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Freshman Aletha Green joins in the chanting in front of Saunders Hall
(above). Protesters line up in the Pit (below).
PROTEST
From Page 1
this campus,” said sophomore Fred
Hashagen, a spokesman for OWEC.
“The DTH’s decision to run the
(Horowitz) editorial is just one of them.”
But DTH Editor Matt Dees said the
presentation of the Horowitz editorial,
rather than printing the ad itself, is not
racist, but rather a freedom of expression.
“We shouldn’t just sweep somebody
under the mg because some people think
he is racist,” Dees said. “Calling us racist
for running someone’s views is ludicrous.”
Singing and clapping, protesters
marched to Saunders Hall and lined up
in front of the building named after the
former grand-wizard of North
Carolina’s chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.
They held signs with sarcastic quips
such as “We Give Thanks,” referring to
Horowitz’s assertion that blacks should
be grateful for all the things whites have
done for them since the time of slavery.
Protest leaders listed off injustices that
deserved “thanks,” namely the dispersion
of black families and the theft of black cul
ture during the period of slavery.
The protesters entered South Building
UC-Berkeley Struggles With Race, Admissions Policy
By April Bethea
Staff Writer
As fierce debate continues about the
use of affirmative action policies in uni
versity admissions, several minority
organizations at one California universi
ty have responded by refusing to partic
ipate in campuswide recruitment.
But the protest move, which is being
taken by the University of Califomia-
Berkeley students who hope to incite the
administration to reconsider its admis
sions policy, is just one piece of a larger
puzzle surrounding race-based admis
sions policies across the country.
While the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in
1978 that colleges cannot use race as a
deciding factor in admitting students, fed
eral judges ruled last December in cases
Dinner Talk Focuses on Racism
By Jennifer Coiighlan
Staff Writer
Students and activists dined on sub
sandwiches in a discussion-style setting
Monday evening to define and to share
thoughts on institutional racism.
About 50 people, representing a wide
array of campus and local organizations,
attended the dinner discussion, which
was led by African-American studies
Professor Valerie Kaalund.
Kaalund instigated conversation on
institutional racism in areas like scientif
ic research, education and politics.
She opened discussion by making ref
erence to the recently completed
Human Genome Project. She said the
sample from which the project was
based consisted of several white families
from Great Britain.
Kaalund explained that the choice to
include only white families was an
example of institutional racism because
the oldest human lineages are actually
from Africa.
Accompanied by her toddler daugh
ter Kamaria, whom she boasted to be
and dropped off thank-you cards, along
with a list of their demands for change,
at the entrance of Chancellor James
Moeser’s office. Then they waited.
Then Provost Robert Shelton came
out and addressed the crowd. He said he
was pleased with the approach of the
OWEC protesters and said he would
look at the fist of demands and plan a
time to meet with the protesters.
Members of the OWEC said they
used the protest both to promote aware
ness around campus and to show the
administration that they are serious
about pushing for important changes to
such matters as the treatment of minor
ity students. “The issue here is safety,”
Hall said. “Students of color want the
University to make safety a priority.”
OWEC members said they generally
felt the protest was a success. But
Hashagen was wary of the protest’s
immediate success in terms of adminis
trative action. “Only time will tell
whether or not anything will be done.”
DTH Editor Matt Dees did not edit
this story because he was quoted in it.
The University Editor can be reached
at udesk@unc.edu.
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against the University of Michigan and the
University of Washington law school that
university officials can legally consider an
applicant’s race in determining admission.
But last week a district court judge
ruled that admissions policies at the
University of Michigan law school were
unconstitutional because they relied too
heavily on race.
Officials at many universities, includ
ing UNC, said they do not focus solely
on an applicant’s race.
Herb Davis, UNC associate director
of undergraduate admissions, said UNC
officials consider many factors besides
race including socioeconomic status.
“We like to think our whole process is
affirmative action because we’re looking
at all types of people.”
But students nationwide say more is
the youngest activist in the room,
Kaalund then opened the table to obser
vations of other forms of institutional
racism.
With regards to education, the audi
ence discussed several disparities in the
treatment of high school students, such
as disproportionate publicity of white
students’ violent acts.
“You hear a lot about school shoot
ings in towns that are predominantly
white but not in schools that are pre
dominantly black because that seems
like the norm,” said Yonni Chapman, a
graduate student in history and head of
the Freedom Legacy Project.
