Diversity:StudentDemandsandInstitutionalCoOption

JessicaHatrickWatson,6/6/16

This paper was written mostly in love and gratitude for all of those before me (student, faculty,
and staff) who have done the labor of changing UCSD into the school it is today. It is not near
perfect, but I recognize that without their work it could be a lot worse. Every single individual
who has done that labor has retained me whether or nottheyknowit.Iespeciallywanttothank
my advisor Dr. Edwina Welch who not only works tirelessly as Director of the Cross Cultural
Center to create what I believe is one of the most radical spaces on this campus, but also has
given me and this paper more love and attention than we probably deserve, and it would not
existwithouther.

Introduction
EverymorningforthepastyearIhavewalkedbyasignonthecenteroftheUniversity of
California San Diegos (henceforth: UCSD) campus advertisingitasaTOP10ETHNICALLY
DIVERSE PUBLIC UNIVERSITY1. This statement seems contradictory to my experience at
UCSD, where Black individuals who make up 14% of the U.S.s population, and 6% of
Californias population only make up 1.8% of UCSDs. Latinx2individualsmakeup16%ofthe
U.S., 38% of California, only make up 11% of UCSDs population. This ability to claim
diversity, andnotjustdiversitybuttop10diversityscaredme,especiallywhenIandsomany
of my friends work so hard to create institutional change for students of color and Indigenous
students3 , and yet despite their touting of diversity, the administration within the institution4
resist the work we do. This ongoing desire for creation and resistance by the administration is
what inspired this paper. Iwantedtounderstandhowtheuniversitysinvestmentinmulticultural
neoliberalism5 works in conversation with the lived experiences of students organizing within

It is referring to this article, http://www.bestcollegereviews.org/features/topethnicallydiversecolleges/ which

placesUCSDasthe11thmostdiverseuniversityintheU.S.Itisthe7thpublicuniversityonthelist.
2
Latinx isthe gender neutral termto referto peoplefromLatinAmericaintheU.S.,byusingagenderneutralterm
ratherthana/oitservestoincludegendernonconforming/agender/genderfluidindividuals.
3
Here, and throughout the paper I separate students ofcolor and Indigenous students not only because not all
Indigenous students identify as students of color, but also to recognize the difference between investing in or
experiencingcolonialismandinvestinginorexperiencingWhitesupremacy.
4
Throughout this paper I use the terms institution and university at all of these timesIamreferringtovarious
combinations of faculty, staff, administration,and students. I am also referringto the historical legacies of trauma
that haunt the physical space and affect not only the daytoday decisions madebutalso the lived expierences of
students. Key to this is understanding whoisandwhoisntallowedintotheinstitutiontostart with, andthenwithin
that,whosallowedtowork.Whatresourcesdotheyhave?
5
Ly T. Nguyen describes neoliberalism as based on classical liberal ideas from Enlightenment thinkers, which
believesin free market, limited and secularized government, deregulated capitalism, and individualsrights toland
and properties. Classical liberals believe that removing government intervention from the market will help
individuals toequally and freely pursuetheir innateeconomic selfinterest andcontributetothecommongood.By
homogenizing nonWhite students as undifferentiated victims, this logic uses neoliberal ideologies of
multiculturalism to continue tojustify White,Western culture as naturally dominant intheU.S.,andothercultures
as lesser cultures that must play along within this powerstructure tosurvive. (Nguyen, Ly T. "Neoliberalism and
HigherEducation."Lecture,ETHN198:SPACESS.E.E.D.Practicum,CA,LaJolla,May3,2016.)
1

and against the university. In my own research on the experiences of students ofcolorinhigher
education, I have used Roderick Fergusons work on the role of the neoliberal agenda inhigher
education to try to center a framework critiquing the role education itself plays in maintaining
the settlercolonial, White supremacist6, heteropatriarchal, capitalist nationstate, and focus on
the activist work that has be done to critique the role that many initiatives aimed at increasing
diversity end up playing in structuring higher education as a space designed for White students.
Through doing so I have attempted to start conversations towards understanding: How do
diversity initiatives and programs reproduce settler colonial White supremacy? Whatalternative
spaces for students of color and indigenous students are being/have been produced? How have
these alternative spaces been coopted to fit settler colonial White supremacy?Andfinally,how
have they been compromised, negotiated, and transformed to fit the Institutions neoliberal
agenda? This paper uses UCSD as a case study to understand these questions, looking at both
historicalandcurrentmo(ve)ments7 intheinstitution.
AHandfulofMethodologiesDesignedToCenterHistoryandPresentPerspectives
My overall methodological approach is through viewing UCSD as a case study of a
neoliberal construction of diversity within a Historically White Institution (HWI)8 . In this case
study, I am using two key methods to analyze the institution. In thinking of how the university

When discussing White supremacy throughout this paper I amnot referring to White supremacist organizations
such as the Ku Klux Klan, but the systems and structures that serve to benefit White people and communities
throughout the United States and the Western world. It is also important to note that White supremacy does not
require White bodies to be reproduced. This is especially relevant forUCSD, where Whitestudents make up only
21%ofthestudentpopulation.
7
ThroughoutthispaperIusethephrasemo(ve)mentstorecognize that whilestudentprotestsmayexistin a moment
they are reflective ofa largermovementattemptingtoaddressthe issue,andalmostalways longerlegaciesoflabor
bystudents,faculty,andstaff.
8
As opposed toa Predominantly White Institution,aHistorically White Institutionhasbeenhistoricallyamajority
White institutioneven if it nolongeris. Both Predominantly White Institutions and Historically WhiteInstitutions
are WhiteServing Institutions (WSI) meaning they are designed for White students, regardless of their current
populationdemographics.

currently understands diversity and the needs of HUURS, I feltitbesttosituatetheuniversity

in its historical and sociopolitical context. Because of this, I am doing archivalwork,lookingat
documents from UCSDs Special Collections Library (listed in Appendix A), and for UCSDs
more recent history, I am looking at documents made available online either through various
publicwebsites,oranorganizationsprivatewebsite/googledrive,thathavebeensharedwithme
by a member of said organization (listed in Appendix B). My second methodology istheuseof
discursive analysisofunstructuredinterviewswithvariousadministrativestaff,facultymembers,
alumni,graduatestudents,andundergraduatestudents(listedinAppendixC.).
It is my positionality within my research that led me to use these two methods in the
ways I have. As a White researcher looking at how the institution treatscommunitiesofcolor,I
wanted to remain very conscientious of my relationship with the work I was looking into. That
the time, energy, and labor that created the various initiatives, mo(ve)ments, programs, and
spaces Iwaslookingatwasdonealmostentirelybystudents,staff,andfacultyofcolor,Iwanted
to be aware of how much labor I would be asking them to do by participating in my project. I
also wanted to keep in mind my positionality as an actively political student, and that my
perspectives and critiques of the university may be known by those I was working with.
Knowing that the university relies upon turnover tactics toinstitutionalizeforgetting,andthatas
Avery Gordons work shows this is part of a much largerinstitutionalprojectofthenationstate
to erase history9 I felt it necessary to look through historical documents for what seems to be
from my experiences and knowledge of UCSD, two key turning points in the conversations
surrounding diversity at UCSD: the LumumbaZapata Movement and Black Winter. Historical

Gordon, Avery."Her ShapeandHisHand."InGhostlyMatters: HauntingandtheSociologicalImagination,328.

Minnesota:UofMinnesotaPress,1997.
9

documents, however, are complicated. Not everything is archived, in fact, the various
departmentsareverycarefulaboutwhatgetsarchived.Figuringouttheroleoftheadministration
through administrativedocumentsmeans, notonlyreadingbetweenthelines,butalsoattempting
to read as objectively as possible. Inspired by Anjali Arondekars work I have tried to be
consciousofmyownbias,and,avoidprojectingwhatIwanttofindontowhatIamreading.
Keeping the limitations of archival work in mind I decided to also conduct unstructured
unrecorded interviews.Ifeltthatchoosingtorecordthemwouldchangetherelationshipbetween
the interviewee and myself, as it formalizes the space, and may make someone much more
conscious of what theyre saying, and thus less honest. I wanted honesty, especially from those
in positions of power in the institution. I asked them if they were comfortable with me taking
direct notes, which all were, and typed notes while in the interview, puttinganydirectquotesin
quotation marks. When speaking with students who have worked/are working towards many of
the varying projects Iwantedtokeepinmindthattheworktheyvedoneisalreadyunpaidlabor,
Iwantedtoremaincarefulaboutaskingthemtodomoreunpaidlaborwithhelpingmewritethis.
Whenever possible, I tried to offer some kind of compensation to the students who helped me,
generally buying them lunch or coffee while we met. After doing my research, I realised how
little of it was being includedin myresearch,andalsohowinaccessiblemuchoftheinformation
is, in an attempt to combat this and give back to UCSDs student activist community, I created
an

online

(never

finished)

archival

website,

which

can

be

seen

here:

www.ucsdstudenthistory.weebly.com

I believe in looking attherelationship betweenthehistoricalpastandrecentpastthrough

archival research, as well as present perceptions through the meetings and my own experience,

that I will be able toshowtherelationshipbetweenthesespacesandtheintersecting identitiesof

students. Looking at the role of higher education and the nationstate as spaces designed to
reproduce multiculturalism as a part of the neoliberal exploitation of poor and working class
communities of color across the world requires both a broad and specific outlook. ThisiswhyI
decided to use UCSD as a casestudy within a much larger discussion of the varying kinds of
value given to communities of color and Indigenous communities across the United States. The
information I was looking for was often erased through turnover tactics, or misplaced. Though
using official archival documents, and unofficial perspectives I feel I have been best able to
recreate the narratives of how these spaces came to be, and how they came to become a part of
theuniversitysideaofwhatdiversityshouldbe.
HistoricalContext
UCSD was established in 1960 and arose among two leading U.S. discourses. Firstly, it
was establishedinthemidstoftheColdWarwhentheNuclearArmsRacehadjustbegun,itwas
designed as an investment in U.S. and Californian militarism10 . Not only was the intent to
provide instruction in the sciences, mathematics andengineering,butthecampusitselfwasbuilt
on Camp Matthews, a fiftyyear old U.S. Marine Corps military base. Secondly, it was built
during a time of international decolonial unrest, and national racial unrest with multiple
countries having gained independence across the world, and the gains of the Civil Rights
Movement being viewed as not moving fast enough (leading to the emergence of more radical
political organizations such as the Black Panther Party). These two discourses were of course
interlinked, both products of the Second World War and in partarealizationofthehypocrisyof

10

"CampusTimeline."CampusTimeline.AccessedJune04,2016.http://ucsd.edu/timeline/.

the Western critique of fascism. The founders of UCSD were very aware of these progressing
events, and UCSD was designed so as to discourage student activism11 . This of course, has not
anddoesnotstopstudentactivism.
Education in the U.S. has been designed to mirror universities created in Europe during
the 11th and 12th centuries12 . These universities were designed for wealthy, White men, and this
structural investment in classed White heteropatriarchy is still reproduced within higher
education in the U.S.13, this is not an accident, but comes out of the structural design of higher
education itself, meaning while White women and People of Color have since been granted
access to higher education (as students, faculty, and staff), the education system14 itself has not
been changed to become accessible to them nortoretainthem,itisthesestructuresthatstudents
have had to work within, and as I will discuss in my conclusion, continuetodemandchangeto,
meaning we must question: is our ultimate goal to change the structure or to add a few more
peopletoit?

11

First, there is no questionthatthe land usedecisions surroundingMarshall were tied to theclimate of the late
1960's. Believing thecollege would be dominated byradical "third world" students,manyatUCSDdidnotwantit
"in my backyard" or in thecenterof campus. Second,in responseto increasingculturalconsciousness andseparatist
philosophies of the 60's, the third college planners wanted to be somewhat isolated from the other colleges..
(Aguilar, Patricia. The UCSD Master Plan and Its Antecedents: A History ofPhysicalPlanningattheUniversityof
California,SanDiego.UniversityPlanningAssociates,1995.)
12
Robson, David W. Educating Republicans: The College in the Era of the American Revolution, 17501800.
Westport,CT:Greenwood,1985.Print.
13
It does so through investing in the following structures: (a) Individualism: Without communities, thancan beno
structural discrimination, only personal effort. (b) Colorblind Racism: reaffirmation of race not playing a role in
individualslives/accessto resources,asseen through the passing of Prop 209.(c) Multiculturalism:definedinFN
5. (d) Diversity: A method of capitalizingon the representation of studentsofcolorsbodies inaspacethatisbuilt
on their ongoingexclusions.(e)Tokenism:Minoritizedscholarsbeingarchivedandincludedforshow.(Nguyen,
Ly T. "NeoliberalismandHigherEducation."Lecture,ETHN198: SPACESS.E.E.D.Practicum,CA,LaJolla,May
3,2016.)
14
Simply put, an education system comprises everything that goes into educating publicschool students at the
federal, state, or community levels:Laws, policies, and regulations Public funding, resource allocations, and
procedures for determining funding levels State and district administrative offices, school facilities, and
transportation vehicles Human resources, staffing, contracts, compensation, and employee benefits Books,
computers, teaching resources, and other learning materials. ("Education System Definition." The Glossary of
EducationReform.2013.AccessedJune04,2016.http://edglossary.org/educationsystem/.)

In 1964, UCSD accepted its first class of 181 first years15, all White. A year later seven
students of color16 enrolled in the University, and by 1967, the Black Student Caucus (B.S.C.)
and the Mexican American Youth Association (M.A.Y.A.) had been formed17 . This shows that
from the beginning of their presence on campus, students of color have understood the
Universitys lackofengagementintheirneeds,andthatthelaborofretentionworkwouldfall on
their shoulders. What arose from these two organizations, alongside an international rise in
militant power, decolonial, and antiwar movements, was the LumumbaZapata Movement18. In
1968, members of the B.S.C. and theM.A.Y.A.alongsideradicalAsian/PacificIslander(API)19 ,
Native, and White students formed a coalition demanding the naming ofthealreadyinprogress
Third CollegeasLumumbaZapataCollege,theirlistofdemands(inAppendixD.)highlighted
the need for increased access and retention work for students of color20, a reorganization of
power21, and an engagement in the national issues affecting communities of color22. By making
these connections thestudentsinvolvedintheLumumbaZapataMovementwereabletoconnect
theirexperiencesofeducationtoglobalchange.

