Black and Chicano students, while nearly half of California's students, are only 2.9% and 6.8% at UC-Berkeley, respectively. UC-Berkeley must promote equal educational opportunity, not racial segregation, in California. UC-Berkeley has the legal opportunity to do this NOW.
WHEREAS, the latest admissions figures of UC-Berkeley show an alarming decline in underrepresented minority admissions. Black, Chicano, Latino, and Native American students are a majority of California's students, but comprise only 2.9%, 6.8%, 2.5%, and 0.4% of Berkeley's freshmen respectively.
THEREFORE, WE THE UNDERSIGNED:
1. Deplore the decline in underrepresented minority enrollment at the University of California at Berkeley.
2. Stand for full integration of UC-Berkeley and all of American society and for transcending the age-old, racist practice of marginalizing black, Chicana/o, Latina/o and Native American people—UC-Berkeley should not be participating in this practice in any way.
3. Demand that the UC-Berkeley administration employ all means available under the law, taking into account the pro-affirmative-action U.S. Supreme Court decision in Grutter v. Bollinger, to reverse the drop in underrepresented minority enrollment at UC-Berkeley, including greatly expanded recruitment, admissions, and retention efforts and the use of meaningful affirmative action policies.
