UCLA law grads speak on affirmative action

Published: Monday, May 1, 1995

Speakers meet with lack of diversity in professional realm

By Romben Aquino

In the midst of the debate on affirmative action, some say that personal experiences and benefits from the policy are forgotten.

Graduates of the UCLA School of Law gave their testimonials to a diverse group of faculty and students on Thursday during a symposium on affirmative action titled "Justice through Opportunity, Excellence through Diversity."

There, a panelist of community members discussed the legal, political and social strategies being pursued by various agencies and institutions to protect affirmative action.

Members of the panel were Kathryn Imahara from the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Ophelia McFadden from the Service Employees International Union, Hon. Richard Polanco, Chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus, Hon. Cruz Reynoso, professor of the UCLA school of law and Mike Yamamoto, president of the Japanese American Bar Association.

The panel was moderated by Elizabeth Schroeder, an associate director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.

Undergraduates cannot see a glass ceiling because they are surrounded by the top 12 percent of California's high school students, said Jessica Horiuchi, a third-year political science student and member of the audience that afternoon.

Forums such as these verbalize the fact that the diversity enjoyed by UCLA does not exist in the professional realm, she continued.

Saul Sarabia, a second-year law student and one of the organizers of the event, echoed Horiuchi's sentiments.

"We had a lot of alumni come back and say, 'Look, this is what the real concrete benefit of the program is for me as a professional. The fact of the matter is that we can't do our job as legal practitioners in a diverse society if we don't have a training that prepares us to practice in that kind of environment," Sarabia said.

"Every student that comes to a program (such as UCLA's) is going to be better equipped as a lawyer if they come from a place that has prepared them to deal with the complex environment," he added.

One speaker, an alumnus from UCLA law school's class of 1971, was among the first students to feel the positive effects of affirmative action in the admissions process.

All ethnic groups need to have an opportunity for their leaders to develop, said Ricardo Muñoz, a 1971 UCLA law graduate who now serves as a presiding judge for the California Unemployment Appeals Board.

Such human resources are created at universities and professional schools, that is why affirmative action is important at these levels, he said.

The forum was sponsored by the Coalition for Education Equity (CoFEE), composed of law students concerned about proposals to eliminate affirmative action in California and across the nation.

CoFEE consists of several groups, including the Asian Pacific Islander Law Students Association, Black Law Students Association, La Raza Law Students Association, Lesbian, Bisexual and Gay Association, Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project and the Women's Law Union.

Susan Prager, the dean of the law school, complimented the students' organization.

"(They brought) a wonderful mix of alumni to come back and reflect on the contributions of affirmative action in law schools," Prager said.