15

Stadtman,VerneA.TheUniversityofCalifornia,18681968.NewYork:McGrawHill,1970.
FourofthesestudentswereBlack,whiletheremainingthreewereMexicanAmericanEstrada,Mike,and
MarshaHarris.TheHistoryofThirdCollege.1979.UnpublishedDocument,LaJolla.
17
B.S.C.M.A.Y.A., LumumbaZapata College Unpublished Document. 1969. La Jolla. Is referenced in Eve
Charfauross first draft of her 14 page research paper on minority student participation in Third College activities
(found in UCSD Special Collections: RSS 1130, Box 44, Folder 21: Ethnic Studies Proposal for xerox use only
1/31/90).
18
ThedemandswerewrittenprimarilybythengraduatestudentAngelaDavisandDr.KeithLowe.
19
Throughout this paper I use API to refer to individuals with origins in any of the Indigenous peoples of Asia
(including Southwest Asia and parts of Euroasia e.g.Individualsfrom theIndigenousgroupsofEasternRussiaor
Siberia, or Rromani individuals who chose toalsoidentifyasAsian)and thePacificIslands.Mydefinitiondoesnot
include Europeans who colonized parts of Asia, e.g. European Jewish individuals who colonized/continue to
colonizePalestine.
20
Theydemandedacollegemadeupof35%Black,35%Chicano,and30%Otherstudents.(AppendixA.)
21
They demanded a Boardof Directors where students held threeseats,afacultymemberone, andtheprovostone,
andallheldequalvoteoverallmatterswithinthecollege.(AppendixA.)
22
They demanded classes on revolution, analysis of economic systems, urban and rural development,
communications,culturalheritage,andwhitestudies.(AppendixA.)
16

Framing Diversity: Understanding LumumbaZapata Movement and the Compton

Cookout
The next piece of student activism that would drastically change how the institution
understands diversity didnt happen for fortytwo years. WhiletheLumumbaZapataMovement
emerged alongside international and national movements,theComptonCookoutcameinatime
of supposed postraciality in the U.S., according to dominant discourse, the inauguration of
Barack Obama on January 20th, 2009endedracismintheUnitedStates.However,ifweputthis
in conversation with Derrick Bells work on racial realism23 , we can understand the idea that
every supposed step forward towards equality is met withequalbacklashintheU.S.,notonlyis
this seen now with theriseofDonaldTrumpas theRepublicanPresidentialCandidate,butitcan
also be seen in 2010, when on February 15th, Pi Kappa Alpha (Pike) held a Compton Cook
Out party in which they asked partygoers to perform misogynoiristic24 and harmfully
stereotypical idea of blackness including invited women to dress as ghetto chicks25. Students,
led by the Black Student Union (B.S.U.) responded en masse, over the following quarter,
hundreds of students marched, attended teachins, attended teachouts, and compiledalistof33
demands addressing the needs of students of color and Indigenous students at UCSD.Thistime
period is generally referred to as Black Winter. The administration agreed to 19 of the
demands and have implemented a variation of them over the past six years. The administration

Bell, Derrick. "Racial Realism." Connecticut Law Review 24, no. 2 (Winter 1992): 36379. Accessed June 4,
2016.
24
MisogynyaimedatBlackwomen.
25
It then went on toexplain that Ghetto chicks have a very limitedvocabulary, and attempt to makeup for it,by
forming new words, such as constipulated, or simply cursing persistently, or usingother typesofvulgarities,and
making noises, such as hmmg!, or smacking their lips, and making other angry noises, grunts, and faces. A
screenshotofthefullinvitationcanbeseenhere:
https://stopracismucsd.wordpress.com/2010/02/19/screengraboforiginalcomptoncookouteventanothersimilarly
themedevent/
23

10

responded by holding individuals accountable rather than addressing it as a systemic issue26.

Through doing so, the institution reproduces the neoliberal investment in individualism (as
detailed in FN 5) and refuses to take accountability for its role in the reproduction of White
supremacy,andheterosexism.
The reason I highlight these two mo(ve)ments, isthewaysinwhichtheybothdrastically
impacted how the institution understands the needs of students of color and matters of
diversity. The LumumbaZapata Movement and the Compton Cookout reveal the importance
of student activism to create successful communitybased projects that serve historically
underserved and underrepresented students(HUURS)27inhighereducation.We alsoseethrough
the comparison of the two, the ways in which faculty and staff cooperation affect outcome, as
well as the importance of faculty, staff, and student understanding of campus climate and of
experiences of HUURS students. Bother movements were fundamental totheprogressionofthe
understanding of diversity withinUCSD,andinbothcasesweseethedemandswerecooptedin
order to become more palatable for the administration. Even when met, the implementationand
integration ofthedemandsintothe power structureoftheuniversityaredoneinsuchaway soas

26

TheTeachInputs the blame for racismonourstudents.Itexoneratestheteachersoftheirroleinperpetuating

a poor campus climate.If our administration refuses to take responsibility fora toxiccampusclimate, forourshare
in the disrespect of AfricanAmerican, Native American, and other excluded communities, then why would we
expect our students to act differently? If our administration deals with collective problems by disavowing
individuals, then why would we expect students to actdifferently?Ifour administrationissilentaboutitsownpoor
track record in race and community relations, then why wouldwe expect studentsto act differently?( Yang, K.
Wayne. The Problem Is Not (just)the Party. The Problem Is the Party Line.: An OpenLettertotheUCSanDiego
Community. Stopthe Racism, Sexism,andHomophobia atUCSanDiego(blog),February23,2010.AccessedJune
6,2016.https://stopracismucsd.wordpress.com/.)
27
Throughout this document I use the termhistorically underserved/underrepresentedstudents(HUURS)torefer
to the students that higher education was not designed for. This includes all students of color including many
historically categorized as White poor and working class White students, Muslim students, undocumented
students, and queer and trans students. By students of color I mean individuals who identify with any of the
following racial or ethnic labels: African, Alaska Native, Asian,Black,Indigenous,NativeAmerican(regardlessof
whether they are federally recognized), Latinx, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, South West Asian and North
African(SWANA).

11

to avoid addressing theoriginalreason forthedemands.Inbothmo(ve)ments,thedemandswere

coopted by the institution to become more palatable to their understandings of diversity at the
time. This ties back to Fergusons ideas of the institution beingstructuredinsuchawaysoasto
makestructuralchange(whichiskeytobothsetsofdemands)impossible.
The role of the student in a studentinitiated and studentrun movement is important not
only to the LumumbaZapatamovement,butalsowithinmorerecentstudentorganizedcreations
28

. Thisdesireforstructuralchangecanbeseenmostobviouslyinthedemandsforaccountability

and the reorganization of power29 . In the January 1971 issue of theThirdCollegeBulletin(later

the LumumbaZapata Bulletin) the students write, There are two assumptions underlying the
disciplinary procedures. 1. Third College, which includes all students, faculty, and staff, is
capable of handlingviolationsorreportsofviolationsonthepartofitsmembersbythemembers
of Third College. 2. Students are capable of taking care of disciplinary casesparticularly those
of a less serious nature., later in January 1972, the students formed foot patrols in response to
dorms being robbed.Thishandlingofdisciplinaryproceduresalongsidetheirdemandforstudent
representation within Third Colleges Board of Directors is reflective of the movements
understanding of the need for student representation and student power in the making of
decisionsforstudents.
Upperlevel administration have historically been extremely unsupportive of student
activism, after the release of the LumumbaZapata Movements demands, Chancellor William
McGill addressed a letter to Assemblyman John Stull where he wrote they needed to set up

28

Such as the Student Promoted Access Center for Education and Service (SPACES) A studentiniatated and
studentrunorganizationthatdoesaccess,retention,andyieldworkforHUURS.
29
The governing body of LumumbaZapata College shall be the Board of Directors and shall consist of two
students, one faculty member and the provost.fromtheLumumbaZapataCollege: B.S.C.M.A.Y.A.Demands for
theThirdCollege,UCSD(March14,1969).

12

liaison with the City Managers office and the San Diego Police authorities in anticipation of
possible developments on campus30 , rather than planning to negotiate with the
LumumbaZapata student organizers, McGill prepared to respond with violence31 . This is also
visible in the 1970 University wide investment in AntiRiot legislation, which allowed the
university to take away financial aid if a student was involved in a riot even if it was
offcampus32. This legislation was of course not just addressing the LumumbaZapata
Movement, but addressing the statewide antiwar rioting and UC Berkeley's Free Speech
Movement however it defined riot as a use of force, threat of force, seizure of property, or
prevention of faculty,staff,orstudentsfromenteringabuilding33 ,andwasbackdatedtoinclude
events that happened prior it being passed in 1970. It meant many students who participated in
the LumumbaZapata Movement suddenly lost their financial aid and thus ability to attend
UCSD34. Shortly after, Dr. Jack Douglas who had systematically spread rumors to the media
about the LumumbaZapata Movement and Third College35 , become Assistant to Chancellor
William McElroy. Douglas went on to start the UCSD branch of Save The University an
organization dedicated to ending all politicalization of the University36, and he joined a

30

UCSDSpecialCollections:RSS1,Box28,Folder4LThirdCollege,GeneralCorrespondence,1969.
This website: http://mappingpoliceviolence.org/ shows the connections between the police and systematic
violence against the Black community, what we sometimes forget isthatthesystematicmurderandbrutalizationof
communities of color eitherdirectly or indirectly (through things such as the incarceration of men of color) is not
new, we long hadlegalviolenceagainstBlackcommunities,inthe60sthis violencebecameextralegal(thoughwith
many police officers continuing these acts of violence offduty, e.g. the long documented relationship between
policeforcesandtheKKK)andinthe80sand90srevertedbacktolegalviolence.
32
UCSDSpecialCollections:RSS1,Box1,Folder1:AdministrationSystemwide:AntiRiotLegislation,
19701971
33
UCSD Special Collections: RSS 1, Box 1, Folder 1: Administration Systemwide: AntiRiot Legislation,
19701971
34
This included multiple students who by that point had entered UCSDs medical school. (UCSD Special
Collections:RSS1,Box1,Folder1:AdministrationSystemwide:AntiRiotLegislation,19701971.)
35
UCSDSpecialCollections:RSS1,Box29,Folder1:ThirdCollege,GeneralCorrespondence1/709/70.
36
Found in UCSDSpecialCollections:RSS1,Box 60,Folder4:CommitteesandCouncilsSystemwide:SaveThe
University,19701971
31

13

nationwide organization called Faculty for Academic Responsibility37 . Both organizations

focusedonremovingcommunist/socialist/progressiveliberalideologiesfromacademia.
This institutional investment in conservative and capitalistic academia is reflected in the
use of turnover tactics38 and longterm dismantling of the LumumbaZapata Movements
structurethathasresultedinThirdCollegebecomingThurgoodMarshallCollege.AsFigure1
shows,whileforthefirstcoupleofyears,ThirdCollegeremainedclosetothe35:35:30ratioof

Figure1.RaceinThirdCollege19701982
student representation as demanded for Third College (demands can be seen in Appendix D.),
this was swiftly dismantled.. The discursive justification from the board of directors/institution
was under the reasoning that there were simply not enough Black or Chicano students passing

37

Ibid.
Whereinadministrationcanwaitforstudentstograduateoutandanissuetobeforgottenaboutratherthandeal
withsaidissue.
38

14

admissions criteria to each fillthe35%populationdemand.Inlightofthis,studentsattemptedto

address the supposed difference in K12 educational readiness of Black, Chicano, and White
students through proposing the creation of a five year B.A. program,withthefirstyearspenton
catching students up on the education their K12 education hadfailedtoprovide,orthe creation
of a Learning Skills Center39 , However, despite the concerned students efforts UCSD
administration did not agree to either. This reasoning of the students being able to meet UC
requirements, shows the ways in which Meritbased constructs fail to address structural
inequalityandaccesstoresources.
The student investment in the LumumbaZapata demands was slowly removed notonly
through a refusal to invest in the education of Black and Chicano students, but through
continuing the universitys investment in the sciences and Western dominant knowledge
production. While the LumumbaZapata movement demanded educational programs that would
work for communities of color within aWhite supremacist,heteropatriarchal,colonial,capitalist
nationstate, administration were only willing to giveatokenisticrepresentationofdiversitythat
continued to partake in these systems of structural oppression. This can particularly be seen in
looking at the changing General Education requirements (in Appendix E.) from 1967 to 1978.
The first two GE lists were written in 1967, prior to the LumumbaZapata Demands being
released, the requirements drastically changed in response to them. However, over the next few
years, there is a deemphasis of Communications, Third World Studies, and Urban & Rural
Planning (all departments/programs that came out of the LumumbaZapata Demands) and a
reinvestmentinthesciencesandeconomics40 .

UCSDSpecialCollections:RSS1,Box29,Folder1:ThirdCollege,GeneralCorrespondence1/709/70.
UCSDSpecialCollections:RSS1130,Box44,Folder27:G.E./GraduationRequirements,19671981

39
40

15

ReexaminingDiversityPolicy
The fact that despiteUCSDsrefusaltoaddressnationwidesystemsofoppression,thirty
years later it is able to brand itself as a top 10 diverse public university calls for a greater
understanding of why it is able todoso.Oneofthekeyreasonsisbecauseofrisingimmigration
patterns from Asia to the West Coast after theendoftheextremelyOrientalist41ColdWar42 .Dr.
Angela KongsPhDdissertationReexaminingDiversityPolicyatUniversityofCalifornia,San
Diego: The Racial Politics of Asian Americans goes into detail of the roleofAsianAmericans
at UCSD, addressing how their constructionasboththemodelminorityandtheyellowperil
allows UCSD to function as a White Supremacist institutionwhileWhitestudentsmakeuponly
21% of the undergraduate student body.43 Her work shows that Asian American students while
granted minority status outside the university, arenotgrantedthesamesocialstatuswithinthe
university as they make up a numerical majority44. UCSDs ongoing refusal to disaggregate
statistics on API students means that the different issues of Southeast Asian students cannot be
addressed. Kong also works to critique the capitalist notion of success being only understood
through standardized test scores, gradepoint averages, and college attainment (18). Despite
UCSD not being a Predominantly White Institution (PWI), its role as a Historically White

41

Orientalismisastyleofthoughtbaseduponanontologicalandepistemologicaldistinctionmadebetween"the
Orient"and(mostofthetime)"theOccident."Thusaverylargemassofwriters,amongwhomarepoets,novelists,
philosophers,politicaltheorists,economists,andimperialadministrators,haveacceptedthebasicdistinction
betweenEastandWestasthestartingpointforelaborateaccountsconcerningtheOrient,itspeople,customs,
"mind,"destiny,andsoon....thephenomenonofOrientalismasIstudyitheredealsprincipally,notwitha
correspondencebetweenOrientalismandOrient,butwiththeinternalconsistencyofOrientalismanditsideasabout
theOrient....Despiteorbeyondanycorrespondence,orlackthereof,witha"real"Orient(Said,EdwardW.
Orientalism.NewYork:VintageBooks,1979.23).
42
Iwillnotbegoingintothecomplexitiesofwhatledtothisincreaseasmuchhasbeenwrittenonthesubject
regardingimmigrationpatternsandaccesstoeducation.
43
http://studentresearch.ucsd.edu/_files/statsdata/enroll/ugethnic.pdf
44
Thatis,astudentnumericalmajority.APIindividualsdonotmakeupamajorityoffacultyorstaff.

16

Institution (HWI) is visible through its monetary, academic, research, psychologicalandstudent

bodyinvestments.
An Intersectional Theoretical Framework for Studying Students of Color and Indigenous
StudentsinHigherEducation
Research on race in higher education is often centered on students ability to assimilate
withinhighereducationratherthantheirabilitytocritiqueandproducetheirownknowledge45.A
key part of disinvesting institutions from White supremacist settlercolonial frameworks is to
understand the ways in which different communities experience White supremacy in higher
education today. Andrea Smiths framework of the Three PillarsofWhiteSupremacyshowsthe
ways in which we can understand the differentsystematicenablingofWhitesupremacythrough
capitalism46, colonialism47 , and imperialism48. Homogenizing the experiences of students and
assuming theyre all undergoing the same processes of racialization fails to understand the

45

We see this clearly in the LumumbaZapata Demands for education to address their situation in the various
intersecting systems of oppression as seen in Appendix D., the demanded classes on: Revolutions, Analysis of
Economic Systems, Science and Technology, Health Sciencesand Public Health, Urban and Rural Development,
CommunicationArts,ForeignLanguages,CulturalHeritage,andWhiteStudies.
46
Thecapitalist system ultimately commodifies allworkersone'sownpersonbecomesacommoditythatonemust
sell in the labor market while the profits of one's work are takenbysomeoneelse.Tokeepthiscapitalistsystemin
placewhich ultimately commodifies mostpeoplethe logic ofslavery applies aracialhierarchytothissystem.This
racial hierarchy tells people that as long as you are not Black, you have the opportunity to escape the
commodification of capitalism. Smith, Andrea. "Heteropatriarchy and the Three Pillars of White Supremacy
Rethinking Women of Color Organizing." In The Color of Violence: The Incite! Anthology, edited by INCITE!
WomenofColorAgainstViolence.Brooklyn:SouthEndPress,2006.
47
Thislogic holds that indigenouspeoples must disappear.In fact, they must always be disappearing, in order to
allownonindigenous peoples rightful claimover thisland.Throughthislogicofgenocide,nonNativepeoplesthen
become therightfulinheritors of all that was indigenousland,resources,indigenousspirituality,orculture.Smith,
Andrea. "Heteropatriarchy and the Three Pillars of WhiteSupremacy Rethinking Women of ColorOrganizing."In
The Color of Violence: The Incite! Anthology, edited by INCITE! WomenofColor Against Violence. Brooklyn:
SouthEndPress,2006
48
Imperialism (usingOrientalist logics) marks certainpeoplesornationsasinferiorandasposingaconstantthreat
to the wellbeing of empire. These peoples are still seen as "civilizations"they are not property or
"disappeared"however, they will always be imaged as permanent foreign threats to empire. Smith, Andrea.
"HeteropatriarchyandtheThreePillarsofWhiteSupremacyRethinkingWomenof ColorOrganizing."InTheColor
of Violence: The Incite! Anthology, edited by INCITE! Women ofColor Against Violence. Brooklyn: South End
Press,2006

17

realities of their lives and of structural oppression in the U.S. I have attempted throughout the
paper to make it clear that students of color have intersectional experiencesinhighereducation,
which are affected by more than just their race, and that when much of the research done on
students of colors experiences homogenizes them via their race alone, this functions to erase
the intersectionality of their lives that includes the class gender, gender identities, and other
salientidentitiesthatimpacttheirexperience..

