University students joined other campuses across the nation Wednesday, speaking about “myths and facts” about affirmative action.
National Take Affirmative Action Day was sponsored by the United States Student Association and on the University campus was also sponsored by the Oregon Students of Color Coalition.
Oscar Guerra, co-director of OSCC, said affirmative action is not just a process used in admissions or hiring policies. It includes “any resources and programs for communities of color, women, differently abled and under-represented communities” that can be used to give members of those groups equal access and representation in higher education and employment opportunities.
Guerra said examples of affirmative action on the University campus include diversity-building scholarships, Womenspace, the ASUO Multicultural Center and student unions.
“It includes spaces where underrepresented communities can meet to help build a more cultured campus,” he said.
Students representing various campus groups stood in the EMU amphitheater from mid-morning until after noon reading the myths and facts – written by USSA and OSCC – about affirmative action
OSCC co-director Lupita Peña, said one of the more common myths is the belief that affirmative action is a form of reverse discrimination. She said it simply “gives people of color and women equal access to higher education and employment.”
Peña said that every time affirmative action becomes an issue, the people who don’t agree with the policies spread the myths. She said it is important to bring awareness to the fact that affirmative action is under attack.
ASUO President Jared Axelrod and Vice-President Juliana Guzman also spoke. Guzman said that the U.S. Supreme Court has supported the use of affirmative action. She said other policies, such as legacy admissions and the reliance on standardized test scores for admissions discriminate against people of color.
Axelrod voiced his belief that affirmative action is a black versus white issue. He said it is really a societal issue that benefits people from many communities.
During the first part of the day, several students stopped by to listen to the speakers but attendance dwindled in the afternoon. Guerra said he thought this was because of “poor organizing.” He said the organizers tried to have speakers at times when students were getting out of class but didn’t time things right.
The event was advertised in University departments and professors were asked to invite their students to hear the speakers and come to the informational panel, which he said was the “main event.” Guerra said the daytime event was really a way of advertising for the informational panel
Guerra said that last year, the University put on an informational panel about affirmative action but did not have speakers during the day.
“We learned from past leadership that we can create more awareness if we take it to the students,” he said.
Guerra said awareness about affirmative action is important because it has been under attack for several years. He said some resources for people of color and women have been lost in other states because of the fight against affirmative action.
He said that one of the arguments he often hears about affirmative action is that people of color and women should just “pull themselves up by their bootstraps” to get access to things like higher education and good employment. “There’s a lot of misconception. People feel like it’s a handout.”
Affirmative action does not provide an unfair advantage to anyone, Guerra said. It simply helps give people in underrepresented communities equal access to resources.
Guerra said the University could do more for affirmative action by responding when the subject comes under attack. He said that historically, people of color and women have been marginalized and affirmative action simply levels the playing field.
OSCC is also working on getting two pieces of legislation passed in Oregon. One is for a program called Access to Student assistance Programs in Reach of Everyone.
ASPIRE is a mentorship program currently being run in 86 Oregon high schools. It is designed to reach out to students of color and low-income students and to help them apply and prepare for college. Guerra said that beginning in January, OSCC is going to lobby for the legislature to give $3.1 million in state funds to the program, which is currently funded entirely by grants through the Oregon Student Access Coalition. If passed, the funding would help the program be expanded to 117 Oregon schools.
OSCC is also working on legislation for tuition equity, which would give undocumented Oregon students in-state tuition to state colleges.
Guerra said that currently, students whose parents are undocumented are also undocumented, meaning they have to pay out-of-state tuition. Many students are unable to attend Oregon colleges because they can’t afford to pay the high out-of-state rates, Guerra said. With tuition equity, students who have spent at least three years in Oregon high schools and are working toward becoming citizens will be allowed to pay in-state tuition, he said.
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