Prejudice and discrimination are unfortunately still a part of
American society, and UCLA students should not believe
otherwise.
A newly released study by the UCLA Higher Education Institute
indicates that this year’s freshmen are more politically
polarized than previous classes, but are less likely to be
concerned about racial discrimination.
The study found that 3.4 percent of students identified
themselves as politically far-left, while 2.2 percent of students
called themselves far-right ““ historic highs for both groups.
Perhaps the 2004 presidential race ““ which embodied the
nation’s divided political climate ““ is the source of
this polarization.
More significantly, the study also found that 22.7 percent of
freshmen did not think racial discrimination was a problem. Only
29.7 percent said helping to promote racial understanding is a very
important goal ““ down from a high of 46.4 percent in
1994.
It is statistics about race which are worrying: It is hard to
believe that so few students are concerned about racial
discrimination and injustice when minority groups still struggle to
achieve decent representation at the best universities.