With this in mind, the main framework used by the six texts on raceinhighereducation

that I have incorporated into my own research is their use of qualitative researchthatallowsfor
thevoicesofstudentstobeheard,ratherthansimplyinvestinginquantitativeresearch.The work
of MichelRalph Trouillot is helpful in understanding how I have chosen to narrate the past, to
make sure thehistoricalnarrativeincorporatesfactsabout,by,andforstudents49 becauseofthis,
I have focused on the perspectives of students organizers as the truth I wish to portray, while
this may limit the narratives, I believe it allows for a highlighting of a perspective that is often
devalued50. Within this of course, are also my own biases, and what I have chosen to value as
information, who I have chosen to interview, what information I have chosen to include. As a
whole, in looking at the six texts, I found the research very limited in its analysis of race in
higher education. The goal oftheworkwasnottheretentionofstudentsofcolor,butthewaysin
whichWhitestudentscanbenefitfromthepresenceofstudentsofcolor.
The expectation of students of color andIndigenousstudentstodothelaborofeducating
White students, and that being the key benefit to their presence, is anarrativeIwanttocritique.
Through this I hope I have worked to critique ideasofneoliberalmulticulturalism,and theways
49

Trouillot,MichelRolph.SilencingthePast:PowerandtheProductionofHistory.Boston:BeaconPress,1997.
Such as in William McGills telling of the late60s studentactivism on the campus in The Yearof the Monkey:
RevoltonCampus196869.
50

18

in which they work to center White students, and the needs of White students. Taking this into
consideration, I have split my data on institutional concepts of diversity and experiences of
student activism into five themes I found while researching. Firstly, thesystematiccooptionby
institutions of spaces designed and made by students, secondly the institutional idea that
diversity in higher education is only necessary so as to benefit White students through an
investment in neoliberal multiculturalism, thirdly the use of administrative tactics in addressing
student activism, fourthly the intercommunity51 divisions and struggles, and finally the
reproduction of settler colonial, heteropatriachal, White supremacist ideologies within the
institution. These five themes of course intersect, and one of the key intersections is through
unpaidlabor52 ,whichIdiscussthroughoutthepaper.
ALiteratureReviewofHigherEducationalTheoryandUCSD
In researching race in higher education (see list in Appendix F.), I found three recurring
logics. Firstly, the use of a WhiteversusOtherframework,thathomogenizesstudentsofcolor
and Indigenous students into one nonWhite group who experience settlercolonial White
supremacy in the same way. Secondly, I found the texts fell into binary logics, firstly by only
understanding Blackness/Latinxness/Indigeneity/etc. constructed by Whiteness, rather than
understanding them as intertwined and mutually constituted frameworks. The researchalsofails
to recognize the intersectional experiences of students of color and Indigenous students, as
experiencing multiple systems of oppression including heteropatriarchy,ableism,andcapitalism

51

Herecommunityreferstothestudentsoncampusinvolvedinorganizingforanddoingtheaccess/yield/retention
laborforHUURS,
52
The everyday work that goes into access, retention, and yield work, e.g. hosting for overnight, organizing High
SchoolConferences,men/fem/qtorshiprelationships,etc.

19

among others. Finally, I found a recurring theme of creating diversity so astobenefittheWhite

studentsratherthanstudentsofcolorandIndigenousstudents.
The current work on race in higher education homogenizes students of color and
Indigenous students into one group who are all experiencing Whitesupremacyinthesameway,
rather than understanding White Supremacy as an intersecting assemblage of structures of
privilege and oppression. While many of the texts recognized individual's racial or ethnic
identities when interviewing them, they would often immediately misidentify them to fulfill the
purposes of the research, and did not address the ways in which different communities of color
are structurallyaffectedindifferentways.InbothNineThemesinCampusRacial Climatesand
Implications for Institutional Transformation by Shaun R. Harper and Sylvia Hurtado and
Influences of Diverse University Contexts on Students Ethnic IdentityandCollegeAdjustment
by Anna M. Ortiz and Silvia J. Santos, the authors ignore how the students they interview
selfidentifyandrefertothemassomethingelsethatfitsintoaneatcategoryoftheirchoice53 .
This is part of a larger theme within the texts that homogenizes all studentsofcolorasa
collective minority group that can be easily categorized, this revealstheinstitutionalpowerto
categorize individuals regardless of how they selfidentify. Ortiz and Santos write, During the
course of the past decade, Americas ethnic minority population has increased dramatically.
(248) However, in the timeframe they are referring to, the Black population had risen by 0.6%
and the Indigenous population had stayed the same. They are in fact referring to the API

53

For example, on page 267, whenanswering questions fromOrtiz and Santos, a studentidentifies themselves as
Mexicanand the report then calls themLatina/o, similarlyonpage278,astudentrefers tothemselvesasFilipino,
and the report classifies them as Asian, this works to erase the different structures of Western imperialism and
colonialism different communities experience that affect their access to resources both prior to and within the
institution. Thus whether they mean to or not, by not offering an explanation for why they do this, the authors
reproduceasettlercolonialframeworkofunderstandingraceintheU.S.

20

population, which has risen from 4.8% of the U.S.sgeneralpopulationin2005to6.2%in2014

54

, and the Latinx population, which has risen from 14.5% in 2005 to 17.3% in 201455 . In

claiming the ethnic minority population to be rising, they are implying this is true of all
communities of color. This claim works to erase the ways in which White supremacy is
structurally reproduced within communities of color, and implies that the experiences of
studentsofcoloraregettingbetterwithrisingnumbers,thoughthisisnotnecessarilytrue.
The homogenization of Black, Latinx, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, and
Multiracial students into one group of nonWhite students buys into a White versus Other
logic. This becomes extremely visible in Theoretical Considerations in the Study of Minority
Student Retention in Higher Education by Laura I. Rendn, Romero E. Jalomo, and Amaury
Nora. They write, [b]iculturation occurred when individuals were simultaneously enculturated
and socialized in two different ways of life (134). They also use the language of
accommodation inreferencetohowcollegesshouldtreatstudentsofcolor, thisworkstoimply
that universities will make small changes/adaptations, but wont work to reorganize or
restructure theinstitutionitself.Indoingso,theauthors arenormalizinguniversitiesasplacesfor
White studentsthatstudentsofcolormayalso attendthisinvestmentmeansthattheyunderstand
diversifyingasnonWhite,ratherthanasacritiqueofWhitesupremacy.

The texts tendtofocusonabinaryanalysisofracerelationsinhighereducation.Indoing

so they fail to understand the complexities of racial projects, and the ways in which the
construction of racial groups in the U.S. is mutually constituted withtheconstructionofgender,
sexuality, class, ability, citizenship status, etc. By ignoring the intersectional experiences of

54

"AmericanFactFinder."AmericanFactFinder.AccessedJune04,2016.http://factfinder.census.gov/.
Ibid.

55

21

students ofcolor,theseresearchprojectswillneverbeabletohaveasignificantunderstandingof
themultipleinfluencesonstudentretention56.

Failing to recognize the intersectional experiences of students of color results in the

continuation of practices invested in White Supremacy. For example, in Clear Pathways to

Student Success by George D. Kuh and associates, the authors repeatedly state the importance
of tradition in creating awelcomingcollegeenvironment,butthisfailstorecognize that HUURS
have traditionally not had access to college. ForHUURS,traditionscanoftenbesomethingthey
cannot financially participate in, or something they do not wish to participate in viarecognition
that they have not traditionally had access tohighereducation.SimilarlyRendn,Jalomo,and
Nora critique involvement theory within higher education. While they recognize that
Involvement theorydoesnotemphasizethefactthatmosttwoandfouryearcollegesaresetup
to facilitate involvement for traditional students. (146) I find that their focus on recognizing
this struggle as a culture clash for students of color is problematic.Theidea ofacultureclash
implies equal power between the cultures. ThepresenceofLatinxstudentsonaPWIcampusfor
example, will often affect the Latinx students cultural experiences (especially if they have
previously lived in predominantly Latinx areas) but, the Latinx students will not have the same
influence on White students or the White power structures on the campus. The idea of culture

For examplein Badges of Inferiority: The Racialization of Achievement inU.S.EducationSonyaD.Horsford

and Tanetha J. Grosland address the ways in which Black inferiority and White superiority in education have
become constructed and naturalized viathe achievement gap and the simultaneous effectsof classed funding of
education. Similarly, in Lest We ForgetThee The Under and Over RepresentationofBlackandLatino Youth
in California Higher Education andJuvenile Justice Institutions AlexesHarrisandWalterAllenmake connections
between higher education,juvenile justiceinstitutions andyouthsocialization intheU.S.Thesetwotextsshowthat,
in understanding connections between class, race, and systems of incarceration, we can better understand the
experiences of specific communities (in this example, poor and working class Black and Latinx communities) and
better understand why their presence in higher education and retentionrates may be lowerthanother groups.As
earlier stated in understanding Whiteness only through bodies rather than structures we erase the role White
supremacy plays in controlling education, making Whiteness an individual erases power structure, and hides the
benefitsthatcomewithWhitesupremacy,suchasculturalcapital.
56

22

clash also fails to understand the different structural oppressions Latinx students mayface,both
oncampusandwithintheirowncommunities.

Disequilibrium and Resolution: The Nonlinear Effects of Diversity Courses on

WellBeing and Orientations toward Diversity by Nicholas Bowman is the text that spendsthe
most time discussing the relationship between race and class, but his work is centered on the
ways in which White students class affects their responsiveness to diversity courses. In failing
to discuss classinrelationshiptostudentsofcolor,thesetextsnaturalizetheideathatallstudents
of color and Indigenous students existwith thesameclassaccess,orlackofaccess,to resources.
By focusing on White students different receptions based on class, Bowman also naturalizes
diversity courses as being for White people by measuring their efficacy in relation to different
groups of White students. Through looking at the piece, we can see that Bowman also fails to
understand the relationship between race and gender. Writing that theeffectsofcoursesfocused
on race and courses focused on genderareoften quite similar(Bowman.2010,550).Insaying
so, Bowman equates the experiences of racism and sexism, buying into the White male versus
other framework, perpetuating the role of neoliberal multiculturalism as a U.S. for White
students notstudentsofcolor.Allsixtextsfailtouseanintersectionallensintheirresearch.This
binary lens works alongside the homogenization of students of color and Indigenousstudentsto
reproduce the settler colonial construct higher education as a place for White, Western,
cisgendered,middleclassmen.
All six texts demonstrate an investment in reproducingthebeliefthathighereducationis
for White students. As I showintheparagraphbelow,thisismostclearinthewaysinwhichthe
research surrounding race in higher education tendstofocusoncreatingdiversityforthesakeof

23

White students, rather than for the benefit of students of color and Indigenous students. The
desire to understand diversity to benefit/educate White students at WhiteServing Institutions
can be seen in most of the research on higher education I did (listed in Appendix. F.), both in
terms of what is expected from diversity courses in Bowmans research (Bowman. 2010, 557),
and with regards to what is expected from students of color and Indigenous students. For
example, in Bowmans research he speaks about the psychological wellbeing of students
without queryingthewaysinwhichmentalhealthresearchnormalizestheWhite experience,and
rarely invests in the mental health of communities of color. Alongside this, Jeffrey F. Milem,
Mitchell J. Chang, and Anthony Lising Antonio look at the labor expected to be performed by
students of color for White students57. In it they write, We do not believe institutions invoke
diversity for the same reasons. The varied institutional agendas surrounding diversity are not
equally beneficial to students, and some are poorly conceived and misguided. (3) They show
that in expecting students to partake in interracial relationships58,studentscanlearnmore about
each others cultures. However, what this actually does is allow White students to learn other
communities cultures. Meaning, while in the U.S. nonWhite students must understand White
culture as a matter of survival, White students may optionally become educated on nonWhite
culture to better their cultural competency. It also means, that often higher education ends up
focusing on theideaofnumericaldiversity59,buyingintotheideathatatsomepointtherewillbe
enoughnonWhitestudentstocreateadiversecampus.

In the Introduction, the chapter Defining Diversity as Engagement, and the Research Synthesis from Making
DiversityWorkonCampus:AResearchBasedPerspective
58
Here I use relationships not torefer to romantic engagements,butallrelationships/bondsformedbetweenpeople
(whetherpositive,negative,orneutral)overoneormoreinteractions.
59
Numerical diversity, is when a space feels they need to reach a certain number of diverse bodies (be that
through race, gender, sexuality, ability, etc.) to be considered diverse, it is very much invested in tokenism as
describedinFN13.
57

24

The role students of color and Indigenous students play in creating a diverse campus in
which White students can flourish and become invested in neoliberal multiculturalism is
particularlyvisibleinKuhetal.swork.Theauthorswriteofvarioustransitionprogramsatthe
institutions that seem to be invested in assimilatory work, changing the student to fit the
institution rather than vice versa but they do not offer a critique of this ideology. In Harper and
Hurtados work theyrecognizetherolecounterspaces(suchasculturalorganizationsorcenters)
can play in retaining students of color and indigenous students, but they go on to write that a
reality is that they often limit interactions between White students and racial/ethnic minorities
(Harper & Hurtado, 12). They continue to advocate for investing in crossracial engagement to
lower racialbiasinWhitestudents,andgosofarastoclaimthatWhitestudentsarelessengaged
with students of color and Indigenous students due to the existence of minority student
organizations (14). This framework places the responsibility of ending structural racism onto
students of color, and positions the spaces theyve created for themselves as working against a
diverseinstitution.Thisworksagaintoplace theburdenonWhiteracistindividualsratherthan
structures of racism, as well as continuing toaskstudentsofcolorandIndigenousstudentstodo
the unpaid labor of educating White students, thus partaking in the capitalist and colonial
neoliberal project of asking those most affected by the structures to do the labor of maintaining
them.
Data:
CooptionofSpaceMaking
In The Reorder of Things: The University and its Pedagogies of Minority Difference,
Roderick A. Ferguson reveals the ways in which the institution is not designed to serve

25

historically underrepresented communities. Ferguson shows how the institution partakes in

adaptive hegemony (6), wherein the structures of power that put Ethnic Studies/Women's
Studies/etc. in place in the academy, did so, so as to enable thecontrollingofthesedepartments
and to prevent economic, epistemological, and political revolutions. This leads the university to
partake in tokenistic representation rather than a redistribution of power or resources. This
framework of understanding higher education is particularly relevant at UCSD. As a HWI,
UCSD functions as an institution reproducing White supremacist ideologies despite having
White students make up only 21% of thestudentbody.TounderstandthereproductionofWhite
Supremacy in a student demographic that is majority API, I have looked at the universitys
relationshiptodemandsfor AsianAmericanStudies.Thefirstiterationofthiswasin1986,when
a group of faculty formed the Advisory Committee For Asian American Studies (ACAAS).
ACAAS was faculty led and student supported. Having recognized the campus growing API
population facultywereworkingtoaddressandsupportstudentsneedsthroughthecreationofan
Asian American Studies minor. However, administration, led by Harold Ticho the Vice
Chancellor of Academic Affairs at the time were institutionally unsupportive60. Despite the

