Mass. students, faculty protest race practices

AMHERST, Mass. (U-WIRE) - In the second protest of the semester, University of Massachusetts students came together with faculty, five College members, and civil rights leader Anne Braden to make themselves heard last Wednesday afternoon.

Protesting against the recent University decision not to prioritize race in admissions policy, the protest organized by the Black Student Union took place in its traditional starting point - on the steps of the Student Union.

An enthusiastic crowd of about 500 students were in attendance at the protest. One of the most prominent speakers was Ann Braden, a 74-year-old civil rights activist. Braden is from the Louisville, Ky. chapter of the Southern Organizing Committee for Education and Social Justice.

"People are overwhelmed and do not know what to do." Braden suggests that whites make themselves visible as an important first step. "The U.S. moves forward only when the young people move forward."

Braden also said "many whites don't want to think about race and want to sweep things under the rug." She attacked giving admissions on the basis of income saying it "will pit poor whites against blacks. (You) can't separate class and race, because they have been joined since the first slave ships arrived. When blacks get rights, so do poor whites." Braden cited Pell grants and other programs, which African-Americans initiated, as evidence.

Braden's predicts that if the University does not reverse its decision then "in a few years they (UMass administration) will be cutting out everyone but the elites."

John Bracey, professor of Afro-American studies, begged the administration for a moratorium on a decision he called "the most mean-spirited, backward thing they have ever done."

Bracey has been an active faculty member in reversing the University's decision and recently wrote a letter to Chancellor David K. Scott on the matter.

Bracey's proposal for the chancellor is to call on individuals specialized on the matters to come up with other solutions.

Bracey urged students to use pressure to make themselves heard if necessary: "We'll tell them there's a hurricane out of Amherst!"

Billye Smith, a sophomore Afro-American studies major at Amherst College and member of the college's Black Culture House and Black Women's Group, gave the oft-cited depiction of the Five College system as the characters from "Scooby Doo."

Smith immediately got the crowd's attention when she described UMass as Scooby, the dog of the Five College system because of the Chancellor's decision.

Applause erupted when she demanded that the other four colleges stop "dogging UMass."

"The private colleges feel that they don't need to support UMass" because the Boston Latin School decision only affects public institutions, but warns that "decisions will trickle down to all" of the colleges.

"Smith college hasn't had affirmative action for two years," said Smith.

"Students in the private colleges need to question their schools commitment to affirmative action. Have the faculty and administrators taken a stand in support of UMass?"

"Abolishment of affirmative action is less bloody, but murderous all the same. Question your [private] college. It affects you, the Valley, and the next generation."

Speakers at the rally were as diverse as the crowd made up of a mixture of gender, class, race and age.

Michael Tjivikua of the Anti-Racism Coalition attacked the conservative right-wing he feels permeates our thinking. He further attacked Governor Paul Cellucci for his politics and UMass President William Bulger for his long record of hostility to affirmative action, including his opposition to the school busing program METCO.

UMass graduate student Jon Zibbell questioned the audience on the idea of reverse discrimination. "How can you be a reverse racist if you have no power?

"Individual merit was never the basis for success in America, Harvard whites and other Ivy Leaguers get in because of their parents. Blacks have been systematically discriminated against," Zibbell said.

As the audience grew in size and fervor. Marc Kenen of the Student Center for Educational Research and Advocacy (SCERA) continued on. He told the crowd that there is "only safety in numbers, only safe if you are unified".

Once all the speakers had finished, Student Government Association (SGA) President, Salwa Shamapande led the crowd in a march to Goodell chanting "The people united will never be defeated!"

Recapping his participation in the Goodell takeover two years ago, Kenny Toussant?Lacoste, the former president of the Black Student Union (BSU), took command of the protest shouting through a bullhorn.

The Goodell Takeover was a six-day occupation of students protesting the administrations failure to meet the proposals to diversity they promised in 1992.

Continuing to the Whitmore Administration Building, the students marched through the ground floor of the building chanting and banging on the walls as workers watched behind locked doors and windows.

The march then paused continued on to the Admissions Office where the protestors paused on Haigis Mall and decided to confront the newly appointed Interim Admissions Director Vanessa Rivera. However once at the Admissions Office, students found the building locked. One student in the march shouted out in jest "I want my transcript!"

Within minutes, the doors were finally unlocked and students made their way through the building until Rivera addressed the crowd outside the building over the bullhorn. Surrounded by emotional students holding petitions to reverse the admissions decision, Rivera told the crowd "I do appreciate your concern."

As an alum of UMass and faculty member for two years and as the minority engineering director, Rivera said "I understand your questions, some I may be able to answer and some I may not... this is my second day on the job."

Students urged Rivera to sign their petition to undo the recent admissions decision and when Rivera declined, some became tearful and enraged, while others claimed Rivera was not the one to be focusing on, and it should be others such as Assistant Vice Chancellor of Enrollment Services Joe Marshall or Scott.

As mention ran through the march over a possible stop by the Chancellors House, the protestors came upon Scott in his car on Infirmary Way. Surrounding Scott's car, Toussant-Lacoste asked Scott if he wanted to address the crowd, but Scott declined saying the issue was too complex to get into but that he would like to set up a meeting in the future.

Students allowed Scott to drive away and they ended their march by the W.E.B DuBois Library. Kiya Stokes, the Graduate Student senator announced a meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday night in the Colonial Lounge of the Student Union to discuss the issue further.

03-11-99