Young announces support of affirmative action

Published: Monday, March 6, 1995

Chancellor to meet with civic leaders to discuss issue, encourages campus debate

By Phillip Carter

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Chancellor Charles Young has announced he will open a debate on affirmative action this week, confirming his faith in the besieged system by issuing statements to campus forums of students, faculty and staff.

Young will kick off his campaign to rally for Bruins' support of affirmative action at the Academic Senate's legislative assembly meeting Tuesday at 2 p.m. Later that day, he will meet with his community advisory committee, composed of Los Angeles civic leaders, to discuss the issue. On Wednesday, Young will also answer questions at a student press conference at 10 a.m.

In Friday's Los Angeles Times, Young said society would be far worse off had it not been for the system of affirmative action in the UC system.

"I can tell you if we hadn't done it, it wouldn't be an occasional uprising in South Central Los Angeles or midtown Detroit," Young said in The Times. "If we had not been doing what we have been doing for the last 25 years, this place would be a shambles."

Young's comments come as the latest in a series of UC officials' stances on affirmative action, which was raised as an issue at the January meeting of the UC Regents by Regent Ward Connerly.

At that meeting, Connerly gave a passionate speech decrying the current system of preferential treatment, which he said did more harm to young minority students than good. Connerly stressed that he does not intend to repeal affirmative action, but rework it to focus on economic disadvantage instead of race.

"The issue of race has become so perverse in our society we cannot continue to ignore the harm that is being done by our excessive preoccupation with it," Connerly said in an interview Friday. "We want diversity, and I think we ought to use economic disadvantage as the basis to achieve that."

More importantly, Connerly said, the UC system must respond to the overwhelming number of Californians who want to re-examine affirmative action. He cited polls which said two-thirds of the state opposes preferences for jobs or university admissions.

"Who are we, as the UC, to say that we're indifferent to that kind of sentiment, and just say 'Screw the taxpayers'?" said Connerly, who added that these opinion polls should make it imperative that affirmative action be brought to the discussion table.

Campus leaders student, faculty, and administrative agreed that affirmative action was a hot topic for discussion. Several also stressed the volatility of the issue, and the need for restraint among those discussing it.

"We have to be careful with what are the flashpoints, and what are the 'red flag' words affirmative action has become one of those words," said Rae Lee Siporin, director of undergraduate admissions. "Until we talk about some really concrete things, all we do is fan the flames."

Siporin added that the administration, though supportive of the current system, was always searching for better ways of enriching UCLA through admissions.

"We are continually in a process of looking around for ways that will help us to achieve the kind of diversity that we're looking for," she said. "Whether this is the only system or the best system is something that we always can continue to examine."

One student leader said affirmative action will galvanize students in a manner similar to Proposition 187, and that Young's actions are being taken to deal proactively with the potentially explosive issue.

"The Chancellor is concerned this will be the next big issue to face the campus, and he's going to have to do something about it before it gets ugly," said Graduate President Tim Beasley. "The administration is concerned with the way students perceive this, and what the UC Regents and (state) legislature may do."

Undergraduate President Rob Greenhalgh concurred with Beasley's assessment, adding that this issue must be handled carefully if the discussion is to be successful.

"We want to facilitate the discussion and provide a meaningful dialogue," Greenhalgh said. "This is too important of an issue to let communication completely break down."

Many campus leaders applauded Young's position in defense of the affirmative action system which he largely developed at UCLA. Speaking on behalf of the Academic Advancement Program, Jeff Cooper said the system has enriched the UCLA campus during its existence.

"UCLA has become one of the top research universities in the country under Chancellor Young, and also has achieved an unprecedented level of diversity," Cooper said. "With diversity has come excellence."