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

Photo

As the country took Monday to remember the life of Martin Luther King Jr., students continue to draw upon the broader issues of the Civil Rights Movement in their activism on campus.

King’s fight to create equal rights for all American citizens in the 1950s and 1960s is in the past, but students say they are still struggling with civil rights issues, including those concerning race and sexual orientation.

Gregory Cendana, Undergraduate Students Association Council internal vice president, said much of the work and activism that students are a part of today is directly related to the historic events of the Civil Rights Movement.

“Martin Luther King himself spoke a lot about segregation and equality in education; the reality is we’re trying to fight for that today,” he said.

D’artagnan Scorza, Afrikan Student Union access coordinator, said ASU works on programs and events focused on examining the issues related to inequality in education.

“This is a new civil rights struggle. ... There is inequality in access (to education) for people of color and others,” he said.

Cendana said he believes Monday’s holiday serves as a reminder of the continuing struggle for equal opportunity for everyone.

“A lot of students say schools are more segregated now than they ever have been, even looking at the civil rights era,” he said. “Looking at access to higher education and education opportunities, we have to ask ourselves if it’s really equal.”

Some students have taken part in an effort to increase equality in higher-education enrollment, Cendana said.

Various student-initiated projects reach out to underprivileged high schools in the area to “push students to realize their full potential to pursue higher education,” he said.

ASU has recently modeled their activist approach off King’s focus on unity among all people, Scorza said.

“(Toward the end of his career) Dr. King moved toward a unifying message. ... He moved toward creating a process by which all people can achieve equality and access, not just black people,” he said.

Specifically, Scorza said ASU has worked on creating a more fair admissions process in the University of California system by reaching out to other UC student leaders who are interested in education equality.

He said his group worked with the UC Board of Regents and other student leaders to “reflect a much more just and fair (admissions) process,” he said.

Carlos Saucedo, a USAC general representative, said the Civil Rights Movement is still going on today, though it now involves some different issues.

“It was really never over,” he said. “There was a lot of progress made, but we still have a long way to go to achieve full equal opportunity for all citizens.”

Saucedo is involved with activism on behalf of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. He said there are many legislative issues pertaining to the gay community that are currently dividing the country.

“Now there is a lot of concentration on same-sex marriage,” he said.

The debate surrounding same-sex marriage involves disagreement over whether same-sex couples should be allowed to legally marry.

He said that on campus there is a stigma associated with same-sex couples.

“There is still this fear in our whole student body in not wanting to recognize same-sex couples,” he said.

In an effort to get rid of the stigma, the UCLA LGBT Campus Resource Center and other student groups host events on campus to recognize the gay population at UCLA.

Saucedo said that in order to overcome social stigmas and inequality, people need to be aware of the issues at hand.

“Education is the first step. Some people are afraid to talk about these issues. ... That is the first barrier that we need to overcome,” he said.

Along with student groups on campus, student leaders on the Hill are involved with Martin Luther King-related events.

The Office of Residential Life is co-sponsoring the 19th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Oratorical Contest. Themed “I Have a Dream ... What Is The Dream Today,” high school students will speak with UCLA students in the final event, which is scheduled to take place on Jan. 25.