Monday, February 1, 1999
Cluster of diversity
UCLA may have a multi-cultural student body, but many students
only socialize within their own ethnic groups
By Mara Schiavo-Campo
Daily Bruin Contributor
UCLA has a lot to brag about. It is home to some of the
brightest scholars and best athletes in the country. And as the
university’s application for admission boasts to prospective
Bruins, it is also "one of the world’s most ethnically and
culturally diverse communities."
While diversity is present in its international, multi-ethnic
and multicultural students and faculty, that’s not always a
benefit. Some students limit their interactions only to those
within their ethnicity.
"The segregation on campus is done by choice, by not taking an
initiative," said Sang Lee, a fourth-year engineering student of
Korean heritage. "You’re comfortable in the environment you’re in,
usually with your own kind."
Lee is one of many students who believes that while the
university does provide a diverse atmosphere, it is also tormented
by some people’s own ethnic divisions.
Celia Lacayo, cultural affairs representative for the Latin
American Student Association, says there is a reason why students
choose to associate only with members of their own ethnicity.
"The self-segregation is primarily due to similarity in
interest," said Lacayo. "The interest is that we’re not the
majority, so we join together."
Such common interests are reflected by the multitude of student
groups on campus, many of which exist to address cultural and
ethnic issues.
Robert Battles, external public relations coordinator for the
African Student Union, feels that these groups reinforce knowledge
of self, rather than creating divisions.
"I feel that ASU and similar organizations provide an atmosphere
where individual minority communities can form a sense of
identity," Battles said, noting that ASU is not an organization
limited to the African American student population.
"Students of non-African descent are welcome to attend general
meetings," he explained. "However, our outreach is typically to the
black student population."
One suggestion to increase cultural awareness and intermingling
is to implement a diversity requirement whereby students would be
required to take an ethnic studies course.
The Undergraduate Students Association Council (USAC) resolution
in support of the hate crimes prevention act recently touched upon
the issue of such a diversity requirement. The resolution noted
that UCLA lags behind many other schools in implementing this
curricular enforcement.
"UCLA has not fully demonstrated its commitment to diversity,
remaining the only University of California campus without an
ethnic or gender studies requirement," the resolution stated.
Marselle Washington, cultural affairs commissioner for USAC,
said students would benefit from learning about other cultures and
that it would be a step in the right direction toward promoting
diversity.
Lacayo also believes having to take ethnic studies courses would
be a good idea that may prove beneficial in the future.
"You’re going to have to interact with other people at some
point to do business," she said. "You’re going to have to know
where they’re coming form."
Making ethnic studies courses mandatory would also give students
full freedom to indulge any cultural curiosities they may have. Lee
has an interest in African American studies, but fears what some
may think about his taking such a course.
"I’m scared of walking into an African American studies course
and having people say, ‘What the hell is he doing here?’ It’s not
that I don’t have the interest," he said.
Richard Yarborough, acting director of the Center for African
American studies noted that if there were a diversity requirement,
the university could stop waiting for professors to implement
diversity issues into their courses.
"The current policy is to hope that issues of diversity will
simply find their way into mainstream curriculum," he
explained.
There are many that believe the issue of diversity is much too
complex to be solved by a 10-week course.
Angela Oh, professor of Asian American studies 197F and former
member of the advisory board for the President’s Initiative on
Race, questioned whether true cultural exchanges can be achieved by
an institutional approach.
"I don’t know how effective a classroom setting would be in
creating genuine respect and understanding," she reasoned.
Another factor affecting cultural relations is the passage of
Proposition 209, which ended affirmative action in California.
USAC’s Washington cited Proposition 209 as a factor contributing to
decreasing diversity on campus.
In the year since Proposition 209 passed, minority enrollment
dropped dramatically. African American enrollment suffered a 41
percent drop; Chicanos, 34 percent; and Latinos, 21 percent.
Adolfo Bermeo, director of the Academic Advancement Program, is
concerned about the decline in minority enrollment and the effect
it has on the student population.
"There is a genuine concern for how we can maintain diversity
and a climate that is welcoming and positive for everyone here,"
Bermeo said. "(Proposition) 209 has put constraints on the
university’s ability to do that."
Bermeo said that he also sees minority students trying to find
constructive solutions to increase diversity.
Many agree there is no simple solution to the issue of
increasing cultural interaction.
"The student body is a reflection of a broader society," Bermeo
said, "and that’s an issue for the university to confront."
Yarborough agreed with this assessment, citing the Los Angeles
riots as evidence.
"During the ’92 uprising, things were very tense on campus
because of what was happening in the larger Los Angeles community,"
he said.
Yarborough noted, however, that the campus environment offers
advantages society does not.
"University life requires interactions between communities that
we might not see elsewhere," he explained.
"The academic environment provides a safe place for those
interactions," he added.
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