60

As can be seen in Dr. Jim Lins letter to Harold Ticho (dated May 221989,stamped as received on June 7th
1989): DearHarold,/IhavedecidedtoresignasChairof theAsianAmericanStudiesSearchCommittee. Myduties
as chair have simply been too great considering the obstacles I and my committee have encountered. I cite just a
few: / 1. Departmental rejection of Nakano Glenn and Omi despite their having major offers at other major
institutions (U.C. Berkeley and U.C. Santa Barbara), and the signed support on this campus of40 professors who
favor their hiring. / 2. The loss of Sucheng Chan last year, acandidate whoreceived a much betterofferat U.C.
SantaBarbara. / 3. The letter of Nakano Glenn citingthelackoffairplayinthereviewprocessforherfile./4.The
delay on Elaine Kims offer, despite the fact that she was almost unanimously approved by the Literature
Department in late Februaryand thedeadlineforintramuraltransfersisApril1.(Iamtoldherofferhasfinallybeen
sent out today.) / 5. The claims onthepartof theSociologyChair/(a)thatthere wasabsolutelynosupportforOmi
by thePolitical ScienceDepartmentdespiteonehalf ofthedepartmentsigningapetitionindicatingtheirsupportfor
his candidacy, / (b) that Nakano Glenn would not receive an offer from U.C. Berkeleyeven though in reality she
has, / (c) that I failed to advertise even though the duties of advertising for the position were placed under the
jurisdictionoftheSocialScienceDean,/Becausethesecandidatesarerecognizednationallyasthebestintheirfield
and have been treated poorlyby UCSDIcannotingoodfaithimaginethatothercandidatesof similar staturewould
be willing to apply. / Sincerely, / Jim Lin (UCSD Special Collections: RSS 1000, Box 2, Folder 2: Advisory
CommitteeForAsianAmericanStudies(ACAAS)19861989)

26

impressive labor of many of UCSDs API faculty at the time, this included an Introduction to
Asian American Studies course taught by Dr. Jim Lin, a Professor in the Mathematics
department,andthesecuringoffundingandimplementationofaguestlecturesequencebymany
wellknown API scholars and community organizers. While the institution agreed to hire
FullTime Employees for anAsianAmericanStudiesMinor,theinstitutionactivelydrewoutthe
hiring process, never hiring a permanent faculty member61 , and then eventually, after many
members of ACAAS withdrew from the process out of anger and frustration, they incorporated
the theoretical minor into the newly created Ethnic Studies department. In doingso,theyerased
the yearsofhardworktowardscreatingamajoranderased thepossibilityoftheminor,for many
years to come. This is an example of how institutions can use organizational reasoning to
maintainneoliberalstructures.
In 2010, responding to the Compton Cookout, and the rise in recognition of
institutionalized racism, Linda Chang, Irving Ling, Lilianne Tang, and Matt Vu formed the
Coalition for Asian American Studies (CAAS)62. In 2014, Irving Ling revived CAAS as the
Coalition for Critical Asian American Studies (CCAAS) as his Student Initiated Project at the
CrossCulturalCenter,andCCAAShassincebeensupported by multiplefacultymembersinand
outside of the Ethnic Studies department. CCAAS used the VCEDIs 201415 campus climate
meetings to discuss the needs of their organization and released a list of eight demands

61

DespiteUniversityofCalifornia,SantaBarbarahavinghad50applicants(February9th,1989letterfromSucheng
Chan,aVisitingProfessortoHaroldTicho)fortheirPermanentfacultyposition,thehistorydepartmentclaimedthat
intellectualtalentinthisfieldatthesenior(tenured)levelisverythinandthattheirnextFTEsarecommittedto
earlyAmericanhistory,modernSpain,andRomanhistory.Wewouldveryveryloathtosacrificetheseprioritiesfor
theAsianAmericanFTE..(UCSDSpecialCollections:RSS1000,Box2,Folder2:AdvisoryCommitteeForAsian
AmericanStudies(ACAAS)19861989)Thusrevealingthewaysinwhichfacultyandacademicdepartments
partakeinreproducingaWhiteSupremacistinstitution.
62
Meeting with Sandra Amon, February 18th 2016. Conversations on facebook messenger with Irving Ling on
February24th2016andMay1st2016.

27

(Appendix G.) As of May 1st, 2016 they have created one FTE position for Counseling and
Psychological Services, though noone hasbeenhired,andhavecreatedone FTEposition forthe
APIMEDA center, though have not yet hired anyone orassignedthecenteraspace63 .Inlooking
atthehistoryofACAASandthehistory/presentofCCAAS,itsclearto seethatadministrations
response is dependent upon varying levels of faculty/staff/student involvement, it is difficult to
break down exactly how much of each of the three support systems is needed for change to
happen. It is alsoimportanttonote,thatinneither situationdidadministrationviewAPIstudents
as a historically underrepresented group64, nor havetheyhadanysenseofurgencyrespondingto
their demands, this is because another key tactic administration are able to use when handling
student demands, is patience. Administration aregenerallyinaninstitutionformuchlongerthan
students, not only can they use turnover tactics, but they can claim something isnt their
responsibility, or is the responsibility of another department, and lacking longterm institutional
knowledge,studentscannotprovethemwrongorholdanyoneaccountable.
Key to neoliberalismistheexploitationoftheworkingclassandtheusageofun(der)paid
labor. Through relegating the access/retention/yield work to thestudents,theexpectationisthat
administrative responsibility for student demands should be fulfilled (unpaid) by the students

63

Conversation on facebook messenger with Yahya Hafez on May 1st 2016. They have also partially worked
towards some of theother demands. They have partially disaggregated the data for API community, but nottothe
extent demanded by CCAAS. They created an API Resource Lifebook for Welcome Day. However, none of the
demandshavebeenfulfilled.
64
On March 4th, 1988 the Committeeon Educational Policywrote a letter toHaroldTichowheretheystatedWe
do not believe that a long discussion on this point has been fruitless: we have come to understand that Asian
American Studies is not a political issue. The program should be established because it addresses genuine
intellectual issuesandhasestablisheditselfasapromisingfieldof researchinthe socialscience,humanities,andthe
arts, (UCSD Special Collections: RSS 1000, Box 8, Folder 6: Asian American Studies 19841989) this
depoliticalization of issues surrounding students of color is consistent with Fergusons analysis of the neoliberal
investment in multiculturalism, and a focus onrepresentation rather than redistribution. In claimingthisnottobea
politicalissue,the institution separates the needs of students of color in thiscaseAPIstudentsfromthe national
andinternationalpoliciesthatcontinuetorenderAPIindividualsalienintheU.S..

28

making the demands. This expectation of the student to fulfill unpaid administrative
responsibilitiesthroughstudentorganizationssuchasCCAAScreates unevenpowerdynamicsin
terms of their ability to do the work, and to implement the work65 . Key to CCAAS is its
relationship with the ComptonCookout.ComptonCookoutwasunderstoodbybothstudentsand
(eventually) administration as a time of crisis. Thus, when CCAAS later reached out to
administration, they understood the context and possible results of ignoring student needs, and
were responsive, expressing willingness to negotiate from the outset. However, the expectation
of students to be able to perform administrative work through committees became apparent.
During both sets of negotiations, two structural disparities manifested: firstly, students had
limited time, students were already doing the work of retaining themselves, studying, often
working (as students of color are disproportionately poor and working class66 ) and secondly,
they lack the institutional knowledge ofhowpoliciesandprocedureswork.Administrationwork
on much larger timeframes than students (who are generally here for 26 years), thus they are
able,whetherpurposefullyornot,touseturnovertacticstowaitoutstudentdemands.
A formation of the ways in which smaller sidespaces are reproduced is through the
Community & Resource Centers. The Black Resource Center (BRC), InterTribal Resource
Center (ITRC), and Raza Resource Centro (RRC) all came out of the Compton Cookout, and
while they do a lot of fantastic access, yield, retention, and organizing work, they are forced to
work within the same system that necessitates their work.. They must adheretoneoliberalideas
of what valuable work is, producing quarterly reports67 and programs that adhere to the

65

MeetingwithDr.JodyBlanco,March1st2016.
This article does a good job of explaining class within the API community:
http://reappropriate.co/2014/10/howbothbilloreillyandjonstewartgotitreallywrongonasianprivilege/
67
CampusCommunityCenters.CampusCommunityCenters.AccessedJune06,2016.
http://diversity.ucsd.edu/centers/index.html.
66

29

universitys investments in colonialism, militarism, and imperialism, suchastheBRCsCoffee

With A Cop program that instead of addressing the fact that Black student have historically
been more harassed by police on campus than any other student group, asked them to do the
labor of building relationships across administrative and security structures. The continued
funding of a police department (alongside ResidentialSecurityOfficersandCommunityService
Officers), as anarmofthenationstatesystematicallyinvestedinthemurderandincarcerationof
people of color (especially Black men), is an example of the institutions refusal to partake in
structuralchange.
A final example of a smaller spaces being created that are aimed at the retention and
political education surrounding communities of color can be seen in the Dimensions of Culture
(DOC) program in Marshall College. Third College (now Marshall College) has had a writing
program since the mid 70sthatfocused on argumentratherthancontentinthelate1980s68there
was a shift in the intentofthecourse, wellmeaningfacultywantedtochangethecurrentwriting
program to recapture the values of the LumumbaZapataMovement69 ,and addressthewaysthat
Dr. Joseph Watson, as a representative of the institution and its investment in neoliberal
ideologies, had succeeded intheerasureoftheLumumbaZapataMovementscritiquesofWhite
supremacy within the institution and nationstate. However, as previously discussed, neoliberal
privatization began to affect the University of California more and more throughout the 1990s,
and Prop 209 was passed in 1996, the college grew further and further away from these values.
The Black and Latinx populations drastically dropped70,andinformationbeingtaughtwithinthe

68

MeetingwithDr.JeffGagnononFebruary26th,2016.
Themostobvious connection being withthe general educationrequirementdemands,suchas anunderstandingof
revolutionsandWhitesupremacy.
70
MeetingwithDr.JorgeMariscalonJanuary26th2016.
69

30

DOC series becamecooptedandmoreandmoreconservative. Forexample,the secondcoursein

the series Justice became centered on teaching the history of the Supreme Court rather than
workingtounderstandthewaysinwhichlegalityisasociallyproducedideology71.
A large part of why this was able to happen, was the lack of student input in the
discussions around the creation of DOC as a course requirement for Third College students72 .
Faculty inspired by the rise of EthnicStudiesand SecondWaveFeminismwantedstudentstobe
able to talk about social justice issues. Thus, it had a very different founding from the
LumumbaZapata Movement, it came from within the institution, and was thus never under
student control. In 2006, the graduate students working as teaching assistants for DOC became
more and more dissatisfied with the program, they understood the intent and meaning of the
program had shifted from a Third World studies construct to an increasing investment in
neoliberalism. There was the feeling that most of the content of the course was shallow, and
included little historical analysis of race/class/gender in the U.S., TAs felt they wereattempting
to analyze issues of inequalityandinjusticewithoutanysociohistoricalcontext,thisresultedina
lot of bootstrap ideology73. Students formed the LumumbaZapata Coalition which demanded
a restructuring of DOC with five foci: that the program return to the original principles of the
DOC curriculum that they hire staff, faculty, and TAs whose academic training suits the
program, with an emphasis on recruiting people of color to work in the program that a
studentcentered advisory committee be established that the program be demilitarized and that
therewouldbeanimprovementuponDOCsextracurricularevents74.

MeetingwithDr.JeffGagnononFebruary26th,2016.
MeetingwithDr.JeffGagnononFebruary26th,2016.
73
MeetingwithDr.JeffGagnononFebruary26th,2016.
74
http://improvedoc.blogspot.com/2007/05/lumumbazapatacoalitiondemands.html
71
72

31

Dr. Jorge Mariscal began teaching in DOC during this transformative time, and in 2011
became director of the program. He and Dr. Jeff Gagnon, among others have been constantly
working to keep the program tied to the values of the LumumbaZapata Movement while
keeping thecourserelevanttoissueshappeningin2016.Dr.GagnonandIdiscussedmanyofthe
issues around trying to maintain a social justice program within Marshall College. DOC thus
functions as an example of how UCSDs administration are able to use the program as an
example of how the institution invest in teaching diversity without any structural change to the
institution itself. UCSDs financial and emotional investment in STEM (and through STEM the
military industrial complex) works to devalue writing and social justice focused programs,
including the demands of the LumumbaZapata Coalition. Alongside this, DOCs primary
mission as a writing program also heavily limits what work the department can do towards
institutional change75. It is often very difficultto findTAsandfacultywhohaveexperiencewith
both writing and social justice programs. In looking at the past and present of DOC we can see
the way the institution used turnover tactics to transform DOC to something less radical, and
how the institution itself has been designed to make radical thought, and the involvement of
HUURS difficult. We can also see how studentinputandinitiativeisnecessaryforaprogramto
accuratelyrepresenttheneedsofthestudentsandtohelpcreatepocketsofsocialjusticecentered
spacewithinastructurallyneoliberalanddestructiveinstitution.
FocusonthebenefitsofdiversityforWhiteStudents
One of the spaces this becomes clearest is the ways in which administration use the
structuresoftheuniversityto theiradvantage.Studentshavelongdemandedanincreaseinhiring

75

MeetingwithDr.JeffGagnononFebruary26th,2016.

32

faculty of color/faculty willing to teach a critical understanding of communities of color76 . In

looking at the UC system historically, we can see that administration have involved themselves
in the hiring/firing of faculty members77, however, when it comes to negotiating with students
admin will claim field/departmentbased changes are an issue thedepartmentsmustdealwithor
their autonomywillfeelthreatened.Mostacademicdepartmentwilltelladministrationfiveyears
in advance, what their priorities are goingbe,andhistoricallyunderrepresentedcommunitiesare
rarely a high priority78. This refusal to recognize a need for redistribution of tenured faculty
positions to radical academics of color reveals an institutional understanding of knowledge as
something that cannot be reproduced without aninvestmentinWhiteSupremacy(eitherthrough
White bodies, or through an investment in Western colonial and capitalist knowledge
production).
Key to this reproduction of representativebutnotredistributiveeducationforhistorically
underrepresented students, is a an investment in neoliberal multiculturalism. The fact that the
three most disproportionately underrepresented groups at UCSD79 haveresourcecenters80aimed
at their communities, reveals the institutions understandingofthesupposedneedsandsolutions
for HUURS. In terms of how the administrationthink aboutthesecommunitiesandtheirneeds,
76

Consideringtherecentdecisionbyadministrationtoonlyhire1FTfacultymemberforevery3thatleave,thishas
becomeevenmoredifficult(MeetingwithDr.JodyBlanco,March1st2016).
77
One of the most wellknown examples being the attempt to fire Dr.AngelaDavis. Afterworkingasapartofthe
LumumbaZapata Movement at UCSD,Davis was hired to workat UCLA. Chancellor McGill tried tomake sure
UCLA didnt hire,butshehadalreadysignedthe paperwork(UCSDSpecialCollections:RSS1,Box247,Folder6:
Angela Davis Journal by Chancellor William McGill). On the day Davis announced that she had been hired by
UCLA as a graduate student, an FBI informant declared heramemberofthecommunistparty.Atthe time, theUC
Regents still prohibitedthe employmentof members ofthe Communist Party.(via a UC policy installed in1940).
Despitethisbeing understoodasanantiquatedpolicythathad not beenimplementedinmanyyears,andthefactthat
the Regents had taken action in April 1969 barring political tests in the appointment and promotion of faculty
(UCSD Special Collections: RSS 1, Box 247, Folder6: Angela DavisJournal by ChancellorWilliam McGill) the
UCRegentsvotedforherdismissal(19yes,2abstains).
78
MeetingwithDr.JodyBlanco,March1st2016.
79
Blackstudents,Indigenousstudents,andLatinxstudents.
80
TheBlackResourceCenter,theInterTribalResourceCenter,andtheRazaResourceCenter

