Friday, April 17, 1998
Group mentality obscures truth of racial repression
INDIVIDUALITY: Just because a person is of a minority doesn’t
mean they’ve been a victim of discrimination
By Robert Lopez
Two years ago when I applied to colleges, I could have checked a
box which would have given me an advantage over every other white
or Asian applicant.
Because my last name is Lopez, somehow that means I am a victim
of "historical discrimination." Something has affected my life so
that I am unable to compete with whites or Asians without some
artificial help.
People who argue for affirmative action are inherently arguing
that all people of a certain descent, nationality or race have had
the same life experiences. I’m sure there are at least two dozen
students at this school named Lopez, and supporters of affirmative
action would have us believe that we are all the same –
economically and academically inferior to whites or Asians.
We are not individuals named Robert or James or William or Maria
or Rachel, we are all just Chicano/a. Well, I’m telling those
people that I am an individual named Robert Lopez. My family has
been in California for five generations now, but because of my last
name, supporters of affirmative action believe my situation is
inferior to that of whites or Asians who have been in this country
the same amount of time or less.
Radical nationalists in MEChA or Raza will claim that I am
turning my back on my heritage. But my heritage is not the same as
anyone else’s heritage. These people have been so brainwashed into
a group mentality that they have forgotten they are individuals.
Some individuals may have been discriminated against – but not
everyone with a Chicano surname.
I have never been a victim of discrimination or adverse
socioeconomic conditions. And neither have many people named Lopez,
Hernandez, Nunez, etc. So why should those of us who are not
underprivileged have any extra benefits because of our last name?
Affirmative action makes no distinction between individual cases of
discrimination and redress. Every person of black or brown skin
tone is considered statistically inferior and needs help to compete
with whites and Asians.
The myth about affirmative action is that it only helps people.
But we are talking about a zero-sum game. If one person is given
advantage in college admissions, there is not an extra spot
allotted in the freshman class. Someone else who was more qualified
is denied admission. Many also argue that all people admitted under
affirmative action meet minimum UC standards, so what’s the big
deal?
But UCLA and UCB are elite schools with much higher admissions
criteria. Students who are underqualified to attend UCLA or UCB
should attend a less competitive UC or go to a community college
and excel there to prove their high school stats did not reflect
their full abilities and that they are worthy to attend UCLA or
UCB.
The group mentality of the racial student advocacy groups (SAGs)
perpetuates stereotypes where otherwise none may exist. There are
many Chicano/a and African American students currently at UCLA who
would have been accepted to UCLA without affirmative action. These
people would succeed without any special tutoring programs like
AAP, and many don’t use these programs.
But because there was affirmative action and AAP does exist,
there is a stereotype that all minorities are here only because of
affirmative action and only survive here because of AAP. There may
be fewer freshman minorities next fall, but it is now known that
every one of them deserves to be here, and got in without an unfair
advantage. Maybe we can start treating people as individuals
again.
And by the way, I didn’t "check the box" and I don’t get AAP
tutoring – and I’m doing just fine.
My name is Robert Lopez, and I am an American individual.