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By Mark Armstrong

I am writing in response to Paul Padilla’s letter titled “Spring Sing lacks diversity” (Viewpoint, May 18). Padilla fairly questioned the diversity of the show. But he was too quick to point blame at the Spring Sing Executive Committee without having full knowledge of the workings of Spring Sing.

After three proud years as a performer in this wonderful show, I served as a talent director on the committee this year. The Spring Sing 2000 Executive Committee was made up of roughly 15 students, of African American, Jewish, Latin American, Middle Eastern, Indian, Filipino, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and white backgrounds. Our collective goal was to have as diverse a show as possible without compromising the level of talent.

Padilla claimed that we need to add “a little more color” and “a little culture” to the show. But the Spring Sing Executive Committee is not in complete control of this. We cannot accept an act that is culturally or racially diverse if it does not meet the standards of talent. Also, very few such acts auditioned in the first place.

Padilla also commented on the racial makeup of the judges, as if it was intentional. Each year, the Spring Sing Executive Committee sends out hundreds of letters to celebrities, requesting help with the show. We are ecstatic to accept any celebrities willing to donate their time to our school, whether they are white, brown, green, purple or blue.

For the lifetime achievement award, we attempted to obtain Carlos Santana, in recognition of the show falling on Cinco de Mayo. Unfortunately, he was unable to accept.

I agree with Padilla. Spring Sing should be representative of the UCLA community. What he needs to do is ask these groups represent themselves during auditions. Maybe Padilla needs to take a look back at this year’s show one more time. What about the two gentlemen, Indian and white, who played flamenco guitar? What about the two Asian American women who performed a song written by an African-born male? What about the two Filipino students who performed an original song from a student-written musical?

Spring Sing does its best to reflect the best of the best of the entire UCLA community. However, it is up to diverse groups on campus to audition for the show. Hopefully, next year more of them will choose to do so.