“3. Thou shalt not take thy Daily Cal as Gospel” - Cal Freshman 10 Commandments
FRONT PAGE: UC to Vote on ‘Multiracial’ Category
The UC Board of Regents was tackling the issue of having a “multiracial” box on the portion of admissions application which asks for the applicant’s race. The incorrigible Yvette Felarca, BAMN warrior and ASUC senator said, “(the proposal) denies students and the population at large the right to hold UC accountable to ensuring that we have an actual representative student body that reflects our state’s population.” Does Felarca think mixed-raced individuals are just figments of Connerly’s imagination? According to the 2000 US census, 7 million respondents identified their heritage as one of more than one race. The number of mixed-race individuals is growing the fastest in California. They have as much of a right to hold UC accountable for under-representation as does single-race minorities.
The reason people like Felarca dislike the option of a multi-racial box is that it makes her crusade much harder. The crusade consists of telling people that they are oppressed and purposely underrepresented by a system that is covertly racist. If UC applicants were to mark that they are of a mixed-race, Felarca won’t know who to falsely mark as a victim of racial oppression.
The Daily Cal goes on to inaccurately describe prop. 54: “[prop. 54] would have banned the collection of racial and ethnic data by state agencies.” Correction: Prop 54 would have prevented the state from classifying any individual by race, ethnicity, color or national origin in the operation of public education, public contracting or public employment. Exceptions would have been made for public health purposes and law enforcement.
OPINION: No ‘Multiracial’ Box
Predictably, the Daily Cal editorial board is against a multiracial box. There is no harm in having that box as an option for students who are of a mixed-race heritage, and students should have as much freedom to check that box as an Asian/Pacific Islander or Hispanic Non-White student has in checking their respective boxes. The current system only counts one recorded ethnicity, despite the additional boxes a student marks. The resulting data is far more inaccurate under the current system than the data that would result with a multiracial box.
The editorial board adds, “Everyone from the Multi-Cultural students to ASUC to By Any Means Necessary has come out in opposition to this proposal…” I for one don’t remember being asked.
FRONT PAGE: Westminster Eatery Gets Alcohol Permit
The city has granted the Adagia Restaurant an Alcohol Permit, which has concerned ASUC senator and chair of the Campus Safety Committee Jenn Chon. “My concern is that it’s near the dorms and near the campus where students walk home late at night,” she remarked.
Chon understandably means well, but her concerns are too narrowly aimed at the Adagia Restaurant, which will function in the Westminster House. She forgets that the Bear’s Lair is tailored to serve alcohol, and operates right on campus. The majority of fraternities serve alcohol during their parties, and students under the drinking age are often in attendance.
FRONT PAGE: In Silence, Students Make Voices Heard
100 black students stood under Sather Gate, dressed all in black with black bandannas covering their faces, to protest the drop in black student enrollment. If you wondered why there was so much human traffic under the gate, this was why.
The black bandannas covering their faces symbolized the claim that they were being silenced by the campus community. Raniyah Abdus-Samad mentioned, “We feel silenced by the administration, but we feel more silenced by our peers and the ASUC.” Brent Kastenbaum, CalSERVE Senator and silent protestor agreed. “We have a hostile environment to learn in.” It must be frustrating for Senator Kastenbaum to know that people like him are the ones silencing people like Abdus-Samad. The two must have sat on opposite ends of the protest.
My question for both of them: What policies exactly have been oppressing students? It would serve the interests of Abdus-Samad and his colleagues if he enumerated the specific policies of the ASUC that has oppressed them.
UPDATE: Berkeley Budget Cuts
It was reported last week that The Berkeley City Council may eliminate seven of the city’s police officers and reduce overtime salaries in the department. Council members blamed the absence of measures J, L, M, tax-raising measure which Berkeley residents voted against last Tuesday. The Daily Cal failed to report alternative reforms proposed by groups such as The Berkeley Budget Watch, which could save those police positions. Don’t expect the Daily Cal to report this either:
The City of Berkeley uses taxpayer dollars to store homeless peoples’ belongings. They store carts, and other items in a freezer for 90 days, just in case people want their belongings back. This 40-foot freezer cost the city $8,200. No, this isn’t a drain on the deficit whatsoever.
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