By Mark Armstrong
I am writing in response to Paul Padilla’s letter titled
“Spring Sing lacks diversity” (Viewpoint, May 18).
Padilla fairly questioned the diversity of the show. But he was too
quick to point blame at the Spring Sing Executive Committee without
having full knowledge of the workings of Spring Sing.
After three proud years as a performer in this wonderful show, I
served as a talent director on the committee this year. The Spring
Sing 2000 Executive Committee was made up of roughly 15 students,
of African American, Jewish, Latin American, Middle Eastern,
Indian, Filipino, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and white backgrounds.
Our collective goal was to have as diverse a show as possible
without compromising the level of talent.
Padilla claimed that we need to add “a little more
color” and “a little culture” to the show. But
the Spring Sing Executive Committee is not in complete control of
this. We cannot accept an act that is culturally or racially
diverse if it does not meet the standards of talent. Also, very few
such acts auditioned in the first place.
Padilla also commented on the racial makeup of the judges, as if
it was intentional. Each year, the Spring Sing Executive Committee
sends out hundreds of letters to celebrities, requesting help with
the show. We are ecstatic to accept any celebrities willing to
donate their time to our school, whether they are white, brown,
green, purple or blue.
For the lifetime achievement award, we attempted to obtain
Carlos Santana, in recognition of the show falling on Cinco de
Mayo. Unfortunately, he was unable to accept.
I agree with Padilla. Spring Sing should be representative of
the UCLA community. What he needs to do is ask these groups
represent themselves during auditions. Maybe Padilla needs to take
a look back at this year’s show one more time. What about the
two gentlemen, Indian and white, who played flamenco guitar? What
about the two Asian American women who performed a song written by
an African-born male? What about the two Filipino students who
performed an original song from a student-written musical?
Spring Sing does its best to reflect the best of the best of the
entire UCLA community. However, it is up to diverse groups on
campus to audition for the show. Hopefully, next year more of them
will choose to do so.