association, Afrikan Student Union, Samahang Pilipino and other organizations serving underrepresented students came to support the rally by chanting, “Stop the promises, start the action.”
“We just want the university to stand behind the American Indian students on campus,” Dunlap said.