33

they seem to understand API students as physically overrepresented on the campus by their
bodies and thus refuse to acknowledge them as a historically underrepresented community and
view Black, Indigenous, and Latinx students as marked on campus through the presence of
centers andartwork81andthusdonotseetheneedto furtheraddresstheirneedsorwork towards
raising the population. As previously mentioned, a large part of this is because Black,
Indigenous, and Latinx students are more likely to be disproportionatelypoorandworkingclass
in the U.S.82 .83 Through doing so the institution reproduces neoliberal ideas of multiculturalism
andtokenism(definedinFN13).
This focus on representation by administration while students are demanding
redistribution of power is one of the key divides in how students needsareaddressedwithinthe
institution. Because of their focus on representational politics, historically underrepresented
communitiesareoftenunderstoodthroughcategoricalratherthancoalitional politics.Thiscanbe
seen in particular through the institutions lack of support to the Student Affirmative Action
Committee84 and the historical criminalization of radical students. PostCompton Cookout the
universityestablishedCampusClimateMeetings85asaspacewherestudentsofcolorcouldvoice
their experiences to administration, however these meetings stopped with noformalexplanation

81

SuchastheBlackLegacyMuralandtheChicanoLegacyMural
This is not to say all Black/Latinx/Indigenous folks are poor/working class, or that allAPI and White folksare
middle/upperclass,justthattheirstatisticallikelihoodofbeingsointheU.S.istiedtotheirrace/ethnicity.
83
For more information on the role of neoliberalism within the UC system I recommend Neoliberalism,
Militarization,andthePriceofDissent:PolicingProtestattheUniversityofCaliforniabyFarahGodrej.
84
The Student Affirmative Action Committee consists of eight core orgs: Asian & Pacific Islander Student
Association, Black Student Union, Kaibigang Pilipin@, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztln, Muslim
Student Association, Native American Student Alliance, Queer & Trans People Of Color, and Students with
DisabilitiesCollective (currentlyinactive).Threeaffiliates:CriticalCoalitionfor AsianAmericanStudies,PanArab
Student Association, and Students forJustice in Palestine. As well asat leasttwelve orgs who have at some point
been inactive:AfricanStudentAssociation,CentralAmericansRaisingAwarenessinSolidarity,ChicanaCollective,
MigrantsRightsAwareness,MultiAsianStudentAssociation,NikkeiStudentUnion,SemillasSonJarocha,Students
forEconomicJustice,VietnameseStudentAssociation,andtheWomensCollective.
85
MeetingwithTerryGutierrez,February24th2016.
82

34

from the institution. In Winter of this year, the Vice Chancellors Office of Equity, Diversity,
and Inclusion (VCEDI) started up an EDI Advisory Council.SAAC holdsanonvoting position
withinthiscouncil,meaningthecoreorgshavelimitedrepresentation86.
SAAC has existed in some form since the 1960s, and has played a huge role, either
officially, or through the associated organizations in UCSDs history of student activism. In the
1980s SAAC Chair was a paid position, but administration at the time decided that if it was a
paid position that meant they rather than the students got to choosewhowouldbeSAACChair.
Worried about what this meant for who would serve to represent these historically
underrepresented and underserved communities, SAACvotedtomakethepositionunpaidrather
than allow forpossiblecooption by administration.Alongsidethiswe alsoseethreemomentsof
political and institutional changes that work against SAAC. In 1997, the passing of Proposition
20987 results in a statewide revaluation of narratives of affirmative action, and fear of
organizations invested in Affirmative Action such as SAAC. Secondly, in May 2008 the Price
Center expansion was opened andtheSAACofficesweremovedtotheThirdFloor88 .Finally,in
the 2008/09academicyear,extremepublicfundingbudgetcuts89hitthestate,leadingtonotonly
a disinvestment in SAAC organizations, but other spaces for HUURS90 . These three moves
worked to drastically affect communities of color by limiting accessibilitytofundingandspace.

MeetingwithTerryGutierrez,February24th2016.
Proposition 209 amended the California Constitutionto prohibit public institutions from discriminating on the
basis of race, sex, or ethnicity. It was supported by the California Civil Rights Initiative Campaign, led by
University of California Regent Ward Connerly, and opposed by proaffirmative action advocacy groups.
"California Affirmative Action, Proposition 209 (1996) Ballotpedia."CaliforniaAffirmative Action, Proposition
209(1996)Ballotpedia.Website.AccessedJune04,2016.
88
PriortothistheywereinPriceCenterWest,wheretheKaplanCenterislocatedforthe20152016academicyear.
(Ste.2.423)
89
Moreinformationcanbefoundhere:https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2009/06/calij05.html
90
SuchasOASIS,whowentfromhavingfundingfor150studentsintheirSummerbridgeprogram,to65.(Meeting
withTerryGutierrez,February24th2016).
86
87

35

This worked to physically and financially marginalize SAAC orgs, and affect how the
administration understands the presence of students of colorwithintheinstitution.Thelanguage
of Prop 209 means that breaking it can resultin thelossofstatedollars,thusProp209isusedto
defend the exploitative systems in place of expecting students of color and Indigenous students
todotheunpaidlaborofaccess,retention,andyieldworkfortheircommunities91.
AdministrativeTactics
The administrative expectation ofhowstudentsperformaccess,retention,andyieldlabor
is based in therequirementofstudentstopartakeinrespectabilitypolitics92 , indoingsostudents
are expected to reproduce the nationstates colonial and imperial values. This can be seen
through the UCs long history of criminalizing radical students, the most wellknown example
being the attempted firing of graduate student Angela Davis(seeFootnote77fordetails),where
the UC Regents attempted to use Davis membership in the communist party to have her fired.
After this, Charles Hitch, President of the UC System from 19611965 had Chancellor McGill
write a lettertotheUCfaculty toaddressfearsofpoliticalpurges93 .Notonlydoesthisletterthus
reveal a targeting of student of color activism rather than communism, but it also makes
connections between the activism and then state Governor Ronald Reagans investment in
neoliberalism. In the letter, McGill wrote Our money problems are clearly associated with
growing backlash against student unrest in California. This connection between the social
91

At a meeting with Glynda Jones Davis, a Senior Diversity Officer at the Vice Chancellors Office forEquity,
Diversity, and Inclusion, when asked whether VCEDI is doing anything to address the unpaid labor historically
underrepresented and underserved students do, she saidthatshedidntknow,itwasprobablyaquestionforstudent
affairs, and that while the students do valuable work, given the law and environment, people have to think or a
different way to do it that would allow more staff to do it without breaking the law. This handing of the
responsibility oftheneedsand issuesofhistoricallyunderrepresentedandunderserved studentsisarecurringtheme
within UCSDs administration. Thereis arefusaltotakeaccountabilityorresponsibilitytotheneedsof historically
underrepresentedandunderservedstudents(MeetingwithGlyndaJonesDavis,January26th2016.)
92
TheinvestmentandprivilegingofWhite,cisheteropatriarchalmiddleclassvaluesandontologies.
93
UCSDSpecialCollections:RSS1,Box247,Folder6:AngelaDavisJournalbyChancellorWilliamMcGill

36

services the state was providing and the states financial issues would lead to Reagans
statewide funding cuts of higher education. It can also be seen in the implementation of
AntiRiot legislation in 1970, that was used to take financial aid away from students who had
partaken in the LumumbaZapataMovement94.Thereisalsoevidence,thatpriortothereleaseof
the LumumbaZapata Demands, the Chief of Police was already keeping tabs on the Black
Student Collective and Mexican American Youth Association95 , and during the demanding of
LumumbaZapata College the original Provost Armin Rappaport was asked to step down
becauseofhissusceptibilitytothreatsfromminoritystudents96i.e.willingnesstonegotiate.
This understanding of institutional power without student voiceandparticularly,without
the voices of students of color represents the institutions investment in neoliberal power
structures. After Dr. Joseph Watsons studentpressured resignationasProvostofThirdCollege,
he told Chancellor McElroy (who desperately wanted him to stay) that he would leave Thrid
College unless he as Provost had ultimate power97, McElroy, of course agreed, and Watson
withdrew his resignation. These processes of silencingrepresenttheadministrationsinvestment
in representation rather than redistribution. Even when dealing with spaces aimedathistorically
underrepresented communities, we see the institution working to silence student voices. During
the current hiring processes for the Undocumented Student Services Coordinator, not onlywere
students not initially involved nor given votes in the process, but when a student brought up

94

UCSDSpecialCollections:RSS1,Box1,Folder1:AdministrationSystemwide:AntiRiotLegislation,
19701971
95
LetterfromChancellorMcGilltoAssemblymanJohnStulltosetupliaisonwiththeCityManagersofficeand
theSanDiegoPoliceauthoritiesinanticipationofpossibledevelopmentsoncampusinUCSDSpecialCollections:
RSS1,Box28,Folder4LThirdCollege,GeneralCorrespondence,1969.
96
UCSDSpecialCollections:RSS1,Box1,Folder1:AdministrationSystemwide:AntiRiotLegislation,
19701971
97
LettertoMcElroy,May22nd1972.UCSDSpecialCollections:RSS1,Box30,Folder1:ThirdCollege,provost
Resignation,19691972

37

these concerns they were reprimanded (see Appendix H.). This criminalization of student
activists can be seen throughout theUCsystem.Oneofthemostwellknownincidentsbeingthe
2011 UC Davis PepperSpray Incident, when Lt. John Pike pepper sprayed a row of peaceful
protestors during a demonstration as part of the Occupy Movement98. In April 2016, it was
discovered that UC Davis had paid over $175,000 on attemptingtohavethisstoryerasedonline
99

so as to benefit the institutions reputation. Thisincidentshowstheclearconnectionsbetween

the administration, Regents, and previous Governors investments in neoliberalism and the fear
ofradicalismandstudentactivists.Thereispowerinstudentactivism.
InterCommunityStruggles
As Andrea Smiths The Three Pillars of White Supremacy and Heteropatriarchy shows,
White supremacy is constructed in such a way that for communities of color to survive in the
U.S., they must partake in systems that oppress other communities of color. Not only is the
institution working to create these violent environments, but the greater nationstate investment
in White Supremacy means students of color and Indigenous students within the institution are
reproducing these ideologies too. The university has on multiple occasions worked to pit
communities against each other either intentionally or unintentionally. For example, in the
201415 Academic Year, CCAAS were focused on getting a space allocated for theAPIMEDA
100

resource center. They met with Gary Matthews, the Vice Chancellor for Resource

Management & Planning at UCSD and the University Centers Advisory Board (UCAB).
However, when they attended a meeting to pitch the APIMEDA center, they found out that the

Setele, Julie, andSarah Augusto. "Militant Privatization:The UCDavis PepperSpray Incident." In Policingthe
Campus: Academic Repression, Surveillance, and the Occupy Movement, edited by Anthony J. Nocella, II and
DavidGabbard,15170.PeterLangPublishing,2013.
99
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/education/article71674767.html
100
Asian,PacificIslander,MiddleEastern,andDesiAmerican(APIMEDA)
98

38

Black ResourceCenter wasalsoaskingforthespace,astheywerelooking toexpand101 .Whether

or not this was a purpose it reveals the ways in which administration lack an understanding of
interethnic relations, and intercommunity politics on UCSDs campus. This lack of
understanding or willingness to deal with these issues reveals part of the reasoning why
representation looks so different for API students thanforBlack,Indigenous,orLatinxstudents.
Their not understanding theindividualneedsofdifferentcommunitiescombinedwithastructure
that does not allow for the redistribution of power and resources results individedcommunities
thatcanoftenendupworkingagainstratherthanwitheachother.
One of the most obvious perpetuations of this divide is the negotiations that happened
postCompton Cookout with Administration. After Black Winter, upperlevel administration
only contacted the leaders of BSU and MEChA to set up meetings to address racism on the
campus, reflecting again, the ways in which they understand which communities count as
historically underrepresented and underserved. NASA began working separately to get the
InterTribal Resource Center open102 , and while there had been a discussion within API student
organizations regarding the need for an Asian American Studies Minor and an Asian American
Resource Center, student leaders after talking with their organizations, decided theydidntwish
to detract from the issues that the Blackstudentsoncampuswerefacing103 .Individualsinvolved
in the meetings, found a brief window where their desires were being translated into
bureaucracy, untrained in bureaucracy, many studentsexpectationsdifferedfromtheresults.For
example, many students thought thespacethatisnowtheRazaResourceCentrowasgoingtobe

MeetingwithSandraAmon,February18th2016.
MeetingwithLeslieQuintanilla,March14th2016.
103
As referenced on page 91 of Kong, Angela WaiYin. Reexamining DiversityPolicyatUniversityof California,
SanDiego:TheRacialPoliticsofAsianAmericans.PhDdiss.,UniversityofCalifornia,SanDiego.
101
102

39

an allSAAC space104. Some of these students wanted autonomy, some didnt, there were
different desires of how things would be institutionalized expressed by different orgs, and this
leadtoalotoffightingwithincommunity.
While this could be understoodasthestudentsfault,Iunderstanditasaresultofstudent
knowledge/systematic lack of knowledge. This was the first time in a long time that
administration seemed to be on the side of the students. Studentsunderstoodtheuseofturnover
tactics, andthe waysinwhichadministrationhavehistoricallydrawnoutprocesses,andthis,like
many projects within a neoliberal space caused an intense pressure on the students, to make
decisions very quickly. Limiting their time to hear multiple opinions and come to a consensus.
From very early on, many members of BSU wanted their own space, whereasmostmembers of
MEChA were leaning towards astudentrunSAAClounge105 .TherewerealotofProfessorsand
staff involved in the process, who had a large influence over what students were thinking, and
managedtopersuadethestudentsto focusondemandingspacesforpeoplebasedonracial/ethnic
identity rather than intercommunityspaces106 .Here,themainissueswereagainthedifferencein
administration and studentsunderstandingsof needsandfeasibletimelines,butalsothefactthat
faculty, staff, and students were not on the same page. The same faculty members were able to
insert themselves in the process, and take over facilitation because of their access to
administration through longcultivated relationships. I do not mean to necessarily critique this
decision, but raise an awareness of power differences between faculty, staff, and students
because of facultys ability to work within administrations longer timeframes. Issues in this

104

MeetingwithLeslieQuintanilla,March14th2016.
Conceptually similar to SPACES but with more of a focus on social justice education and intercommunity
politics.AstudentrunCrossCulturalCenterifyouwill.
106
MeetingwithLeslieQuintanilla,March14th2016.
105

40

power difference were raised and created a divide between the students, staff, and faculty
involved in the process, and students lostthepowertowork throughdifferentkindsofsolutions,
the process became mediated by faculty and administration107 . This is also another space where
we see students being expected to put in unpaid labor, not only through their labor with
administration, but also the emotional and psychologicallaboroftheinterandintracommunity
politics. Whiletheywereworkingtowardstheretentionoffuturestudents,theirownabilitytobe
retained within the institution was affected, the Compton Cookout affected individuals on very
personal levels, the work ended friendships and romantic relationships, with students unable to
decide on the collective needs and solutions108. The realities of the emotional, social, and
psychological labor entailed in doing community organizing, student activism, and in
maintaining relationships while addressing multiple intersecting structures of oppression are
complex and difficult. I bring them up to address the kinds of unpaid labor that is not only
devalued but is made invisible in the work that studentsdo.Theenforcementofrepresentational
rather thanredistributivepoliticsmeansstudentsareforcedtoworkwithinrather thanagainstthe
institution for anything substantive to be created, however, the institution is designed in such a
way that students do not know the logistics, and thus always experience pushback to their
demands, untiltheirdemandshavebeencooptedintosomethingmoreinlinewiththeinstitution's
neoliberalidealsofmulticulturalism.
TheReproductionofSettlerColonial,HeteroPatriarchal,WhiteSupremacistIdeologies
In looking at the various ways administration have addressed student demands and
organizing, it is difficult to tell which was most successful. All exist within different moments

107

Ibid.
Ibid.

