Monday, June 15, 1998
Brighter future reliant on hope
Not long ago I had an interesting conversation. My friend and I
were discussing who to vote for in the June 2 gubernatorial
primary. Myself, increasingly disgusted by the Republicans and
dissatisfied with the Democrats, was lobbying for Dan Hamburg, the
Green Party candidate. She, on the other hand, would only consider
one of the three Democratic party candidates. I found this
troubling.
I was disturbed not because of who she chose, but why. They got
the nod, because everyone else was "hopeless." I readily concede
that it is doubtful that Hamburg or any other third party candidate
will win come November. Why? The answer is a lack of hope and
courage. Sadly, my friend’s attitude is indicative of many in our
generation. Even in our youth, we have lost our idealism and
ability to dream.
As Viewpoint editor, I struggled at length to get the Daily
Bruin to realize that we should not strive to be the junior Los
Angeles Times. Rather, we should seek our own distinct personality
and mission. Eighty-eight students arrested in Royce Hall will
never make the front page of the Times (unless they were beaten and
tear gassed by the LAPD), but does that mean we should downplay our
coverage of the subject? Certainly not! If The Bruin is not here to
give voice to the student experience then no one will. Granted, the
nuclear arms race between India and Pakistan might be taking place
thousands of miles away, but it is foolish to think that this has
no bearing on our lives. Yet, sadly this is a topic that the
editorial board is unlikely to address.
Too often, we passively accept outsider status in our university
and our world. If we are not intelligently voicing our opinions on
the affairs of today, then we cannot expect to be prepared to
assume the mantle of leadership when the time is upon us.
Hope is the most powerful weapon we as young people have. With
hope comes vision, and it is only with a vision that we can
conceive of changing the global realities of today. Would slavery
ever have been undone if the slaves had not envisioned freedom even
in their most abject moment of despair? No! There will never be a
brighter day on the horizon, if we do not first imagine that it can
ever exist.
In 1903, W.E.B. DuBois wrote that the problem of the 20th
century was the color-line. As this century comes to a close, the
question of race remains one of the most vexing dilemmas on the
American political, social, economic and educational landscapes.
However, as we move into the 21st century, distinctions will be
based less on color and more on ideology. The question we must all
ask ourselves is, "Which side of oppression are you on?" An
ideology rooted in the struggle against all forms of oppression and
inequalities should be the tie that binds us all. But sadly, there
are those who choose to fight for the maintenance of the status
quo; to the advantage of few and the disadvantage of many.
The rise of Students First! and Praxis over the past five years,
is a testament to our strengths as a student body. It is an example
of the benefits of a "race-transcending" agenda. Unfortunately,
there are those who delude themselves into thinking that USAC has
been run by a group of "narrow minority interests." Students First!
and Praxis represent the broadest based political coalition this
campus has ever seen.
Through Students First! and Praxis, the student body has been
reinvigorated and energized to a level unseen in recent years.
Although Chancellor Albert Carnesale has gone on record saying that
he will comply with the mandate of Proposition 209, the cry of
non-compliance was not in vain. Even if the administration, the
regents and others of their ilk are unresponsive to the concerns of
the students, it remains important that we articulate our own
vision of the future.
There is no better time than now to put the maintainers of the
old guard on notice that the times are changing.
Consistently over the past five years, students have rejected
the myopic view that everything is alright in society. We must
never forget the words of former USAC president Kandea Mosley
speaking at Carnesale’s inauguration: "There is a crisis going
on."
Recognizing that there is a crisis is just the beginning. That
knowledge is meaningless without firm actions backing it up. Too
often we, as students, become complacent and mystified the by the
lush green lawns and beautiful brick buildings on campus. We fail
to realize that the issues we study with academic detachment are
often life or death concerns for others.
One of my favorite folk sayings is very applicable to our lives
as students: "If you see a turtle sitting atop a fence post, know
that that turtle did not get there by itself." The message here is
that we are part of a historical continuum. There are those who
paved the way for us, and we must do the same for future
generations of students. Who knows, 20 years from now your children
might ask you where you stood on Propositions 184, 187, 209 and
227. More interestingly, they might ask, "What did you do?" Will
you say that you were a witness to history, or part of it? Hmm
…
J. Jioni Palmer