KEITH ENRIQUEZ/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Andy
Ramirez, a second-year English and Chicano studies
student, ties a scarf across his mouth in support of affirmative
action while third-year political science student Andrew
Reinicke holds up signs against it.
By Roopa Raman
Daily Bruin Contributor
During Tuesday’s National Affirmative Action Day, roughly
100 students gathered at Meyerhoff Park at noon in a silent show of
support for national affirmative action policies.
More than 20 universities, including all nine UC campuses,
participated in the Students Take Affirmative Action on National
Day “Speak Up. Speak Out. Speak NOW” event.
Students tied black cloths around their mouths during the event,
symbolizing the conditions of a campus without their voices.
The event was sponsored by the Undergraduate Students
Association Council, the Affirmative Action Coalition and the
United States Student Association.
Voices of underrepresented communities won’t be heard if
affirmative action is eliminated, said USSA board member Crystal
Roberts, a fifth-year psychology student.
The event also sought to encourage the Academic Senate to
integrate a diversity requirement into the general education
requirements. Currently, UCLA is the only UC campus without a
diversity requirement.
USSA board member Christopher Neal, a third-year history
student, said the elimination of affirmative action programs is
leading to a steady decline in admission of underrepresented
groups.
“If we don’t do something about it, (minority
numbers) will continue to drop, and we will not be represented at
all,” he said. “We won’t have the differences of
opinions coming into the classroom setting.”
Opponents of affirmative action said admission into the
university should be based on merit alone.
Andrew Reinicke, a third-year political science and philosophy
student, said historical events such as the Civil Rights Movement
have shown race should not be an issue in society, but with
affirmative action, race, gender and sexual orientation becomes
one.
USSA members had discussed the need for the protest at a
national conference earlier this year.
Members were reacting to two University of Michigan lawsuits
““ scheduled to take place at the federal appellate level in
late October ““ that weakened the use of race in admissions.
The hearings have been postponed to Dec. 6, but may be appealed to
the Supreme Court, USSA members say.
Though students cannot change rulings in court, they can take a
general social position, said Portia Pedro, a USSA board member and
political coordinator in the USAC External Vice President’s
Office.
The University of Wisconsin, University of Michigan and the
University of Colorado, Boulder were among the other colleges with
students participating in the day of silence.