Thursday, February 4, 1999
Espinoza speaks on UC issues
MEETING: Student regent discusses collegians’ role on board,
Prop. 209, SP-1
By Edina Lekovic
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Student Regent Max Espinoza finally made it home Tuesday
night.
Espinoza met with student leaders and administrators, after
returning from a meeting with legislators in Sacramento just hours
before the dinner.
Addressing members of the Undergraduate Students Association
Council (USAC), the Graduate Students Association (GSA) and a
handful of vice chancellors, Espinoza set out to explain his role
as the only student on the UC Board of Regents.
The discussion was dominated by the undergraduate
representatives and administrators, who focused mostly on the
effects of Proposition 209 and its predecessors, SP-1 and SP-2.
Unlike the state law, which uses vague wording to eliminate
preferences, board measures SP-1 and SP-2 provided specific rules
against using race and gender in admissions considerations.
"I have focused on outreach and access – it’s a hot issue," said
Espinoza. "But it’s particularly important for the regents to hear
from a student of color. I’ve tried to articulate what it’s like
for a student of color to exist in this environment."
Before taking questions, Espinoza explained how his experiences
have altered his view of the board, which has in recent years been
dominated by Republican business men and women.
"The regents are actually very human," Espinoza told roughly two
dozen campus representatives. "They aren’t made of iron, even
though they appear to be. There’s a public way of acting and then
there’s what’s actually going on."
"What I’ve tried to do is build bridges," he added.
With that, Espinoza took questions from the audience. A former
member of Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano/a de Aztlan (MEChA) and
USAC, Espinoza correctly predicted a rough crowd.
Facing questions and complaints on issues as varied as
affirmative action, outreach, retention, overcrowding and fees,
Espinoza found himself in the hot seat. Despite his dedication to
expand outreach and retention programs, student leaders demanded
more.
Zuhairah Scott, a member of the admissions committee and
Espinoza’s successor as USAC’s academic affairs commissioner,
pointed out that even increased funding to existing outreach
programs is inadequate.
"It doesn’t seem there will be any substantive progress toward
change in the next 10 years," said Scott, demanding more
action.
Espinoza, who has met with admissions officers on a number of
campuses, reported they said there is no way to return to the old
rates of admitting underrepresented students without affirmative
action.
The board, however, is currently considering a move to repeal
SP-1 and SP-2, the 1995 board vote which preceded Proposition 209
in ending preferences in hiring and admissions. Led by Regent
William Bagley, the move to repeal "would not only be symbolic but
would open the doors to further action," Espinoza said.
While Gov. Gray Davis and Speaker of the Assembly Antonio
Villaraigosa have opposed taking up SP-1 and SP-2 again,
Villaraigosa has said if they do come to the board, he will vote to
repeal.
Such a vote would be significant because, while Proposition 209
is the "law of the land," its language is more vague than the very
specific SP-1 and SP-2.
"SP-1 is constraining and clear. 209 is not," Espinoza said.
While SP-1 and SP-2 deal specifically with race and gender,
Proposition 209 simply outlaws "preferences." This is this gray
area that the board will explore in coming months.
"I think we have a majority on the Board of Regents – we’ll have
the majority to reverse SP-1," said Espinoza. "Regent Bagley, who
originated this move, wants the vote to be overwhelming and not
split."
USAC Alumni Representative Greg Land, an elementary school
teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, asked whether
the regents will provide more funding for educational outreach
programs. While the University of California has provided $140
million to date, the university will have to show results to keep
that money. If the results aren’t shown in coming years, that money
will be in jeopardy.
While UCLA currently receives the largest amount of money for
outreach of all nine campuses, Student Affairs and Administration
Assistant Vice Chancellor Jane Permaul pointed out the
shortfall.
"We’re working with five high schools and all their feeder
schools," Permaul said. With the current funding, "every student
could get $40 in tutorials per year."
"So, even though it may look like a lot of money and we’ve never
received so much funding before, we’re talking about major
problems," Permaul added.
Dominated by frustration, the audience repeatedly lamented the
current state of the UC system. Turning to issues of overcrowding,
a looming fee increase and campus climates, Espinoza emphasized
that more student representation is needed on the board to speak
for the system’s roughly 170,000 students.
"We’re dealing with a lot of complicated issues. It’s not the
same as when I was on student government and worked among my peers
to fight the administration," Espinoza said, explaining his push to
increase the number of student regents and the length of their
tenure.
Such changes may be necessary to address issues pertinent to the
anticipated drastic increase in the number of college freshmen in
the next few years.
"Irvine, San Diego, Santa Cruz and Riverside are willing to
accommodate more students," said Tom Lifka, the assistant vice
chancellor of student academic services.
"If students went through at a brisker clip, we’d be able to
accommodate more," he added, pointing to the average UCLA student
career of four years and one quarter.
Sparking a number of conversations, the dinner ended with
Espinoza meeting his successors on USAC and giving them advice on
how to tackle campus issues.
"The concerns are similar on all nine campuses," Espinoza said,
visibly relieved to have survived the home crowd. "Everyone is
concerned about the admissions crisis, but also housing issues,
hate crimes and the general campus climate for students of color in
the post-209 era."
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