Cluster of diversity

Monday, February 1, 1999

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.

Comments, feedback, problems?