Monday, November 11, 1996
PROPOSITION:
USAC needs to address all students’ concernsBy Adam Reed
So the election is over and what do ya know? Proposition 209
passed. Not a surprise to a majority of Californians who obviously
believe in equality. What’s done is done and although I am ecstatic
that 209 has passed and it is time to implement it and move on,
there are a few things that still need to be addressed. So I have
decided with the encouragement of numerous students on campus who
agree with me, to share my sentiments.
I feel that the leader (and I use that term very very lightly)
that calls himself the president of the Undergraduate Students
Association Council (USAC), John Du, must be addressed. I will get
to the name of the council later, but for now lets concentrate on
Du’s comments regarding what seems to be pretty much the only thing
he seems to care about. Can you guess what that is? Surprise!
Affirmative action.
Du said in the Nov. 6 edition of the Daily Bruin that "It’s hard
to believe that so many years of struggle in the civil rights
movement fought so hard for, can be destroyed in one day." First of
all lets compare exactly what Du and his "foot soldiers" were
fighting for to what those in the 1960s were fighting for.
Thirty years ago, students were arrested at demonstrations where
they demanded an end to using race as a factor in employment and
university admissions. On Oct. 23, UCLA students including Du
himself were arrested at a demonstration where they demanded we
continue to use race as a factor in employment and university
admissions. The irony would be funny  that is, if it weren’t
so sad.
Yes, for those involved in the march and for Du himself it may
be hard to admit, but take a deep breath, and reread the paragraph
and you’ll see the difference between you and people who are really
concerned about true civil rights. As Ward Connerly said on
election day, "civil rights are individual rights, not
group-rights."
In his continuing effort to see things only the Du way, he later
went on to talk about how some of the provisions of 209 are
illegal. In his own words, Du said,"Right now, I’m hearing a lot of
people talking about fighting the proposition in the courts. The
(undergraduate government) will continue to be part of the fight
against Proposition 209. A lot of the provisions are illegal and we
wouldn’t support something that was illegal."
Let’s get real. John Du wouldn’t support Proposition 209 if
someone were holding a gun to his head, much less if it was legal.
But, Mr. Du, I’ve got some bad news for you, besides the fact that
the pro-209 camp has also filed a lawsuit in which they ask that
209 be implemented immediately. The proposition is co-chaired by
two women law professors (funny how they aren’t scared by the
proposition, huh?). It seems highly unlikely that they would have
been involved with the proposition at such a high level if anything
in it was illegal.
I feel I must now address what I mentioned earlier. That thing
labeled the Undergraduate Students Association Council. The more I
think about it, maybe we should rename it to the Minority Student
Association Council. That’s all John Du seems to be concerned
about; after all whites are given everything anyway, right?
Hold on a second, before you get angry and let emotion overcome
reason, please understand that I have nothing against minorities.
Our nation would not be the wonderful place it is without their
contributions and please don’t think for a minute that I don’t
realize that. But the more I look at it, the council seems to be
focused in only one direction: addressing the concerns of
minorities. Du needs to realize that Proposition 209 has passed,
and it is time to move on.
I know a lot of us on campus who feel like our concerns are
disregarded, just because we may oppose affirmative action. Mr. Du,
in case you didn’t realize it, Students First! means all students,
not just the ones you agree with. It is time to address the
concerns of all undergraduates.
Well, I could go on for days, but in the interest of the Arts
and Entertainment and Sports sections I will stop here. I must make
the point that there are many students on campus who feel this same
way. If John Du is going to be president of USAC he should start
acting like one. He should determine his actions by the input of
all undergraduates and not just the ones he agrees with; that is
what makes a great leader.
In closing I must echo the ad that the "Yes on 209" campaign was
unfortunately not allowed to run. As it turned out, they didn’t
need to run it anyway. "l have a dream," the great Martin Luther
King Jr. said 30 years ago, "that my four little children will one
day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of
their skin, but by the content of their character." With the
passage of Proposition 209, that day is closer than ever.
Adam Reed is a third-year communications studies student.