The Freedom Legacy Project and
Campus Y’s Students for the
Advancement of Race Relations spon
sored the discussion.
Several students in attendance noted
other institutional racism issues in edu
cation, such as economic disadvantages
that predominandy black communities
ffequendy face.
Bridgette Enloe, Campus Y co-presi
dent, noted that schools are funded
through local taxes, so the quality of
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A bystander reads David Horowitz's editorial as about 80 protesters begin their demonstration in the Pit on Monday morning (above).
The participants' march ended at South Building, where they gave a list of demands to Provost Robert Shelton and requested a meeting with him
during the next 10 days to address their concerns (below).
'-3|t •
needed to ensure campus diversity.
Monique Limon, recruitment director
for the RAZA Recruitment and Retention
Center at the UC-Berkeley, said universi
ty officials could further promote diversi
ty on campuses by repealing SP-1 -a pol
icy passed in 1995 that prevents schools
from using racial, gender and economic
factors in admitting students.
Limon, a Berkeley senior and mem
ber of the last class to be admitted under
the old affirmative action policy, said
she has noticed a significant difference
in the racial makeup of the student pop
ulation since she arrived at Berkley.
She said while Latino students repre
sented 14 percent of the student body
when she first enroUed, that figure now
represents the total percentage of minor
ity students on the Berkeley campus.
schools in the area is reflected through
economic conditions. But she said the
schools in areas largely populated by
blacks are held to the same testing stan
dards as schools in wealthier areas.
Kaalund also sparked discussion on
an imbalance in the distribution of polit
ical and administrative power on sever
al levels and the resulting problems
minorities face.
“You need to look at how class and
wealth is implicated in who has power,”
Kaalund said.
Chapman furthered this concern by
pointing out a problem faced by a stu
dent protest earlier in the day that spoke
out against the treatment of minorities
on campus.
During the demonstration, Chapman
said three white construction workers
overpowered the demonstrators’ voices
by running a crane with a loud genera
tor while laughing. Chapman explained
that the protestors and leaders of the
demonstration had to ask the workers to
stop the generator, instead of the sever
al University administrators in atten
dance doing so.
News
Limon said she believes the decline in
diversity has lessened the open exchange
of differing opinions. “I think (the cur
rent policy) brings one thought, one type
of student,” Limon said. “A more diver
sified campus opens up that dialogue.”
She said RAZA will continue to recruit
students to Berkeley but has withdrawn
from campuswide recruitment efforts
until the admission policies are revised.
Limon said she believes the lack of
diversity on the campus has hurt the
reputation of the school. “Berkeley has
been renowned for its diversity and its
open-mindedness, and unfortunately at
this time that is not true.”
But Richard Black, Berkeley assistant
vice chancellor for admissions and
enrollment, said he believes the school’s
student population is diverse, citing stu-
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DTH CHRISTINE NGUYEN
Junior Tomeka Suber takes part in the dinner discussion about institutional racism, an issue she said "people
are afraid to discuss on campus." The discussion was sponsored in part by the UNC Freedom Legacy Project.
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Junior Erica Smiley (top)
and Student Body President-elect Justin Young
(above) take part in the protest.
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dents representing every ethnic com
munity in California.
Black said Berkeley admissions officials
consider a variety of factors when decid
ing a student’s admittance. “Our process
is not one that relies heavily on academics
but one that relies on how those grades
were earned and other factors that might
have affected student (performance).”
Black said he does not repealing SP-1
will affect university admissions because
the officials would still be required to fol
low Proposition 209.
Proposition 209 is a measure passed
by California voters in 1997 preventing
discrimination and preferential treat
ment in public employment and educa
tion practices based on race, gender and
national origin.
Diane Hampton, legislative analyst at
Tuesday, April 3, 2001
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the American Council on Education, a
higher education think tank, said the use
of affirmative action in college admis
sions continues to spark debate among
Americans though race is one of many
factors officials consider in admissions.
Hampton said several states - Texas,
California and Florida - have imple
mented new methods, such as automat
ically admitting students from the top
percentile of all their schools, to ensure
diversity in their public universities.
But Hampton said she believes the
battle over affirmative action and its use
in college admissions will continue in
the near future. “I don’t think we’ve won
the battle by any means.”
The State & National Editor can be
reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.
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