Justin Fong  Fong is the UC
Student Regent for the 2000-2001 school year and a graduate student
in public policy. For more information about the UC Regents visit
www.ucop.edu. E-mail him at
[email protected].
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We attend an institution that offers educational opportunities
that rival and often exceed those at other public or private
universities around the globe. As the state’s largest
four-year public university, UCLA can offer practically any
educational experience imaginable and helps students to open doors
to the futures of their choice.
We have the chance to learn from distinguished faculty from all
fields of study, attend a university famed for its research, and
challenge the boundaries of our knowledge and the society we live
in. These are the precise reasons I chose UCLA for my graduate
study. I came here to work with Professor Joshua Muldavin,
recipient of the UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award, and to be a
part of what will become among the most exciting Public Policy
programs in the nation.
Unfortunately, not all students have access to what UCLA has to
offer. I also chose UCLA for the opportunity to serve as the UC
Student Regent for the 2000-2001 academic year. The UC Board of
Regents has 26 full-voting members. Of these members, 18 of the
regents are appointed by the governor and each serves a term of 12
years. There are seven ex-officio regents who include the governor,
lieutenant governor, speaker of the assembly, superintendent of
public instruction, president and vice president of the alumni
associations of UC and the UC president.
I currently serve as the 26th student regent in the history of
the university and am a full-voting member. There are also two
non-voting faculty representatives. Any student is eligible to
serve as the student regent, unless you have previously served, but
there is a rigorous selection process including interviews with
students systemwide to ensure potential candidates can address
concerns across all campuses.
MICHAEL SHAW/Daily Bruin Ultimately members of the Board of
Regents select a single student regent from three finalists
forwarded by students themselves. It is an extreme honor for me to
be serving the university community and the greater state of
California as a UC regent.
Recently in Sacramento, SCR 89 was passed commemorating the 25th
anniversary of the student regent position. Officially the regents
have “full powers of organization and governance” in
relation to the UC and have traditionally, through a system of
shared governance during most of the past century, administered all
the operations of the UC system.
Among recent years, the most controversial and publicly noted
action the regents have taken is the passage of Standing Policy-1
and Standing Policy-2, the UC regents proposals to eliminate race
and gender in admissions and hiring. Since the loss of affirmative
action, UCLA has been struggling and continues to struggle to
enroll underrepresented minorities.
For Fall 2000, approximately 315 African American students were
admitted (compared to 1,387 in 1997, the last year affirmative
action was used in admissions), 316 Latino students were admitted
(compared to 1,093 in 1997), 864 Chicano students were admitted
(compared to 2,633 in 1997), 350 Pilipino students were admitted
(compared to 1,406 in 1997), 49 Native American students were
admitted (compared to 161 in 1997), and 20 Pacific Islander
students were admitted (compared to 110 in 1997).
Hundreds of underrepresented minorities who were UC-eligible
were denied admission to UCLA and among those who were accepted for
this year, over 50 percent chose not to come. That means
underrepresented minorities will make up only 17 percent of the
incoming freshman class. Many of the most talented underrepresented
minority students and others are choosing not to go to UC for a
host of reasons, but partly because many do not feel welcome.
Clearly, there is a problem.
UCLA is sending a mixed message to underrepresented minority
students which is at best negative. The university tells students
we value racial diversity on our campuses, but that as an
institution we are also race-blind. The reality is that the rest of
the public is race conscious and conscious of the lack of racial
diversity at the University of California. In just a few years we
have lost the reputation for diversity and accessibility the
University of California has spent decades to build.
The University of California has been trampled on as the
battleground by those who choose to attack affirmative action and
civil rights. Public universities across the nation are the targets
of anti-affirmative action efforts while the majority of private
universities continue to use affirmative action policies in
admissions and hiring without criticism. UC has been (mis)-used as
the “poster boy” of the debate on racial politics and
is increasingly characterized as the university that makes minority
students feel unwelcome, not wanted and unimportant.
As private institutions welcome talented minority students, the
passage of SP-1 and SP-2 send the message that they are “Not
Wanted” at the University of California. The passage of SP-1
and SP-2 has eroded morale on campus for many students, faculty and
staff who have lost faith in the university’s commitment to
diversity.
Over 800 minority high school students filed a class action suit
against UC Berkeley for discrimination by the university. This is
not the message we want to send high school students and their
peers, but that is what they are getting.
This negative message overshadows outreach efforts that have
amounted to over $120 million, more than three times the amount UC
had expected to budget. I have personally been involved in UC
outreach efforts for over five years and believe being fully
committed to outreach means doing everything in our power to make
it successful.
Repealing SP-1 and SP-2 would send a clear message that all
students are welcome and wanted at the university. Repealing SP-1
and SP-2 would be the single greatest boost to outreach efforts for
the university, and at no added cost. In taking action to repeal
SP-1 and SP-2 the university has everything to gain and nothing to
lose.