• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Photo

Photo

  Photos by JANA SUMMERS Students prepare for a cold night of camping on the lawn in Wilson Plaza Tuesday night.

By Lily Jamali

Daily Bruin Reporter

In an effort to boost morale for the affirmative action protests on Wednesday, students took action in classic college-student style – they partied.

Between Monday and Wednesday, hundreds of students took part in Freedom City, a camp out in front of the Men’s Gym organized by the Affirmative Action Coalition. The event culminated with a march on the UC Board of Regents’ meeting Wednesday.

During the day, students listened to speakers, attended teach-ins and discussed issues of race. Although events on Monday did not draw large numbers, by Tuesday night hundreds of students congregated in Wilson Plaza to dance and watch cultural performances.

“The vibe here is so comfortable and relaxed,” said Tamara Hunter, a fourth-year theater student. “Everyone is talking to each other and meeting people – it’s great.”

Students from other UC campuses and high schools in the Los Angeles area were housed in tents which were donated or rented.

“Freedom City is providing a space for teach-ins and getting the word out about the march,” said Ralph de Unamuno, a graduate student in the American Indian studies department.

De Unamuno and other students took a “Student Activism Tour” given by Professor Glenn Omatsu Monday afternoon.

“We went around campus and talked about student of color activism here throughout the past four decades, whereas the traditional tour led by the administration tells you myths about the campus,” de Unamuno said.

He said the tour showed students sights on campus where other historical protests have happened, such as Vietnam protests in the ’70s and anti-apartheid assemblies in the ’80s.

“It showed us that there is a tradition of student activism at UCLA that the university will not talk about,” De Unamuno added.

A presentation by rapper and activist Sista Souljah at Rolfe Hall on Tuesday night was followed by Freedom City Night, where students gave salsa performances, listened to music and created artwork for Wednesday’s rally.

Several students worked on signs and protest art for the rally. One student helped make a fake coffin out of cardboard.

“The coffin is meant to symbolize the death of diversity that has occurred as a result of SP-1 and SP-2,” said Francisco Zarathustra, a third-year philosophy and Chicana/o studies student. “It’s a visual representation that is supposed to create questions about what it’s for.”

  First-year women's studies and international development studies student Christine Gocke and fifth-year history student Brian Montes sleep in "Freedom City" Monday night. The regents’ policies banned the use of affirmative action in UC admissions and hiring in 1995.

For many students, Freedom City was the first event of its kind in their time at UCLA. But a similar action took place before a rally three years ago.

“In 1998 when they had the affirmative action rally, they had the first Freedom City at UCLA up at Royce Quad,” said Sameita Afzali, a second-year political science student. “Freedom City has become a tradition.”

Initially, students planned to have Freedom City at Royce Quad. But because of a movie filming, they had to relocate to Wilson Plaza.

Nonetheless, the tents attracted attention. As students ate lunch and sunbathed between classes on the hill by Janss Steps, they heard speeches over loudspeakers.

“We had several speakers out and there were people walking by wondering what is going on here,” said Claudia Salcedo, a first-year undeclared student. “They are sitting down and as they listen to the speakers, they are asking questions.”

But not all passersby were willing to sit down and listen.

“I think it’s kind of didactic and preachy,” said Jason Sklar, a first-year business economics student who walked past Freedom City to get to the library. “It won’t really change people’s minds – actually it might serve as more of a turnoff.

“I don’t think that beating on drums is going to change the situation,” Sklar said.

Despite some pessimism from those passing by, many Freedom City participants tried talking to people walking by to let them know about the rally and to create dialogue about affirmative action.

“I would challenge those people that are walking by and thinking that we’re just making a bunch of noise to actually sit down with somebody and talk about why we’re here,” said Jamie Jefferson, a third-year business economics student and a member of African Student Union.

According to Jefferson, Freedom City created a sense of unity among student groups.

“Right now, I’m working on a sign for Raza Womyn,” Jefferson said. “But I’m not in that organization. I’m not affiliated with it, but I’m still out here helping because this is my cause – this is everybody’s cause.”