108

41

both within theuniversityandwithintheUnitedStates.Theyexistindifferenttemporalities.The

changing student makeup (specifically the riseinAPIstudents)hasdramaticallyinfluencedboth
how administration understand concepts of diversity, and how they are able to market the
university as diverse. In their willingness to invest in representative diversity rather than
redistributive diversity, we see a creation of spaces committed to serving historically
underrepresented students. These spaces are often underfunded, undersupported, and
systematically devalued by the institution. In February, 1988, VC Ticho made the decision that
the development of an Ethnic Studies program would be the Vice Chancellor of Academic
Affairs major concern.HebelievethatThecampusshouldnotwaituntilthereisstrongstudent
demand before reacting with the commitment of resources.109. This desire to avoid student
demand, and withitstudentorganizingisreflectiveofRoderickFergusonsworkinTheReorder
of Things and his positioning of the structures of power that put Ethnic Studies/Womens
Studies/etc. in academia, as doing so, enables their controlling of these departments to prevent
economic,epistemological,andpoliticalrevolutions(6).
This critique of spaces designed for students of color and Indigenous students is not to
devalue the work they do within the institution, or imply they are completely controlled by
administration, but to recognize that their existence within the institution limits their abilities,
and their relationship to administration meanstheycanbecontrolledbyadmin.Thesespacesare
often used for a political awakening and to support students of color and Indigenous students.
Often, the staff in these spaces lead those forms of retention, and the work they do is amazing
and important, but whether it is structural change is questionable. This, is not their fault, the

109

Statementreleased:HaroldK.Ticho,Subject:EthnicStudiesPrograms,February4th,1988foundwithinUCSD
SpecialCollections:RSS1000,Box10,Folder3:EthnicStudies(Thru12/31/88)19721988

42

institution isnotdesignedtoallowforstructuralchange.Itisdesignedsoastoforcestudentsand
staff who desire institutional change to play the game.Theymustadheretoadministrativerules,
they must play byrespectabilitypolitics, theymustcompromise.InalettertoMarshallsProvost
Joe Watson in August 1973, Chancellor McElroy wrote I think the students are realizing
theyve got to work within the systemwhether they like it or notto get anything done.110 This
legacy of working within the system, has resulted in a system that will not change to meet
students needs. It is a system that is not invested in critiquingcolonialism,Whitesupremacy,or
the imperial nationstate, but in reproducing these ideologies. However, now, to partake in
neoliberal ideas of multiculturalism and diversity, it allows some students of color and
Indigenousstudentstopartakeintheseideastoo.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in the Vice Chancellors Office of Equity,Diversity,
andInclusion(EDI)111 .Establishedin2013,theEDIofficecameoutofBSUsDemandsreleased
after the Compton Cookout for Administrative Accountability112 . Of the seven subdemands
110

ChancellorWilliamMcElroytoProvostWatson,August2nd,1972.UCSDSpecialCollections:RSS1130,Box
47,Folder1:ThurgoodMarshallCollegeProvostRecords:1972,January1974,November.
111
There is the Vice Chancellor of Equity, Diversity andInclusion (whoas on June 2016 is Dr. Becky Pettit, and
there is the Vice Chancellors Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion which is a team of people rather than an
individuals.
112
WEDEMAND THATTHE UCSD ADMINISTRATIONTAKE RESPONSIBILITY FORIMPLEMENTING
INSTITUTIONAL ACTIONTO DEVELOPANDMAINTAINACRITICAL MASSOFUNDERREPRESENTED
STUDENTS./ Administrative accountability serves to institutionalize the diversity efforts presented in these
demands.With thiswewillaccomplish andworkto diminishthe institutionalizedandsystemicracismthatexistson
the University of California, San Diego campus. / Part of administrative accountability includes that the
administration and faculty also represent the demographicsofthe state of California. It is clear each year that the
faculty of color either remains stagnant or drops in numbers andthose numbershave not improved overthe past
number of years. This stagnancy is the first problem that the university must solve in order to begin becoming
administrativelyaccountable tothe underrepresentedstudentpopulation. Students,particularlystudentsofcolorand
womyn, need to be able to see themselves and their cultural backgrounds be reflected in the professors that are
educating these students.Inordertoseethekindsofthirdworldmajorsthatwewanttoseeonthiscampus,wemust
first see the faculty of color, including womyn of color, which will teach these courses. In hopes to establish a
Department of Black Studies, Department of Chican@ Studies, and a Department of Native American Indian
Studies, we demand that the university begin the hiringprocess ofthree faculty for each department respectively.
Seeing as how some faculty might be hired as assistant professors, we consequently demand one of these three
faculty for each department be hired as tenure faculty so as toassure that their teaching positionsandtheircritical
positions as faculty of colorat thisuniversity arenotin dangerofbeing slashedfromouralreadyreducedpeopleof

43

within this section, only one (the expansion of the ChiefDiversityOfficetotheViceChancellor

of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) has been completed. Despite thedemandforaccountability,
the staff refuses to define diversity, equity, inclusion, or community113. This means, there is
nothing to hold the office accountable to114 . This lack of accountability to thecommunitiesthey
serve115 reproduces the possibilities for administrative cooption and transformation. Something
we see clearly happentoboththedemandsoftheLumumbaZapataMovement,andBSUsState
ofEmergencyDemands.116
The DEI requirementcameoutofBSUsdemandforadiversitysensitivityrequirement
117

, thedemandspecifieditshould bemetbytakinganAfricanAmericanstudies,EthnicStudies,

or Critical Gender Studies course. While many of these courses are able to count towards the
DEI requirement, somewhere between the demand being made, it being processed by the

color community. Along with teaching classesofethnic identity, sexuality, race, class, and gender, these faculties
will be hiredon the premise thattheirworkand researchwillbeinstrumentaltowardsworkingontheestablishment
of their respective community's Resource Center.Thiswaythefacultycanbe workingtowardswhatwilleventually
be departments for Black Studies, Department of Chican@ Studies, and aDepartmentofNative American Indian
Studies who will ultimately contribute to thebettermentofcampusclimate./WedemandtheUniversitytoincrease
the AfricanAmerican populations and otherunderrepresented marginalizedcommunitiesofcolorinvariousaspects
of campus to reflect the greater San DiegoPopulation./Wedemand theexpansionoftheChiefDiversityOfficerto
an Associate Vice Chancellor of Diversity Affairs as a fulltime position with a fully funded office with
responsibility for all campus diversity initiatives.This personWILLNOTberesponsibleforthePreuss School.We
demand students from SAAC should participate in the search process. / We demand the Chancellor and the
University issue repercussions to those that violate the Principles of Community.. (From the STATE OF
EMERGENCY:THEUCSDBLACKSTUDENTUNIONADDRESSpostedonMarch3rd,2010).
113
MeetingwithGlyndaJonesDavis,January26th,2016.
114
Itprobablydoesntneedtobesaid,butthereisofcoursenostudentboardthatEDIanswersto.
115
Which, as the five resource centers fallunder their purview we can assume at least includes Studentsof Color,
Women,andLGBTstudents.
116
Another example of the lack of accountability, is that when researching for this paper I contacted Marshall
College asking for a racial/ethnic breakdown of their student population, they sent me to admissions. I contacted
admissions, they sent me back to Marshall. When I ccedboth of them lettingthemknowtheyhad bothsentmeto
eachother,Ineverheardfromthemagain.
117
We demandtheChancellor,theViceChancellorofAcademicAffairs,andtheUCSDAcademicSenatemandate
a diversity sensitivity requirement for every undergraduate student, which will be met by taking an
AfricanAmericanstudies,EthnicStudies,or CriticalGenderStudiescoursebeforegraduatingfromUCSanDiego.
(From the STATE OF EMERGENCY: THE UCSD BLACK STUDENT UNION ADDRESS posted onMarch
3rd,2010)

44

Academic Senate, it being worked out by the Advisory Committee, and it being continually
reproduced through the Standing Committee for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion it changed.
Now, any class can petition to count towards the requirement as long as it fulfills three major
criteria118 . While the description states that courses must pay significant attention to
communities of color, the committee defines this as at least 30% of the course119 . Another key
issue with the DEI requirement, is its ability to be taken pass/no pass, meaning students only
need to get C in the class, and it doesnt affect their GPA. This drastically affects student
investment in these classes. This means students do not need to be emotionally oracademically
invested in understanding the experiences of communities of color120121. This again reflects the

118

1. Framework provides for the inclusion of a wide range of possiblecoursesconcerningmanytypesofidentity

formation. Among possible frameworks are: race,ethnicity,gender, religion, sexuality, language,ability/disability,
class, age. 2. Subject matter requires that each course pay significant attention to at least one of the following
groups: African Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Hispanics or Chicanos/Latinos, and Native
Americans. This requirement does not exclude other groups or identity categories which may fit a given course
framework. 3. Pedagogy encourages a comparative approach to facilitate greater understanding of the individual
student's particular identity in relation to that of other identities discussed in the course. from theDEI Call for
Courses201516.
119
MeetingwithDr.DavidGutierrez,February10th,2016.
120
The changes needed in the DEI were addressedin more detail in thepublic form entitled MEChA and MiRAs
List of Demands. In it they demand 21. We demand the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Graduation
Requirement be improved and expanded to better serve the needs of various campus communities and advance
students cultural competencies andunderstanding of race andethnicityaspartofintersectionalidentitiesatlarge./
a. By Fall 2016, the DEI course will be required to be taken for a letter grade without the optiontotakeitpass/no
pass. / b.By Spring2017,theStandingCommitteefor theDiversity,Equity,andInclusionGraduationRequirement,
hereafter referred to as the committee,will consist of undergraduatestudentsof color,agraduatestudent ofcolor
in the ethnic studies department, faculty members of color, and an administrative advisor. The undergraduate
students on the committee will ideally consist of members of Student Affirmative Action Committee (SAAC)
organizations./ c. ByFall2017,theDEIgraduationrequirementwillhavebeenincreasedtotwoclassesthatmustbe
taken in a students first two years at UCSD. One of these two classes must include significant focus on
antiblackness,BlackAmericanhistory, orcontemporaryissues oftheBlackcommunity.AllDEIclasseswillenroll
no morethan50 students. Graduate students will have theopportunity todesignandteachtheseclasses.Therewill
be a class designed for internationalstudents andother studentswhodonothaveabackgroundinU.S.History.All
departmentshostingDEI courses willreceiveincreasedfunding toallow forsmallerclasssizes./d.ByFall2020the
University of California San Diego will have developed a compulsory training program on diversity and cultural
competency for faculty, graduate students, and staff. It will address not only race and ethnicity, but also other
oppressive structures affecting students on the basis of gender, sex, sexuality, ability, mental health, citizenship
status,nationalorigin,religion,class,age,etc.
121
While this isoften explained as beinga rule surroundingGeneral Education Requirements, we knowthatmany
Colleges GEs (including Marshalls Dimensions ofCulture program, and Muirs Writing Requirements) must be
takenforagrade,nullingthisargument.

45

fact that universities while willing to make small changes/adaptations,wontworktoreorganize

orrestructuretheinstitutionitself.
Conclusion
Much of the research done on conceptualizing diversity in higher education use
methodologies that work to continue to establish research as a place that reproduces White
supremacy through studying communities of color, rather than including an antiWhite
supremacist framework. In failing to use an intersectional analysis of White supremacy to
understand race in higher education, these texts end up reproducing a neoliberal investment in
multiculturalism, that allows for the experiences of students of color and Indigenousstudentsto
be coerced into working to benefit the settlercolonial, White supremacist nationstate. I have
attempted to disturb this White versus NonWhite Binary, which assumes all students of color
have the same experiences of White Supremacy, through looking at some of the specific
examples of student activism at UCSD, and how they are coopted in various ways by
administrationtofittheneoliberalagenda.
What does the embeddedness of White supremacy, colonialism, and neoliberalismmean
for thepossibilitiesofstudentactivism? WhilewritingthispaperIvespentalotoftimethinking
about the wellknown Audre Lorde quote The masters tools will never dismantle the masters
house., what does this mean for student power? Are there possibilities for student organizing
within the institution? In 1973, McElroy wrote to Watson that he think[s] the students are
realizing theyve got to work within the systemwhether they like it or notto get anything
done., but an ability to work withinthesystemmeansadministrationareabletoadapt,theycan
coopt, they can manage. If our only option is to work within the system are we changing it or

46

reproducing it? If we decide to put down the masters tools, what are our options?If wechoose
to use the masters tools against the master, howdoweknowthemasterwontcontinuetoforce
us to do the un(der)paid labor involved with growing the house? How do we make a neworder
without reordering the world into nicer looking systems of exploitation? How do we validate
nonWestern knowledge, when our systems of knowledge production are inherently Western?
Im not sure I knowtheanswertoany ofthesequestions,IknowIbelievecenteringacritiqueof
colonialism and White Supremacy is necessary to institutional freedom, buthowdoweperform
thislaborinaworldwewerenevermeanttoexistwithin?

47

AppendixA.
1. UCSDChancellor'ssubjectfiles,19582002
2. ViceChancellorforAcademicAffairs.AdministrativeFiles,:EthnicStudies
3. Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. Administrative Files,: AsianAmerican
StudiesChicanoStudiesProgram
4. ViceChancellorforAcademicAffairs.AdministrativeFiles,:ChicanoStudies
5. Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. Administrative Files,: Advisory
CommitteeforAsianAmericanStudies(ACAAS)
6. Thurgood MarshallCollegeProvostRecords: StudentLifeCommitteeSubjectA
ThirdWorldStudiesThirdWorldStudies
7. Thurgood Marshall College Provost Records: Ethnic Studies Ethnic Studies
ProposalGraduationRequirements
8. Thurgood Marshall College Provost Records: Lumumba Zapata/Third College
Bulletin
9. ThurgoodMarshallCollegeProvostRecords:1969,August1971,December
10. ThurgoodMarshallCollegeProvostRecords:EthnicHeritageProgram
11. Contemporary Black Arts Program. Records,: Coalition for a Free South Africa
MinorityWomen'sNetwork
12. Contemporary Black ArtsProgram.Records,:ProposalforCBAP:1979Program
Information: Brochures, Handouts, Flyers: 19821985 Institute for
AfroAmericanStudiesProposalEthnicStudiesDepartmentProposal
13. Office of the Chancellor Subject Files: General correspondence (Thurgood
MarshallCollege)Provost
14. Office of the Chancellor Subject Files: Management Review Office of
Academic Support and Instructional Services (OASIS),Expansion Group II and
III Equipment Residence Halls Third/Warren Colleges Utilities and Site
Development
15. OfficeoftheChancellorSubjectFiles:ManagementReviewOASIS
16. Office of the Chancellor Subject Files: Affirmative Action Issues Student
AffirmativeAction
17. Office of the Chancellor Subject Files: Academic Affirmative Action
Admissions/QuotasEthnicIdentityWatsonReport
18. Office of the Chancellor Subject Files: Office of Academic Support and
InformationalServices(OASIS)AdvisoryCommittee
19. OfficeoftheChancellorSubjectFiles:EthnicStudies
20. OfficeoftheChancellorSubjectFiles:ThirdCollegePlanningCommittee
21. Office of the Chancellor Subject Files: Third College Building Advisory
Committee
22. OfficeoftheChancellorSubjectFiles:SearchThirdCollegeProvost
48

23. OfficeoftheChancellorSubjectFiles:SavetheUniversity
24. OfficeoftheChancellorSubjectFiles:PoliceRelations,Committeeon
25. Office of the Chancellor Subject Files: Management Review Office of
Academic Support and Instructional Services (OASIS),Expansion Group II and
III Equipment Residence Halls Third/Warren Colleges Utilities and Site
Development
26. OfficeoftheChancellorSubjectFiles: AcademicUnitIThirdAcademicUnitII
Third
27. Office of the Chancellor Subject Files: Cultural, Educational, and Political
Change at UCSD, 19641972 Conference Advisory Committee
Correspondence,1987
28. Office of the Chancellor Subject Files: Asian American Studies Advisory
Committee
29. OfficeoftheChancellorSubjectFiles:AlternativeHousingStudy
30. OfficeoftheChancellorSubjectFiles: SouthAfricaissue(highkeythisonesjust
personalinterest)
31. Office of the Chancellor Subject Files: Office of Academic Support and
InformationalServices(OASIS)
32. OfficeoftheChancellorSubjectFiles:Davis,Angela
33. OfficeoftheChancellorSubjectFiles:BlackStudentCouncil
34. OfficeoftheChancellorSubjectFiles:AfricanAmericanAction(UCAAAC)
35. Office of theChancellorSubjectFiles: ThirdCollegemisc.materialtransferredto
AdministrativeRecords
36. OfficeoftheChancellorSubjectFiles:Provostresignation
37. OfficeoftheChancellorSubjectFiles:GroceryStore
38. Office of the Chancellor Subject Files: General correspondence (Thurgood
MarshallCollege)
39. OfficeoftheChancellorSubjectFiles:Antiriotlegislation

