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Posted on 07/08/2003 10:06:40 AM PDT by chance33_98
Editorial: UC Regents Must Reject Connerly’s Newest Resolution
Tuesday, July 8, 2003
In his most recent effort to eliminate any traces of recognition for minorities of race, and now sexual orientation, from public higher education in California, UC Regent Ward Connerly has rehashed a 7-year-old resolution to be presented to the UC Board of Regents next week.
If accepted, the resolution would prevent UC from sponsoring non-academic events that are targeted to "individuals of specific race, ethnic, or sexual orientation groups."
If the resolution passes, UC Berkeley could lose some of its most valuable extracurricular events, hosted for groups that often feel overlooked on campus.
The vague language of the resolution prevents a clear understanding of which programs will be cut, but many invaluable ones are certain to lose funding.
At the top of the chopping block are the graduation events and freshman services that aim to assist and recognize the achievements of people of certain races and sexual orientations. These services do not seek to segregate, but to celebrate the multitude of different experiences at UC Berkeley, which are often shaped by a student's ethnicity or sexual orientation.
Additionally, RAZA's student orientation week and the Chicano Latino Orientation, a bilingual event offered to both prospective students and their parents, could lose basic funding. These programs, and others like them, are crucial for recruiting and retaining students of various ethnic groups.
The resolution threatens to significantly decrease minority enrollment at UC Berkeley while it eliminates numerous advances made in recent years to encourage racial and social diversity among students.
After the Supreme Court's decision to uphold affirmative action at the University of Michigan, Connerly headed off to the state in question to help draft a proposition that would eliminate race as a factor in college admissions, similar to California's own Prop. 209.
This resolution, in conjuction with his many other efforts, shows that Connerly is using the regents as his own bully pulpit to promote a political ideology that considers racial and social homogeny not only possible, but also beneficial to Californians.
The regents should not consider such ideologically based attitudes as they attempt to craft the strongest academic environment for its students.
As UC struggles to resolve its own financial problems, the regents could find this resolution more appealing because it promises to free up thousands of dollars.
But fiscal shortsightedness will have particularly dangerous effects on the university if it eliminates many of its greatest resources for preserving diversity. The regents must kill this negligent resolution, as they have done in the past.
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| Lighten Up, Francis! |
| Fundraising posts only happen quarterly, and are gone as soon as we meet the goal. Help make it happen. |
If the resolution passes, UC Berkeley could lose some of its most valuable extracurricular events, hosted for groups that often feel overlooked on campus.Cry me a river!
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