Tuesday, February 4, 1997
AWARENESS:
The Pilipino community remains as vulnerable to attack as it was
nearly a century agoBy P.J. Gagajena
"Absolutely No Filipinos Allowed." These letters were printed in
front of a hotel door in Seattle around 1930. Six decades later,
the state of California and UCLA have found a way to deliver the
same message, in covert fashion.
Pilipinos are under attack. My history follows me like a shadow
and every time I enter a classroom at this prestigious university,
that shadow comes to life. It reminds me that my ancestors were
oppressed in this country called America and that I am making
strides toward breaking the links of a chain still burdening my
people. I am not another radical minority, as many may judge. I was
born and raised as a Pilipino and, in turn, I am born with the
struggles of a Pilipino. It is difficult for most Americans to see
the struggle that my community and I were born with  a
struggle that the privileged middle and upper classes are not
burdened with.
To bring this "Pilipino struggle" into tangible form for
mainstream minds, one need look no further than the Pilipino
community at UCLA.
Just this past year, there was a 48 percent decrease in the
number of Pilipinos entering UCLA. My community is getting smaller
and, naturally, this is frightening. Yet, what is really
frustrating is that Pilipinos were the first to be taken off UCLA
admissions in 1988. History again repeated itself in the spring of
1996 when it was determined that Pilipinos would no longer be
eligible for the Academic Advancement Program (AAP). This seems
trivial now that Proposition 209 has been passed and AAP is under
dismantlement, but it happened before Proposition 209 eliminated
equal opportunities for minorities and women. The Pilipino
community at UCLA was not notified in any way that such a decision
was made and, to this day, the administrations of both AAP and UCLA
have yet to respond to any request by the Pilipino community for a
formal, written statement. Samahang Pilipino has also been denied a
seat in the AAP administration to determine the changes that the
program will undertake. The administration’s actions to covertly
take us off the program and then deny us a voice in the future of
Pilipinos in this university are like forgetting the century of
racism and oppression which Pilipinos have experienced under
American imperialism.
Pilipinos are under attack. The Samahang Pilipino Education And
Retention program (SPEAR) will experience drastic changes as part
of the Campus Retention Committee (CRC). Pilipinos have the highest
drop-out rate in universities and colleges and UCLA, as a public
institution receiving taxes from Pilipinos in this state, does not
recognize its duty to serve the interests of what Pilipinos demand.
By the year 2000, Pilipinos will be the largest Asian-Pacific
ethnic group in Southern California and the third largest minority
in California. Equate the number of Pilipinos at UCLA and the
number in public high schools and you will see that there is quite
a discrepancy. I once believed this university was committed to
diversity, as the Chancellor preaches, but of all people, even
Chuck Young can’t stand up to the Regents to speak for his
students.
Pilipinos are under attack. The Pilipino communities at UCLA and
in California are in danger. History has repeated itself; racism
and oppression continue as they have for six decades. Although
today the oppression may not be visible and direct, as it was in
the past, the adversities are ever present, hidden behind state and
university policies.
I ask those in the Pilipino community to educate themselves or
find resources, such as Samahang Pilipino, to be informed about
issues affecting them. For other communities, I hope you identify
with our struggles or at least recognize that the diversity of this
public institution is threatened. My purpose is to inform and,
hopefully, to open people’s eyes to the attacks on Pilipinos.