I’ve never been under any false illusions that UCLA respects
people of color. In my four years at this university, I’ve watched
the number of underrepresented students drop every single year.
In 1998, when the first post-Proposition 209 class was accepted
into our school, the African Student Union put up a sign board
asking people to comment on what they thought about the admissions
numbers. Some of the comments were "stick to playing basketball"
and "face it, you’re just not as smart as us."
I’ve been called a "nigger lover" and heard numerous racist
remarks during protests denouncing the end of affirmative action.
And the fewer people of color on our campus, the more overt racism
is displayed.
So, honestly, it came as no shock to me when I heard about the
racial assault that took place last quarter on the steps of
Campbell Hall. And it came as no shock to me to learn of the
swastikas painted on the doors of student group offices in
Kerckhoff Hall.
That doesn’t mean that it didn’t still break my heart.
I remember when I was the victim of a hate crime. I was about 9
years old, and it was in my hometown of New York City. I was
playing at the park when some older kids came up to me. They always
called me "Jew Mike," but what I was about to face was a little bit
worse. It was Good Friday, and the kids were Irish Catholics from
the neighborhood. They beat me up pretty bad that day; their reason
was that I "killed Jesus." I understand that this sentiment is only
something they learned somewhere else and I understand that hatred
is not part of human nature. But I still feel the pain of that
attack.
Last week, I was speaking to someone about the attack outside
Campbell Hall. The person said, "What’s the big deal? So she got
kicked a couple of times, people get kicked all the time."
That kind of attitude scares me just as much as the people who
are responsible for such actions, because if we don’t care, then
there’s no hope. But my biggest concern involves the response of
the university itself, or better yet, the lack thereof.
There are people at our school who still don’t know what
happened. In fact, I’m sure some of you reading this column don’t
know what happened. An African American woman was physically
assaulted by a white male on the steps of Campbell Hall while he
shouted racial slurs at her. Swastikas were painted on the doors of
student group offices in Kerckhoff Hall with the number four next
to them, which many believe symbolizes the "Fourth Reich."
The fact that these events occurred on our campus, and that
there has been virtually no response from our administration is
sickening to me. All I’ve seen is a Viewpoint article submitted by
Chancellor Albert Carnesale ("Hatred at UCLA must be combatted,"
Viewpoint, March 16). In it, our chancellor wrote there were five
hate crimes around campus last year. Why is it that I didn’t know
about any of them? That means there has been a total of six hate
crimes since last year on this campus that you might not even know
about.
Why didn’t administrators call a news conference? Why didn’t
they send out an e-mail to all UCLA students and staff informing us
as to what happened? Have they told all incoming first-year
students about the school they’ll be attending? Do all minority
students on our campus understand what has happened here? These are
questions that have to be answered.
In our last week of school, I received a mass e-mail about the
potential strike by the Student Association of Graduate Employees,
and notices were put up all over campus regarding that possibility.
I don’t understand why these hate crimes would receive any less
attention.
UCLA isn’t the only school that has been targeted by hate in the
several weeks. At UC Irvine, racist flyers were passed out in the
dorms and slogans like "the storm is coming" were chalked on
campus. Also, there were chalk outlines of bodies drawn on their
campus. As students at UCLA, we need to stand up against this
hatred. Administrators have some serious answering to do as to why
they’re trying to bury these events. But in the meantime, this has
become our problem. We cannot rely on the administration; we need
to work together to fight this.
There was a demonstration last week in which more than 100
students from different walks of life turned out to protest what
happened. During the protest I heard a student walk by and ask, "Is
this another one of those fucking affirmative action protests?"
It’s that kind of attitude which makes this campus dangerous for
people of color. An African American woman was the victim of a
racial assault, swastikas were painted on our campus and only 100
students turned out to protest. Why?
Some don’t care, and very few even knew what had occurred. This
very newspaper reported on acts of "vandalism," while failing to
convey the seriousness of what’s going on. And our administration
failed miserably to inform people of the truth. As students of this
university, we cannot let this happen without a fight.
A coalition has been formed to combat what is happening. It’s
called the United Front Coalition. In our first meeting, almost 100
students showed up to discuss what is happening. I encourage all of
you to come to our next meeting. If you would like more information
just stop by the Undergraduate Students Association Council
offices.
Please don’t just brush this off. I know you think it’s just the
actions of a few, but it’s the apathy of the many that allows the
actions of a few to be carried out. It’s our responsibility as
people to work together to make sure this is the last hate crime
that ever happens on our campus.