A crowd of about 100 students gathered outside Meyerhoff Park Tuesday afternoon to rally for the repeal of Proposition 209.
Carrying posters and wearing red shirts as a sign of solidarity, students participated in the rally against the California law that bans the consideration of race, gender and ethnicity in admissions and employment decisions for state institutions.
The students aimed to pressure legislators to repeal the proposition as it resurfaces in the California Supreme Court in the impending weeks, said Luis Roman, a fifth-year Chicana and Chicano studies student.
Outside Kerckhoff Hall, several speakers outlined their frustration with the proposition and shared their personal experiences.
John Joanino, a second-year sociology student who helped organize the rally, said Proposition 209 creates an unequal admissions process where the social background of applicants are not considered.
The event ended with a silent march that began at Meyerhoff Park, looped around the area of Powell Library and Royce Hall, down Janss Steps and ended in Bruin Plaza.
In Bruin Plaza, the students formed a circle and chanted “Open your mind, repeal 209.”
The rally was not the product of any one student group, but rather a collaborative effort on the part of several individual students, Joanino added.