Findings show that, for the eighth consecutive year, the number
of black student admissions at UCLA and UC Berkeley has continued
to decrease.
Such statistics and findings will be discussed during a
symposium today, titled “(E)Racing Race, Erasing Access:
Politics, Policies and Practices in a Post-Prop 209
World.”
Hosted by the College Access Project for African Americans, the
event’s purpose is to share recent research CAPAA has done in
the past year on the possible reasons for the declining number of
black admissions to the two most competitive UC campuses, UCLA and
Berkeley.
Proposition 209, which was passed by voters in 1996, banned the
consideration of race for admissions to public institutions.
Consequently, the number of black students admitted dropped
drastically the following year and has continued to decline.
CAPAA was awarded a five-year grant by the Ford Foundation to
research and explore the reasons for this drop in enrollment,
particularly at UCLA and UC Berkeley relative to other UC
campuses.
Stephanetta Bingley, a third-year communication studies student,
said she had to work harder to achieve the same level of success as
her peers from “privileged backgrounds”.
“I’m not saying (admissions) should just allow
anyone who is African American or from any other minority group,
but to consider and reward hardworking students that strive without
help, reinforcement or resources from their communities,”
Bingley said.
Sociology Professor Darnell Hunt, director of the Ralph Bunche
Center for African American Studies, said it is important to raise
awareness of these issues in order to fuel policy changes, as well
as to understand why there is such a low number of black admissions
since the ban on affirmative action.
“This event, in particular, is (designed) to have a
dialogue with policy makers and community members with regard to
our research and how we can partner with them to make
change,” Hunt said.
“Overall, it’s to … make research available that
answers some of the questions like how we got in the mess
we’re in now,” Hunt said.
CAPAA’s research also explores the over-reliance in the
admissions process on traditional indicators of merit, such as the
Scholastic Aptitude Test and high school grade point average.
CAPAA’s findings say that relying on a student’s GPA
can be problematic due to the availability of Advanced Placement
courses that inflate GPAs.
Underfunded high schools in urban areas with large black student
populations may not be able offer such courses, preventing their
students from achieving the higher weighted GPAs necessary to
compete for admissions to prestigious universities, findings
show.
Ongoing studies by CAPAA include the work of Tyrone Howard, an
associate professor in the UCLA School of Education. Howard has
examined the factors that black males in grades seven through 12
believe add to their academic success in the classroom and their
social surroundings outside the classroom. The research study
focuses on perceptions of teaching, learning, school and the future
pursuits of black males.
Eddie Comeaux, a research associate for CAPAA, has recently
presented research concluding that, while there is an increase in
admissions for white, Latino and Asian students, there has been a
decrease in the number of faculty members from minority
backgrounds.
Comeaux said this was a “failure of UCLA to expand
opportunities for college access to match the increasing
demands.”
While some may criticize the university for the decline in
admission of black students, there is no single factor that can
account for it, and CAPAA’s purpose is to address the complex
linked factors, Hunt said.
“(E)Racing Race, Erasing Access: Politics, Policies and
Practices in a Post-Prop 209 World” will be held in Haines
Hall from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.