49

AppendixB.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

1998ChancellorDynes10PointDiversityActionPlan
DiversityCouncilAnnualReport19981999
Diversity/AdHocPlanningCommitteeReport2003
UCSD:AReporttotheUndergraduateQualityofLifeCommittee2003
FocusonDiversityatUC,SanDiego
AcademicAffairsFocusGroupsforAssessingDiversity20052006
UCSD Final Report Advisory Committee on Increasing Yield of
UnderrepresentedStudents,March2007
8. Final Report of the Advisory Committee on Increasing the Yield of
UnderrepresentedStudentsAResponse,November2007
9. The Office of Admissions Update on Actions Taken to Increase the Yield of
UnderrepresentedStudents,October2008
10. DiversityCouncilActionItemsforChancellorFox,2008
11. DiversityAccountabilityFramework,2009CampusReport
12. DoUCUs?
13. CampusClimateProjectFinalReport,March2014
14. CampusClimateSummary,2014
15. ImpactAssessmentofOASISLearningCommunities(2013)(PDF)
16. OASISDiversityandEquityPortfolio(2013)(PDF)
17. Cuba'sPotentialContributiontoChicanoEducationalAchievement(2013)(PDF)
18. OASISSummerBridgeProgramAssessment(2003)(PDF)
19. EthnicIdentityDevelopmentAmongUnderrepresentedStudentsatUCSD(PDF)
20. OASISAlumniSurveyReport(2013)(PDF)
21. DEICallforCourses20152016
22. DEIRequirementResponseForm
23. DEICourseMiniGrantProposal
24. DEIApprovedCourses
25. 2010BSUDemands
26. 2014CCAASDemands
27. HistoryofAntiMuslimClimateatUCSD
28. IslamophobiaonCampus
29. ExcerptfromtheNewIndicatorsDisorientationManual

50

AppendixC.
MeetingswithStudents,Staff,andFaculty
1/25/16: Dr. Jorge Mariscal. Dr. Mariscal is the Director of the Dimensions of CultureProgram
andaProfessorofLiterature.
1/25/16: Glynda Jones Davis. Glynda Jones Davis is a Senior Diversity Officer at the Vice
ChancellorsOfficeforEquity,Diversity,andInclusion.
1/27/16: Staff 1. Staff 1 is a midlevel manager in student affairs that spoke as a member of
UCSDsChicano/LatinoConcillio.
2/10/16:Dr.GutierrezisaProfessorofHistoryandtheChairoftheDEIcommittee.
2/17/16:BelindaZamacona.BelindaZamaconaistheCASPProgramManager
2/18/16: Sandra Amon. Sandra graduated from UCSD in 2016 with a B.S. inPublicHealth,she
workedastheCampusOutreachandEngagementIntern(COEI)from201415.
2/24/16: Terry Gutierrez.TerryGutierrezisthe201516ChairoftheStudentAffirmativeAction
Committee(SAAC)
2/26/16: Dr. Jeff Gagnon. Dr. Gagnon is the Assistant Director of the Dimensions of Culture
Program.
2/29/16: MychalOdomisagraduatestudentinthehistorydepartmentandtheChairoftheBlack
GraduateStudentAssociation.
3/1/16: Dr. Jody Blanco. Dr. Jody Blanco is an Associate Professor of Comparative Literature,
SpanishandCulturalStudiesandamemberofCCAAS.
3/4/16: Dr. Kalindi Vora & Dr. Yen Le Espiritu. Dr. Kalindi Vora is an Associate Professor of
Ethnic Studies and and an informal advisor and collaborator of CCAAS. Dr. Yen Le Espirituis
the Director of Undergraduate Ethnic Studies and and an informal advisor and collaborator of
CCAAS.
3/9/16: Dr. Ross Frank. Dr. Ross Frank is an Associate Professor in the Ethnic Studies
department.
3/14/16:Dr.EdwinaWelch.Dr.WelchistheDirectoroftheCrossCulturalCenteratUCSD.
3/14/16: Leslie Quintanilla. Leslie Quintanilla is a graduate student in the Ethnic Studies
department, andwasanundergraduatestudentatUCSDin2010,andwasheavilyinvolvedinthe
organizingaroundtheComptonCookout.
3/28/16: Yahya Hafez. Yahya Hafez is an undergraduate EthnicStudiesmajor,andamemberof
CCAAS.

51

AppendixD.
LumumbaZapataCollege
B.S.C.M.A.Y.A.DemandsfortheThirdCollege,UCSD
(March14,1969)
LumumbaZapataCollege
Contradictions which sustained America in the past are nowthreateningtoannihilatethe
entire societal edifice. Black slave labor laid the basis of the American economy.
MexicanAmericans in the Southwest and Black people in the industrial cities and the agrarian
South continue toperformthedirtybutnecessarytasksofbuildingasocietyofabundance,while
systematically being denied the benefits of that society. Therefore, we must reject the entire
oppressive structure ofAmerica.Racismrunsrampantintheeducational system,while America,
in a pseudohumanitarian stance, proudly proclaims that it is the key to ti equal opportunity for
all.Thisisthehypocrisyourgenerationmustnowdestroy.
Having been admitted to the University, some of us though we had crashed through the
barriers of racism and economic oppression. Instead, we found that we were accidently the
chosen ones, the privileged few who, according to the powers that be, are the exceptions that
challengetheruletheexistenceofWhiteracism.
This, however, is not the crux of the problem. The selfindictment of the American
educational system lies not so much in the quantitative exclusion of people of color as in the
quality of what is taught to the White as well as to the Brown and Black student. If the high
schools and colleges are not devising more efficient techniques of mystifying the students with
irrelevant inanities, then they are consciously subjecting them to a coldblooded and calculated
indoctrination into a dehumanized and unfree society. This istheperversioncalledmindraping.
In the case of minority students, itisamiseducationwhichhascausedustounconsciouslysever
ourselves from our communal and cultural roots, if not to be seduced into the system which
exploits our own community. Black capitalism, especially as formulated by the Nixon
administration, divides the minority people into exploiters and exploited, the exploiting class
being the collegetrained bourgeoisie.EachnewChicanoorBlackbusinessmanhasalreadybeen
enlistedintothewararmyofexploiters.
Together with our American brothers in struggle onthecampusesandinthestreets00
and with our comrades throughout the Third World who are involved in wars of liberation, we
reject a system which thrives on military technology and imperialist profit. At the Universityof
California, San Diego, we will no longer insure the undisturbed existence of a false institution
whichconsistentlyfailstorespondtotheneedsofourpeople.
Despite the Chicano rebellions in the Southwest and the Black revolts in the cities, the
University of California, San Diego, which is part of the oppressive system, hasnotchangedits
institutional role. The puny reforms made so far are aimed at pacifying the revolts and sapping
our strength. We therefore not only emphatically demand that radical change be made, we
proposetoexecutethesechangesourselves!
52

We demand that the Third College be devoted to relevant education for minority youth
and to the study of the contemporary social problems ofallpeople.Todothisauthentically,this
college must radically depart from the usual role as the ideological backbone of the social
system, and must instead subject every part of the system to ruthless criticism. To reflect these
aims of the college, it will be called LumumbaZapata College. To enhance the beauty of the
name, wedemandthatthe architecturebeofMexicanand Africanstyle:andthatitslandscapebe
ofthesamenature.
Since there has been and continues to be an overridingtraditionofexclusionofminority
personnel from the work force involved in planning and building of institutions, except on the
most menial level, it is our demand that the architects, general contractors, subcontractors, and
allsupervisorypersonnelmustbefromtheminoritycommunity.
The bonds for financing the construction of LumumbaZapata College must be held by
minority financial institutions, and must be offered in such denominations that members of the
minoritycommunitymayparticipateinthefundingofthecollege.
InordertoguaranteeadequatefundingofLumumbaZapataCollege:
1. The provost and/or his representative shall have review power over thebudgetof
allthecollegeandinstitutes.
2. The yearly budget for LumumbaZapata College will be finalized before that of
allothercolleges.
The governing body of LumumbaZapata College shall be the Board of Directors and
shallconsistoftwostudents,onefacultymemberandtheprovost.
BoardofDirectors:
1. The Board of Directors shall make the final ruling on all general college policy. It shall
dispense and fill all F.T.E.s and approve all administrative appointments. It shall have
the authority to initiate any action or delegate that responsibility to any group it deems
appropriate.
2. EachmemberoftheBoardofDirectorsshallhaveonevote.
StudentRepresentation:
1. The students who serve on theBoardofDirectorsshallbechoseninageneral electionof
thestudentbodyofLumumbaZapataCollege,toserveforatwelvemonthterm.
2. The student representative can be recalled at any time by a majority vote of the student
bodyofthecollege.
3. The student representatives shall be compensated at the rate of 125% of the average
yearlyincomerequirementofacollegestudentatU.C.S.D.
4. The student representative shall be given credit for one normal course per quarter for
eachquarterofservice,whichshallbeappliedtowardsgraduation.
FacultyRepresentation:
1. The faculty representative shall be elected by the faculty of LumumbaZapata College.
Hemayberecalledatanytimebyamajorityvoteofthefacultyofthecollege.
53

2. The faculty representatives service on the Board of Directors shall be equivalent to and
taketheplaceofhisnormalteachingandcommitteeresponsibilities.
Provost:
1. TheprovostwillbetheadministrativeheadoftheLumumbaZapataCollege.
2. The two students and one faculty representative shall makethefinaldecisionconcerning
theselectionoftheprovostandshallhavethepowerofrecalloverhim.
In order to compensate for past andpresentinjusticesandtoservethosemostaffectedby
white racism and economic exploitation, LumumbaZapata College must have an enrollment of
35%Blacks and 35% MexicanAmericans. Students must be selected on the basis of their
potential by an admissions committee controlled by minority students. The University of
California admission requirements must not be used as an instrument for excluding minority
studentsorlimitingtheirnumbersinLumumbaZapataCollege.
All minority students attending LumumbaZapata College must be fully supported with
fundssuppliedbytheUniversitytotheextentthattheywillnothavetoworkortakeoutloans.
The following is a general outline ofareastobestudiedatLumumbaZapata College.So
far, what education the few minority students have received has been from a colonial
perspective.Wenowseetolearnaboutourselvesfromaminorityperspective.
1. Revolutions.
In the United States, minorities have been excluded from government decisionmaking
and must now develop an original system of selfgovernment and the means actualizing them.
Black and Brown people have become thevanguardofsocialchangebecausetheyconstitutethe
most oppressed sector of American society. It is within this framework that Black and Brown
people must thoroughly comprehend the theory and practice of the successful as well as
unsuccessful revolutions around the world. Reading material in this area will include such
authors as Lenin, Nkrumah, Marx, Malcolm, Fanon, Padmore, Che Guevara, and Mariano
Azuela.
2. AnalysisofEconomicSystems
The understanding of the economic exploitation of minority peoples intheUnitedStates
will entail in depth analysis of the historical and contemporarydevelopmentofcapitalismin the
Western world, including the crucial roles played by colonialism, imperialism, slavery, and
genocide. Only in this context will it be possible to arrive at the reasons why minority people
serve as aspeciallabor reserveor,distinctfromthewhite workingclass.Statisticalresearchis
needed to determine the economic condition of the minority community and also research
applicationtoguaranteesoundcommunityeconomy.
3. ScienceandTechnology
In this field, emphasis will be placed on the basic sciences as preparationforresearchin
areas related to the satisfactionofhumanneeds.Thisobviouslyexcludesthetheoreticalinanities
taughtatRevelleCollegeaswellasthemilitaryresearchconductedatScrippsInstitute.
4. HealthSciencesandPublicHealth
54

Minority people in the United States have a far shorter lifespan than whites and suffer
diseases peculiar to oppressed people. In tropical countries where people of color live, research
into the diseases peculiar to the geographical areas have been extremely inadequate. Courses
shouldemphasizethislongoverdueresearch,aswellthesocialapplicationofthisresearch.
5. UrbanandRuralDevelopment
Minority people have suffered much more than whites in the Americantransitionfrom a
producing agrarian toaconsumingindustrial society,Themigrationenmasseofminoritypeople
from country to city provides the most important key to understanding the acute contradictions
todaybetweenurbanandrurallife.
In the nearfuturesomefiftyAmericancitieswillhaveaBlackpopulationofover 51%of
their total and in the Southwest some five million Chicanos will reside. Thesepeopleliveinthe
socalled inner city, the area of greatest exploitation and therefore greatest explosive potential.
The problems of the inner city are so deep that only revolutionary change will create a just
solution.
Among the topics to be covered are housing, transportation, environmental control,
nutrientprocurementandeliminationofwastes,andfairgovernment.
6. CommunicationArts
Black Arts have flourished in spite of protracted oppression. Deprived of native
languages, Black people have developed new ways of communicationwithwords,gestures,and
music, employing the most diverse art forms. This area should encompass all the performingas
well as the fine arts including such modern arts asfilmmakingandbeingawareofthebeautiful
creativeness of our Brown forefathers, we demand that IndoHispano art be included within the
CommunicationArtsprogram.
7. ForeignLanguages
Of the European languages, we regard Spanish and French as the most important, since
they are the second language of most people of African descent. The Chicano people have
suffered a great cultural deprivation by the downgrading of the Spanish language bytheAnglo
teachers and administrators. We would of course urge strong emphasis on African, Indian and
Asianlanguages.
8. CulturalHeritage
This area will emphasize the richculturalheritageofallpeopleofcolor.Explorationwill
be made into the traditional roots of culture to uncover that which was buried under European
assimilation.Eachculturewillbestudiedandappraisedinitsownframeofreference.
9. WhiteStudies
Courses in this field will emphasize the negative as well as the positive elements of the
historyofWesterncivilization.

55

AppendixE.

a. CollegeIIIPlanningCommitteeMinutes,April20th1967
i.
FreshmanEnglish(compositiononcontemporaryissues):3max.
ii.
Language:0
iii.
Math&Science:4max.
iv.
Humanities:2(includesfinearts)
v. SocialSciences:2
b. ReportoftheThirdCollegePlanningCommitteetoCEP,May19,1967
i.
ReadingandWriting:2
ii.
MathematicsandScience:4
iii.
Humanities(including2inHistory):3
iv.
SocialScience:2
c. August1971
i.
Composition1A
ii.
Communications1Aand1B
iii.
Mathematics4Aand4Bor10Aand10D
iv.
ScienceandTechnology1A,B,C,D
v. ThirdWorldStudies1A,B,C
vi.
UrbanandRuralStudies(3courses)
d. 1974
i.
EitherProgramA:
1. 1quartercomposition
2. 2quartersmathematics
3. 3quartersnaturalsciencecoveringbiology,chemistry,andphysics
4. 3quatersthirdworldstudies
5. 3quartersurbanandruralstudies
6. 3quarterscommunications
ii.
OrProgramB:
1. 1quartercomposition
2. 2quartersmathematics
3. 3quartersnaturalsciencecoveringbiology,chemistry,andphysics
4. 3quartersintroductorysequenceconsistingofonecourseeachof:
a. Communications
b. Thirdworldstudies
c. Urbanandruralstudies
5. 3 quartersequenceinany humanitiesandarts(lecturecourse inthe
arts but not studio or performance courses) or social science
discipline
56

e. 1976
i.
ProgramA
1. Thirdcollegecomposition10c
2. Communications20(twocourses)
3. Mathematics(twocourses)
4. Science&Technology10Cor11B,11C(threequartersequence)
a. BiologyFall
b. ChemistryWinter&Spring
c. PhysicsSpring
5. ThirdWorldStudies1Cor7C(threecourses)
6. Urban&ruralStudies23(threecourses)
ii.
ProgramB
1. Thirdcollegecomposition10c
2. Communications20(onecourse)
3. Mathematics(twocourses)
4. Science&Technology10Cor11B,11C(threequartersequence)
a. BiologyFall
b. ChemistryWinter&Spring
c. PhysicsSpring
5. ThirdWorldStudies1Cor7C(onecourse)
6. Urban&ruralStudies23(onecourse)
7. Humanities(threequartersequence)
a. OR
8. SocialSciences(threequartersequence)
f. 1978
i.
Twoquartersofwrittenandoralexpression
ii.
Three quarters of (title to be established) chosen from three of the
following fiveareas:Communications,Economics,LiteratureandSociety,
Third World Studies, and Urban and Rural Studies at least one course
mustbeeitherinThirdWorldStudiesorLiteratureandSociety
iii.
ThreequartersofNaturalScience,Biology,Chemistry,andPhysics.
iv.
Two quarters of operative logicchosen from two of the following three
categories:ComputerScience,Statistics,orMathematics.
v. Three quarter sequence in any Social Science, Humanities, or Fine Arts
(excludingstudiocoursesbutincludingforeignlanguages).

