‘I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in
a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin,
but by the content of their character.’
-MLK
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He is quite possibly one of the best public speakers of the 20th Century. When Dr. King first uttered this famous line in front of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963, America was in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement. African-Americans and other minority groups were fighting for racial equality. Their struggles of almost 40 years ago have not gone unnoticed today. There are no more segregated school and other public buildings. There are no more lynchings. Minorities can be found in high-ranking positions on the business and political circuits. There is still a way to go in terms of racial equality but one cannot argue that progress has been made. However, here at the University of Massachusetts, Dr. King’s dream is quickly becoming a nightmare thanks to ALANA.
As is well know in throughout the campus community, UMass refined their admissions policies in 1996 to ‘de-emphasize’ race. In other words, you cannot be granted admission to the University just because you are are black. Rather, race is taken into consideration with other factors such as high school transcripts and standardized test scores. So in essence, UMass is not judging people on the color of their skin, but on their academic ability. Now, ALANA has seen this policy change as the ultimate act of racism, while I (and hopefully the majority of students) have seen this change a good. Racial quotas are bad for the University as a whole.UMass wants to admit the best possible candidates. What good comes from a student who may not be successful here but because he was black or she was hispanic, admission was granted?
‘But,’ ALANA will say, ‘as of this fall and since Sept. 1997, African American freshmen enrollment had declined 45 percent and Latino enrollment by 41 percent.’ While these numbers may seem drastic, it is possible for numbers to be deceiving and therefore skew people’s perceptions of what is actually happening. But if ALANA wants numbers, here are the most convincing numbers that show that the new admission policy is working. According to UMass spokeswoman Katherine A. Scanlon, since the policy change, the percentage of students who drop-out after their freshman year has decreased from 19 to 16 percent. What this means is that the students coming in are more prepared for college. In addition, the overall enrollment of the University has declined this past year so it is inevitable that every minority group will be affected by that.
Besides the numbers, using race solely as admission criteria is illegal. It seems as though ALANA has overlooked that one little important fact. Of course, ALANA has never been associated with following the law. (When was the last time they took over a building, blocking hallways and exits, creating a major fire hazard? Oh yeah, Monday.) Then they wonder why the administration ignores them. Well, if I had a group of 100 people and we ditched class in the middle of the day to shut down the main administration building on campus for almost two hours, I bet I would be given the cold shoulder too. Listen ALANA, you want more minority students to be admitted here, but if they are just going to skip class and take over buildings like you, what is the point of letting them in? Why not admit someone who is trying to take advantage of the educational opportunity they have been granted?
Now the comical side of the situation. ALANA thinks that they are going to solve this admission ‘problem’ by going to President Bulger, as if he is responsible. News flash, President Bulger does not really care who goes here. He is too busy in Boston schmoozing with the Board of Trustees, fighting with the state legislature, and hiding his brother from the FBI, to be worried with who gets in and who does not. As much as we students may not like it, we are not even a blip on his radar screen. Admission standards are set in-house. The person to talk to then I would assume would be Chancellor Scott or someone else in Whitmore, not in Boston. Going to Bulger on this would be like complaining to Governor Cellucci about a crosswalk that was not properly painted in the center of Amherst.
This issue is not one that can be solved with a quick-fix. It is also one that is not going to go away quickly. The best way to resolve this stand-off between ALANA and the administration is for everyone to sit down and discuss matters in a civil and organized fashion. Screaming through a microphone in a Whitmore hallway is not going to do the trick.
Like Dr. King, I have a dream too. I have a dream that everyone on this campus can get along.I have a dream that one day, I can walk by the Student Union without seeing fellow students wasting away their educational opportunities. I have a dream that instead of pointing fingers, ALANA and other groups can work with the administration to make UMass better for all students black or white, male or female, heterosexual or homosexual. I have a dream…
Garrett Molan is a UMass student.
Bendee: Garett Molan
