Wednesday, February 19, 1997
AAP:
Campbell Hall has closed itself up to differences in opinionBy
James Liu
As a former Bruin and former Academic Advancement Program tutor,
I read your recent article on the AAP tutorial program with great
interest: Someone finally had the guts to "out" the evil empire of
Campbell Hall.
To be fair, I must first say that I do not believe AAP’s
tutoring program has a policy discriminating anyone based on his
race or political view. However, based on my experience in the
program, I believe the individuals within AAP, including those
making hiring decisions, do knowingly or unknowingly select
candidates based on criteria that are not exactly by the book.
This comes as no surprise to anyone with minimal knowledge about
the program. Campbell Hall is unapologetically the headquarters of
the liberal cause and the anti-Proposition 209 cause on campus. How
can anyone expect a Chicano activist from AAP to protest in front
of a fraternity house one day and to hire a Greek as tutor for his
Chicano brethren the next day? It’s like requiring black
fraternities to accept white pledges.
Yet this is exactly where the problem lies. When did a program
with perfectly good intentions and politically neutral objectives
such as AAP tutoring turn itself into a party-boss era political
machine? Is there a difference between Campbell Hall and a Chicano
(African American) fraternity? Should there be a difference?
"Empowerment." "Power struggle." "Those white people, blah,
blah, blah." Pictures of angry fists. Speeches by graduate students
from Chicano studies on how the Cuban people are living much
happier lives than us Angelinos. Long "training sessions" on
cultural sensitivity and "empowerment of the people of color."
Memories, memories, memories …
It was approaching insanity. It was unhealthy. And one must
wonder where they got the poor kids who starved themselves
half-to-death for the creation of a "Chicano Study Center." It was
unhealthy indeed  it was becoming a cult.
The hiring practice of the AAP tutoring program is only a tip of
the iceberg. Scandals like this are an inevitable product of the
culture of fanaticism. It takes the Daily Bruin and moral pressure
of the entire campus to force changes, since few changes can happen
otherwise. Murphy Hall does not want another sit-in and hunger
strike, does it?
I have a personal appeal for Adolfo, the director of AAP.
It’s perfectly all right to be a liberal, or a Marxist, or a
supporter of the Mexican peasant rebellion, but please, please,
give the young minds a chance to think. If you are a true believer
in diversity, please bring diversity in background and opinion into
Campbell Hall.
And, please, throw away your siege mentality. Stop blaming The
Bruin or creating another conspiracy story. The Bruin is a proud,
liberal and smart newspaper, thank you. It’s great to be liberal,
but closed-mindedness has no place in this great university.
Campbell Hall has become the evil empire not because it supports
minority rights, but because it has become a cult. It takes courage
to tolerate difference in opinion. Allowing in a few white
Republicans can make your life quite more difficult, but you can do
it, Adolfo, because you are brave and wise.