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

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.