Spirit of affirmative action not reverse discrimination

During my time at UCLA, I have grown increasingly frustrated about the misconceptions students harbor, which ultimately serve as the foundation for opinions against affirmative action.

We can all remember that Proposition 209 (the 1996 initiative that ended affirmative action) rewarded the blood, sweat and tears of classical proponents of affirmative action.

Today, those of us who organize in student groups dedicated to promoting campus cultural diversity should be honored as the sole survivors of the ideological warfare waged by the naysayers of affirmative action and social welfare.

Those who perceive affirmative action as evidence of a society perpetuating “reverse discrimination,” are certainly less inclined to appreciate the tireless efforts of student groups such as the African Student Union or MEChA.

Most recently, my annoyance soared to unprecedented heights when I witnessed some students’ reactions to welcome day events hosted by these two organizations.

ASU’s “Black by Popular Demand” and MEChA’s “Raza Day” were outreach-oriented student initiatives with the goal of commemorating students of color on their admission to UCLA, as well as encouraging them to matriculate into the university.

I was hardly surprised when the anti-affirmative action sentiment reared its ugly head once again here on campus.

In a letter to the editor in the Daily Bruin, a student voiced his opinion on the weekend’s events, stating that, “UCLA (is) objectifying black students” with its excessive acknowledgement of their race or color.

Opinions like these are chillingly reminiscent of the cheap “compassionate conservatism” that marked the appeals of the Republicans in the latest elections, touting their progressive and color-blind approach to the world as a true equality-inspired policy.

As students of an institution with a humbling legacy of civil rights activism, we should be shamed at our complacency in this facade of tolerance and equality.

In fact, given the undeniable correlation between race and socio-economic status in this country, to be color-blind is to deliberately ignore the appalling disparities inherent in our society.

To be color-blind is to be perfectly content with the fact that a meager 392 black students were accepted this year to UCLA.

And to be perfectly content with this outrageous statistic speaks loudly of a culture marred by ignorance and cultural insensitivity.

Regrettably, with the passage of Proposition 209, the rhetoric of the misinformed has been emboldened, and those who are philosophically aligned with the underlying spirit of affirmative action have been subject to increased scrutiny.

These tensions have spilled over into the political landscape, where the champions of public education have been climbing a slippery slope in the face of the ominous privatization efforts of our current administration.

Our conflicting perspectives across this broad range of issues stem from a lack of understanding of the purpose and spirit of social outreach programs.

The underlying spirit of social-reform programs like affirmative action is not to give “handouts” to students of color out of sympathy or pity.

Rather, it is an effort to level the playing field and open a window of opportunity for students coming from economically deprived neighborhoods.

That is, to give students who lack the luxuries of well-funded schools and white picket fences a chance to prove their capacity for intellectual accomplishment in ways other than SAT scores or grade point averages.

Considering the embarrassing state of public schools (especially in inner cities), along with a myriad of other economic and social disadvantages that mark the experiences of a large fraction of minorities in this country, a progressive approach to measuring an applicant’s capacity to contribute to UCLA’s dynamic environment is reasonable and intuitive.

The appalling scarcity of black and Hispanic students admitted each year is a symptom of the carnage left behind by Proposition 209.

Consequently, every effort should be exerted to attract and retain students of color.

This is precisely the spirit of the welcome day events mentioned above: to host a day where minority students at UCLA embrace students of color who may otherwise feel alienated in this large and often impersonal institution, giving them a sense of community at UCLA.

Student groups that reach out to the disenfranchised members of our community and fight for fair, public access to higher education ought to be recognized for their unwavering dedication to enhance the cultural and ethnic diversity at UCLA.

E-mail Vakil at svakil@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.

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