Fong currently serves as the UC student regent. He holds a
degree from UC Berkeley (1998) and is pursuing a graduate degree in
public policy at UCLA.
By Justin Fong
As the morning commute comes to an end for many people and the
first sip of coffee begins, I will be sitting at the table as the
only student representative to the University of California Board
of Regents with the one proposal that thousands of present, past
and future students have been waiting for: the repeal of SP-1 and
SP-2.
SP-1 and SP-2 are the policies passed by the UC Board of Regents
in 1995 that banned affirmative action in admissions and hiring at
the university and were used to manipulate the passage of
Proposition 209.
Since 1995, thousands of students have protested, rallied,
hosted educational forums, authored academic papers, sponsored
debates, been arrested, written articles, done precinct walking and
voter registration and almost every other activity that can be
imagined. The topic of affirmative action and admissions at the
University of California has inspired a whole generation of young
people to learn and to lead.
Since the moment the policies were passed, the requests to
rescind SP-1 and SP-2 have begun and have continued ever since.
Today the UC Regents are expected to take a vote on SP-1 and SP-2,
but the action is not the one students have been requesting for so
long. Instead of rescinding SP-1 and SP-2, the regents are
seeking to “replace” the politically charged
policies.
Over the past six years, I have worked to get to this point and
now that I’m here, I only have one request:Â that before
the UC Regents take action to “replace” the policies
that have become so problematic for the UC, that they bring closure
to years of student demands for a vote to rescind SP-1 and
SP-2.
I just ask that my proposal be heard and voted upon, passed or
not; it must at least be given its chance. The alternative
outcome is that through a process of parliamentary trickery and
manipulation, my proposal is tabled for eternity and students never
receive closure on the issue. It is much like sitting in class with
a question for a professor that a student never has the opportunity
to ask or have answered.
And so, I ask my fellow regents this morning, not for their
vote, but for their respect and for the opportunity to have my
proposal presented and considered without being procedurally
banished from a vote. I am not requesting my fellow regents change
their vote; I am merely asking them to give us all the opportunity
to cast our votes on a proposal on behalf of thousands of students
who have been waiting a very long time.
I have been surprised by the widespread support for my proposal
by legislators, civil rights groups, students, and faculty members.
I believe that even a significant minority of votes in favor of my
proposal is a success and would send out a strong message to
minority students that we are doing our best to welcome them to the
university.
To be honest though, I believe that a majority of votes in favor
of rescinding SP-1 and SP-2 would send out an even stronger message
of welcome.
As the Board of Regents once again prepares to make history, I
ask that all our choices, including those proposed by students and
the student regent, be given a chance.