Thursday, January 22, 1998
UC gives funds to increase racial diversity
USAC: Student groups may use $10,000 by June, but critics claim
funds will be ineffective, insufficient
By Dennis Lim
Daily Bruin Contributor
Student outreach groups could soon receive $10,000 to increase
diversity at UCLA. On Dec. 23, UC President Richard Atkinson gave
$10,000 to every UC school "to be set aside for student-initiated
outreach programs."
"The money was given to student affairs by the UC president, but
will actually be distributed to the student outreach groups by a
committee. The committee will have until June to use the money,"
said Community Service Commissioner Abi Karlin-Resnick.
A committee of students, staff and faculty will be formed to
divide the money among the different groups that apply. So far,
there is no application process, but criteria for which groups can
apply have decided.
Only completely student-run outreach programs that can
demonstrate a positive tangible impact on student eligibility can
apply for the money, according to Karlin-Resnick.
Present student groups eligible to apply for the money include
the Philippino Retention Enrichment Program, Project Fighting to
Improve Retention and Student Transfer, Vietnamese Reaching out to
Aid the Community, and numerous other groups under the Community
Service Commission. New groups can also apply for the money as well
as long as they meet the eligibility requirements.
However, those in the administration and USAC insist that
problems exist with the present proposal. For example, many worry
over the permanence of the money donated.
"Right now it looks like the $10,000 is a one-shot deal," said
Jane Permaul, assistant vice chancellor for Student Affairs.
"This does not preclude (the UC president) from giving more
money, but right now we have no indication that he will," she
continued.
Also, worries have arisen over the effectiveness that $10,000
will have on the diversity of a campus with 30,000 students.
"The UC Outreach Task Force suggested $60 million for all 9 UC
campuses," Permaul said. But that amount has actually translated
into $10,000 for each campus.
"Now put that $10,000 in context (of the amount that each campus
should have received) and you see it’s really just a drop in the
bucket," she continued.
The money comes in response to a report by the regents’ Outreach
Task Force that found that an "educational disadvantage" exists for
minority students.
The outreach task force was formed after the passage of SP-1,
the regents’ policy eliminating affirmative action at all UC
campuses.
Task force members studied the effects of SP-1 on diversity in
the UC campuses.
As a solution to discrepancies in admissions between different
races, the task force suggested the formation and expansion of
Academic Outreach programs.
"As an intermediate-term strategy, the task force proposes
expansion of existing effective academic development programs,"
according to the report issued by the task force last summer.
"The passage of SP-1 made it clear that the UC system would need
heavy outreach to sustain the diversity of yesterday," said
Karlin-Resnick.
Student sentiment was similar to Permaul’s.
"Hopefully, in the future they will increase the $10,000," said
Kendra Fox-Davis, chief of staff for the USAC president’s
office.
"$10,000 is really meager for an outreach program meant to
increase the enrollment of a university as large as ours. We will
form the committee around the $10,000 for now, and hopefully more
money will come our way," she said.
But the money must be spent before this June, and this has
Karlin-Resnick and others worried.
"They’re dreaming if they think that $10,000 and six months is
going to do it," Resnick said.
"Something needs to be done with these kids, from their freshman
year in high school until they graduate. Throughout the whole time
they’ll need counseling, college tours and guidance. Six months is
not enough," she continued.
"This is a starting point for students interested in starting
these types of programs," agreed USAC president Kandea Mosley.
Mosley sees outreach as having an impact on future rates of
admissions. However, she stressed that the large amount of time
needed to make such a program effective.
"This isn’t something you wouldn’t see immediately, you see it
over a long period of time," she said.