10-13-2005

Testify in the Public Inquiry to Investigate Hostile Climate for Underrepresented Minority Students at UC-Berkeley

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Contact person: Yvette Felarca, 510-502-9072, yfelarca @ yahoo.com

The drop in underrepresented minority student enrollment has fostered a rise in discrimination and created an increasingly hostile environment for underrepresented minority students at UC-Berkeley. Through isolation, subtle and not-so-subtle comments, and other actions, black, Latina/o, Native American, students are repeatedly sent the message that they are not welcome on this campus. The drop has also led to an increasingly hostile climate for many Southeast Asian and other Asian students as well.

Whereas this year's admissions figures show a small increase in underrepresented minority students, UC-Berkeley remains far from where it needs to be. A strong, multi-faceted case for increasing underrepresented minority student enrollment must be made. The ASUC has formed a Task Force to Investigate Hostile Climate for Underrepresented Minority Students at UC Berkeley. We will convene a PUBLIC INQUIRY on November 10, 2005, which will gather testimony from students and community members and, out of this testimony, publish a written report which will be submitted to the Chancellor and the UC Regents. There are numerous stories that need to be told and heard: black students in math and science classes being refused for study groups, Latina/o students being told they are not qualified, black students being asked what sport they play, Latino students who withdrew from Berkeley within the first month of school this year because of isolation and hostility, etc. The drop has inevitably affected the campus climate negatively for women students as well.

The purpose of this investigation is to buttress any and all measures and efforts taken to address this hostile climate, measures which must begin with increasing underrepresented minority student enrollment. We seek to support the case that ending race-conscious affirmative action policies has created a campus climate that gives black, Latina/o, and Native American students a separate and unequal educational experience. When members of the ASUC task force presented the idea of this inquiry to Chancellor Birgeneau, he expressed great support. He hopes to attend the hearing, and he says he will read the transcript of the testimony.

Walter Allen, a UCLA sociologist, has published extensively on hostile campus climate and terms these events "micro-aggressions." He has documented the effect that hostile campus climate has in causing social isolation and depression among underrepresented minority students, and how it negatively affects their academic performance and grade point averages. Increasing the numbers of underrepresented minority students in order to create a "critical mass" was acknowledged by the U.S. Supreme Court in their pro-affirmative action decision (Grutter v Bollinger) as essential to promoting a diverse and integrated educational experience for all students. A critical mass is necessary to ensure that underrepresented minority students are afforded the right to compete on a level playing field with their peers. This Public Inquiry gives the entire campus community the opportunity to collectively expose and address racism and sexism on campus, and shift the campus climate in a positive direction FOR ALL STUDENTS.

PLEASE DO THE FOLLOWING:

• Contact Yvette Felarca if you are interested in testifying in the Public Inquiry or submitting a signed or anonymous written statement about an experience you have had and about hostile campus climate. You will have the opportunity to meet and prepare with other students.
• Contact us if you or a group you are involved with would like to endorse this Public Inquiry and/or help publicize and carry out this event.
• If you know someone else who has had an experience related to hostile campus climate, encourage them to testify and to contact us.

Thank you,

ASUC Task Force Members:

Yvette Felarca
ASUC Senator, Defend Affirmative Action Party (DAAP)
Chair, Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration, &
Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary
(BAMN) - yfelarca @ yahoo.com

Ernie Macias
ASUC Senator, Student Action
Hermanos Unidos (for identification purposes only)
erniem @ asuc.org

Ashley Thomas
ASUC Senator, CalSERVE
ashleythomas @ berkeley.edu