Amid all the pre-graduation jitters and pre-finals anxiety, many
memories and feelings continue to weigh heavily on my mind. As I
prepare for graduation, I can’t help but reflect on my time
as a student on this campus. Although I feel fortunate and
privileged to have been able to attain a UCLA education, I cannot
help but think about my brothers and sisters who could not.
In all honesty, my years here at UCLA have been difficult and
trying, but they have also been beneficial for my personal growth.
Since stepping foot on this campus, it has been the organizations
and coalitions of which I have been a part that have helped make me
aware of my responsibility, not only to the Pilipino community but
to all underserved and marginalized communities.
As one of the few Pilipino Americans attending America’s
elite universities, I share the common responsibility with other
students from underserved communities of ensuring that the issues
facing our communities are discussed, not only in ethnic studies
courses, but in all the different forums of the University. As a
graduating senior, it is this responsibility that I will be taking
with me in my post-graduation endeavors.
We must continue to strive for change. Existing policies, such
as Proposition 209 and the upcoming Classification of Race,
Ethnicity, Color, and National Origin initiative, perpetuate the
small number of students of color attending UCLA and its first-tier
counterparts. Although I recognize that affirmative action is not
the perfect solution for addressing decades and centuries of
oppression, it has, thus far, been one of the most effective
policies for providing opportunities to historically disadvantaged
communities.
We fight for diversity, as many before us have, because we
increasingly feel isolated on this “diverse” campus,
where the number of students of color is disproportionate to the
population of the various communities of California. We continue to
fight for diversity simply because if we, as students do not, no
one else will.
It is important to note that diversity is not only about
numbers. Rather, diversity is about learning to appreciate the
differences we all have as people living in this multi-cultural
society. It is about learning and increasing our tolerance for the
varying spectrums of individual identities. Diversity is about
fostering a campus environment that is more reflective of the world
in which we live.
It is our responsibility, as students, to fight for others who
have been discriminated against in their efforts to attain an
education. True change in the university begins with us, the
students.
Cordero was the 2002-2003 USAC internal vice
president.