About 200 students rallied outside of Kerckhoff Hall today to express concerns about a recent report that suggests UCLA Undergraduate Admissions may be taking race into account during the admissions process and about the Daily Bruin’s news article, opinion column and staff editorial about the report.
The report by UCLA law professor Richard Sander claims that UCLA’s admissions process violates Proposition 209, a 1996 California law that prohibits state institutions from considering race during the admissions or hiring process.
Students at the rally, which was organized by various student groups and individuals on campus, said the report’s claims and The Bruin’s Oct. 23 opinion column call into question whether minority students are admitted to UCLA based on merit.
“(The Tuesday edition of The Bruin) felt like a slap in the face “¦ to question our contribution to the university,” said Maryssa Hall, a representative of the Afrikan Student Union who spoke at the rally. “Yes our communities were under attack, but we will not be silenced here today.”
Throughout the rally, students, many wearing black clothing to represent solidarity, reiterated their support for holistic admissions, a policy UCLA has used since 2006 that takes into account non-academic attributes of applicants.
UCLA officials have said in the past that the race of an applicant is not revealed to admissions officers, and have said that Sander’s claim that race may play a part in one aspect of the holistic admissions process is untrue.
Organizers of the rally also plan to hold a public forum in the basement of the Student Activities Center tonight at 6 p.m. to discuss holistic admissions. Administrators will be present, according to a Facebook page about the forum.
Compiled by Naheed Rajwani and Andra Lim, Bruin senior staff. Contributing reports by Jillian Beck, Bruin senior staff, and Zachary Lemos, Bruin contributor.