57

AppendixF.
Antonio, Anthony Lising, Mitchell J. Chang, Kenji Hakuta, David A. Kenny, Shana Levin, and
Jeffrey F. Milem. Effects of Racial Diversity on Complex Thinking in College Students.
PsychologicalScience15,no.8(2004):50710.doi:10.1111/j.09567976.2004.00710.x.

Bowman, Nicholas A. Disequilibrium and Resolution: The Nonlinear Effects of Diversity

Courses on WellBeing and Orientations toward Diversity. The Review ofHigherEducation33,
no.4(2010):54368.doi:10.1353/rhe.0.0172

Ferguson, Roderick A. The Reorder of Things: The University and Its Pedagogies of Minority
Difference.

Harper, Shaun R.,andLoriD.Patton.NineThemesinCampusRacialClimatesandImplications

for Institutional Transformation. In Responding to the Realities of Race on Campus. San
Francisco:JosseyBass,2007.

Harris, Alexes, and Walter Allen. Lest We ForgetTheeTheUnderandOverRepresentation

of BlackandLatino Youth inCaliforniaHigherEducationandJuvenileJusticeInstitutions.Race
andSociety6,no.2(2003):99123.

Horsford, Sonya Douglass, and TanethaJ.Grosland.BadgesofInferiority.HandbookofCritical

RaceTheoryinEducation.doi:10.4324/9780203155721.ch11.

Kong, Angela WaiYin. Reexamining Diversity Policy at University of California, San Diego:
TheRacialPoliticsofAsianAmericans.PhDdiss.,UniversityofCalifornia,SanDiego.

Kuh, George D. Clear Pathways to Student Success. In Student Success in College: Creating
ConditionsThatMatter.SanFrancisco:JosseyBass,2005.

Lynn,Marvin,andAdrienneD.Dixson.HandbookofCriticalRaceTheoryinEducation.

Martell, D., and N. E. Avitabile. Feminist Community Organizing on a CollegeCampus.Affilia

13,no.4(1998):393410.doi:10.1177/088610999801300402.

Ortiz, Anna M., and Silvia J. Santos. Influences of Diverse University Contexts on Students
Ethnic Identity and College Adjustment. In Ethnicity in College: Advancing Theory and
ImprovingDiversityPracticesonCampus.StylusPublishingLLC.

58

Rendon, Laura I.,RomeroE.Jalomo,andAmauryNora.TheoreticalConsiderationsintheStudy

of Minority Student Retention in Higher Education. Edited by John M. Braxton. In Reworking
theStudentDeparturePuzzle,12756.Nashville,TN:VanderbiltUniversityPress,2000.

Welch, Edwina F. Campus Based Community Centers: Havens, Harbors, and Hope for
UnderrepresentedandMarginalizedStudentSuccess.PhDdiss.,2009.

Yang,K.Wayne.AThirdUniversityIsPossible.MS,UniversityofCalifornia,SanDiego.

59

AppendixG.

60

AppendixH.
April28,2016

Tofellowundocumentedstudents,allies,andcommunitymembersacrossthestate,

We, the Undocumented Student Organizers and Allies of the undocumented community
at UC San Diego, write this letter to you with great urgency and concern regarding the current
trajectory of the hiring process for the new UCSD Undocumented Student Services Center
(USSC)Coordinator.
For historical context, during the initial hiring process for the first USSC Coordinator,
which took place in 2014, students on the hiring committee were 1) able to personally examine
and score the nine finalists prescreened by the UCSD Human Resources Department, 2)
participate in reducing the candidate pool to five individuals who were then offered interviews,
and 3) actively engage in the interview process by listening, speaking, and interacting with the
intervieweesandothercommitteemembers.
Following the abrupt resignation of the previous USSC Coordinator, Jessica Munoz in
February 2016, a new hiring committee has been assembled, composed of the following
members: Rafael Hernandez (Chair of Committee), Director of EAOP Jon Carlos Senour,
Director of UCSD Student Legal Services Luz Chung,EducationStudiesLecturerandBelinda
Zamacona, CASP Program Manager. However, we would like to call in question therelevance
and validity of these particular committee members, especially since they were appointed
without any student input and dialogue. In addition, since late summer of 2015, the USSC has
been under the administrative supervision of Jeff Orgera, the new Assistant Vice Chancellor of
Student Retention and Success. We believe these new circumstances substantiate the need for
more transparency and inclusivity of the students for whom the center is purposed to serve.
However, to our dismay, we have observed exactly theopposite,withoffensesfarprecedingthe
ongoinghiringdeliberations.
For this interview cycle, students were restricted from accessing information to the pool
of 20 final candidates, unlike the2014hiringprocess.Wequestionthisunexplaineddiscrepancy
in protocol as well as the Committee Chair Rafael Hernandezs decision to invite students to
serve on the Interview Committee, as communicated via email on April 8, 2016, while
proceedingtoreducethepoolof20finaliststo4individualswithoutanystudentinput.
Students whopossesstheaforementionedinstitutionalmemoryaswellasthosewhohave
been witnessingthecurrent hiringprocesshavecometotheconclusionthatthelevel ofinclusion
and involvement granted to students on the hiring committee is severely lacking. Members and
selfproclaimed allies on thehiringcommitteehavethusfarfailed toshowanyseriousintentions
of acknowledging students as righteous stakeholders indecidingwhothenextcoordinatorofthe
USSC will be. ItisimperativethehiringprocessfortheUSSCCoordinatorbeastransparentand
inclusive as possible. Failure to see why undocumented students deserve the major role in
61

deciding who the next coordinator will be implies inexcusable ignorance and disregard for
undocumented student voices and lived experiences. It is our firm belief that we have given
members of the committee sufficient opportunities to improve the hiring process, but they have
yettoleveragetheirpowertodoso,contrarytotheirexpressedinterestsandobligations.
Case in point, when an undocumented student expressed concerns regardingtheseissues
before the committee, both Committee Chair Rafael Hernandez and HumanResourcesManager
Mary Maldonado harshly reprimanded him in front of committee members and prevented
students from speaking during the first interview process that took place on Monday, April 25,
2016. We perceive this unprofessional,paternalistic,andpunitiveactionantitheticaltothehiring
committee and Assistant Vice Chancellor (AVC) Jeff Orgerasdesirestoincludeundocumented
students in the hiring process. In fact, this unethical scolding of the undocumented student
committee member goes against several sections of UCSDs touted Principles of Community
and is hypocritical of the administration and Human Resources department to notabidebytheir
own policies. We refuse to be exploited and disrespected as subjects of tokenisminwhatseems
to be an attempt to make a mere gesture of inclusion towards undocumented students on this
campus.
We call upon members of the past hiring committee (Esteban Marquez, Associate
Director of the UCSD Financial Aid Office Edwina Welch, Director of the UCSD
CrossCultural Center Jon Carlos Senour, Director of UCSD Student Legal Services Tom K.
Wong, Professor of PoliticalScience,andCynthiaDavalos,thenassistanttotheViceChancellor
of Student Affairs) to vouch for a new and more studentcentered hiring process, even at the
expense of restarting the entire hiring process, as wefinditimperative tohireanewcoordinator
basedonactualstudentvoicesovertheneedtofillaspotforthesakeoftimeliness.
We would also like to bring to attention the list of 33 demands released by Movimiento
Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztln (MEChA) and Migrant Rights Awareness (MiRA) as a response
to the racist and antiimmigrant incidents that transpired since April 8, 2016. This list
encompasses 6 demands that directly impact the undocumented student community and the
UndocumentedStudentServicesCenteratUCSD:
Listof6RelevantDemands(numberscorrespondtotheirorderintheoriginaldocument):
1. We demand that UC San Diego become a Sanctuary Campus immediately, banning all
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from collaborating with or operating
withintheuniversity.
a. No Immigration andCustomsEnforcement(ICE)andUnitedStatesBorderPatrol
(USBP) agents will be present on campus grounds and UC San Diego owned
property.
b. UC San Diego Administration and UC San Diego Police Department will not
collaboratewith ICEandUSBPtodiscloseinformationnoridentifystudents, staff
andfacultyoftheuniversity.
62

c. ICEandUSBPwillnotbeallowedtoparticipateinany careerandjobrecruitment
eventsattheuniversity.
8. We demand guaranteed funding for the Undocumented Student Services Center and its
staff.
a. By Fall 2016, the Undocumented Student Services Center will be staffed by a
Director, an Assistant Coordinator, and four student interns. This staffing will
increasetomeetneedofthegrowingpopulation.
b. By Fall 2017, there will be allocation and sustenance of funding for one
FullTime Equivalent FTE staff member in the Undocumented Student Services
Center to support undocumented Asian and Pacific Islander (API) students with
advocacy,counseling,outreach,andprogramming.
9. We demand UCSD grants for undocumented students, whether or not they are protected
byDACA.
a. By Fall 2017, UCSD will have institutionalized a grant and loan program for
undocumentedstudentsnotprotectedbyDACA.
11. We demand the relocation of the Undocumented Student Services Center to a more
student centric and friendly location in order to empower this community and provide
accessibilityandvisibilityforthemoncampus
12. We demand the Student Legal Services at UCSD hire a fulltime immigration attorney
thatwilldirectlyrepresentundocumentedstudentsandtheirfamilies.
13. We demand that UCSD provide permanent living learning communities for
ethnic/cultural groups and that eligibility for living in these communities is extended to
allstudents,regardlessofhousingguarantee.
a. By Fall 2017, Muslim Student Housing will have been created for all students
who wish to live in it with the support and input of the Muslim Student
Association.
b. By Fall 2017, Undocumented Student Housing will have been created with the
support and input of the Undocumented Student Services Center and Migrant
RightsAwareness.
c. By Fall 2017, Multicultural Housing, Black/African Diaspora Housing, Raza
Interest Housing, Muslim Student Housing, and Undocumented Student Housing
willbemadeapermanentfeatureofoncampushousing.
d. By Fall 2017, all ethnic/cultural housing spaces are to receive a 50% increase in
programmingfundingtosupportthespecificneedsoftheircommunity.
e. By Fall 2017, full housing scholarships will be awarded to at least 50
undocumented students. The number of housing scholarships awarded to
undocumented students will increase each year to meet demand according to the
undocumentedstudentpopulation.
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f. By Fall 2020, 500 housing scholarships will be awarded to lowincome students

witheachscholarshipamounting50%ofthecostofoneyearoncampushousing.

Demand #8 addresses the funding and staffing of the USSC, which means the Chair of
the Committee and the AVCshouldplace particularfocusonthishiringprocessasasteptoward
instituting these demands. The aforementioned demands have yet to be addressed by AVC
Orgera or anyone on the committee, which points to their dismissivenessandlackofurgencyin
addressingrealissuesconcerningtheundocumentedcommunity.
Although we feel that the current hiring process should resemble that of the 2014 hiring
procedures, we also demand that nonstudent hiring committee members actually act upon
studentinput,lesttheyrepeatthefinalmistakesoftheprevioushiringcommittee.
Despite the mostly inclusive process in 2014, by the end of the hiring deliberations,
administrators proceeded to reject candidates ranked most highly by the student committee
members. It is important to note that these rejected finalists demonstrated not only relatability,
but also competence, because they were subsequently hired as coordinators at other UC
campuses. To this day, two of our former finalists assist and advocate for their undocumented
studentcommunitiesattheirrespectivecampuses.
Meanwhile, we have been left to find a replacement for our former coordinator, who
vacated her position before establishing a vibrant and empowering space for students. The
former coordinator reinforced feelings ofinvisibilityandisolationforundocumentedstudentsby
neglecting the need to facilitate proactive affirmation of undocumented student identities and
experiences. Below are grievances from students who have interacted with the previous
coordinator:
Misinforming students and University staff about the eligibility criteria and
projected enactment of the Expanded DACA/DAPA (which remains frozen in
court).
Failingtoestablishamissionstatementforthecenter.
Failing toeffectivelyworkandcollaboratewithUCUndocumentedStudentLegal
Services (based in UC Davis) as a resource unique from that of UCSD Student
LegalServices.
Failing to work effectively with undocumented students on issues affecting them
atUCSD.
Failure tofollowupwithrequestof studenttocollaborateonprojectsandtoassist
herinhertasks.
Lackofdocumentationonstudenttrafficatthecenter.
LackoftransparencyabouttheUSSCbudget.
MisinformingnonDACAstudentsaboutjobopportunitiesandfinancial resources
on campus and refusing to assist them in pursuing creativeandalternativemeans
ofhiringthroughlegalmeans.
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Failing to effectively attract students to thecenterandmakethephysicalspaceof

thecentervisibletostudents.
Failing to retain students to the Undocumented Student Services Center that
frequentandusetheresourcesconsistently.
At best, the USSCmetthebasicneedsof someundocumented students,butcontinuedto
perpetuatetheshelteringandassimilationistcultureestablishedbytheuniversity.
The reality is, no amount of sheltering or assimilating will change the risks and
vulnerabilities of being undocumented. We need a coordinator who understands this reality and
the need to create a space conducive to both service and advocacy. We need a coordinator who
understands the violence of the DREAMer narrative and its role in reinforcing the myth of
meritocracy and the trauma of juxtaposing our utility and innocenceagainstourparentswhoare
thencriminalizedinthisprocess.
As undocumented students at UCSD, we demand answers to alarming discrepancies in
hiring practices, as well as a meeting with the Chair of the Committee Rafael Hernandez,
Assistant Vice Chancellor Jeff Orgera and Chief of Staff Cynthia Davalos, to address these
issues by Friday, April 29 at 1:30 pm. Wedemandtomeetatthistimeknowingthatthehiring
committee has already scheduled time to debrief on thecurrentfinalfourcandidates.Wecallon
the rest of our community and allies to join us in demanding that Committee Chair Rafael
Hernandez halt this process founded in exclusion of undocumented students. We demand the
reinstatement of aprocessmodeledafterthefirsthiringprocessinwhichstudentinputwasatthe
core, as well as ensuring that students get to decide the final candidate with a majority of
undocumentedstudentvotes.
Toreiterate,wecallonAVCOrgeraandCommitteeChairHernandezto:
I.
Halttheinterviewprocess.
II.
Disband the current hiring committeeandallowundocumentedstudentstodecide
for themselves which staff, faculty, and students should compose the new one to
bemade.
III.
Changethe79yearexperiencerequirementbackto35yearsasaqualification.
IV.
Reopenthejobapplication.
V.
Allow students to have access to all ofthefinalistsandallowthemtodecidewho
shouldbeofferedaninterview.
VI.
Give students on the committee the power torankandhavethefinalvoteonwho
wouldbethenextcoordinator.
We urge our community and allies across the state to spread this letter and raise
awareness of what has been and is currently happening at the University of California, San
Diego. We ask that you stand in solidarity with us by writing your own public statements of
support and expressing your concerns to our administrators. These issues need tobebroughtto
the forefront in order for them to finally be taken seriously and effectively resolved. Therefore,
65

it is imperative that we halt and restructure the current hiring process to rightfully be
studentcenteredandstudentled.
We will no longer remain in the shadows, we will no longer be silenced,andwewillno
longer allow this university to dictate our futures and aspirations. We do this not only for the
current undocumented student population, but for those generations that will come after, to
ensure they truly have a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment that respects their
wellbeingandupholdstheirhumanity.

Respectfully,

UndocumentedStudentOrganizers&AlliesofUCSanDiego

66

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