By Robert Salonga
Daily Bruin Staff
SAN FRANCISCO “”mdash; The push for a Latino regent and UC
Riverside chancellor heated up on Wednesday when a public session
at the Board of Regents meeting broke out into a shouting
match.
About 40 UCR students and community members drove from Riverside
to urge the regents to appoint Latinos in top administrative
positions throughout the UC.
“We account for 35 percent of California, but we have no
Latino chancellors,” said UCR Professor Armando Navarro,
during the public comment period. “We are without shepherds
to lead the flock.”
The public comment period precedes every regents meeting, and
speakers have two minutes to speak.
Bill Melendez, a member of the League of Latin American
Citizens, recommended that Dr. Manuela Sosa, a UCR alumnus and
Riverside dentist, be appointed to the board. When two minutes
passed, and Melendez had more to say, he demanded to finish
speaking. Regents chair John Moores asked Melendez to take his
seat, but Melendez refused, prompting police officers to escort him
out of the room.
This infuriated the remaining speakers from the Riverside
contingent. When the allotted 15 minutes expired, Moores proceeded
with the meeting. Frustrated that they still had eight speakers who
drove 500 miles to speak to the regents, the group clapped and
shouted, “Extend the time!”
After this went on for a full minute, Moores gave them 10 more
minutes. After that regents then continued their regular meeting,
leaving stranded speakers angry.
“(The regents) have the responsibility to listen to
us,” said UCR MEChA chair Martha Escobar, as her time
expired.
“You work for us,” Escobar shouted while police
escorted her outside.
Afterwards, Regent Velma Montoya said the conflict could have
been avoided.
“It was handled poorly,” Montoya said. “We
should have adjusted for it, since we ended up (extending their
time) anyway.”
Montoya added there are four Latino Board members: herself,
Monica Lozano, Alfredo Terrazas and Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante.
She was “delighted” that the National Alliance for
Human Rights, led by Navarro, submitted 15 Latino candidates to UC
President Richard for his consideration when appointing UCR’s
chancellor.
Previous chancellor Raymond Orbach, former UCLA provost, now
heads the Office of Science in the Department of Energy.
The group later held an impromptu press conference.
“We’re here to provide input, and that input was
thwarted,” Melendez said.
Navarro criticized Gov. Gray Davis’ board appointment of
businessman Richard Blum, husband of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein,
saying the appointment was made because of Blum’s political
contributions to Davis.
Davis’ staff asserts his recent appointments to the Board
were not influenced by money.
“It is not true,” said Hilary McLean, a spokeswoman
for Davis, who said Davis appoints regents based on their
qualifications for the job.
McLean cited Blum’s long involvement with the UC, serving
on the Advisory Board of the Business School at Berkeley and
receiving the 1994 Berkeley Alumnus of the Year award.
Regent-designate Terrazas was the only Board member to speak to
the group at the conference, applauding their efforts.
“They are committed and passionate about ensuring a fair
process,” Terrazas said.
But Terrazas would not say if he thought a Latino regent and
chancellor should be appointed. But he said a qualified person of
color could relate well to the Riverside community.
“A member of their community is more likely to know their
experience, and the chancellor should have a general pulse of the
community,” Terrazas said. “But just because someone is
of a similar background doesn’t mean they’re in tune
with their needs.”
University spokesman Michael Reese said the time allotted for
public comment is based on speaker requests received in advance.
Since the group did not give official notification of additional
speakers until the meeting the time could not be adjusted without
postponing the agenda.