University of Texas Austin - Cactus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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Minority messages not hidden by numbers by LISA GAUMNITZ Minority students comprised only 15 percent of the total University enroll- ment in the fall of 1984. Yet those 7,279 students were highly vocal in making their needs known to the administra- tion, and in effecting changes in the role minority students played on campus, said Ted Rodriguez Jr., president of La Amistad, a social support group for Mexican- Americans. We are starting to change a lot of at- titudes that need to be changed on cam- pus, said Rodriguez. The universities are the primary place where change takes place because there are student leaders from all ethnic groups at the university. If they can start learning to work together and learn tolerance, it will make things a lot easier for everybody. Suzan Armstrong-West, assistant dean of students, credited the people in the leadership positions of minority groups with increasing the visibility of The death of Nigerian national Evans Ekiye in Austin police custody sparks a picket line at police headquarters on Seventh Street manned by the Black Citizen ' s Task Force. Photo by Kevin Gutting

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In spite of these provisions and the increasing funding for the financial aid programs, some students said they would have to look for other options of handling the increased cost of attending the University. Ten percent of those surveyed in the Daily Texan poll said that the tuition increase would force them to change schools, and five percent said they would drop out permanently. Eight percent said they would decrease their course load. Nancy Shulman, a bio-chemistry sophomore from Leavenworth, Kan., said that transferring was one of the op- tions she had seriously considered. Just this semester, when I found out about the tuition increase, I sent out 30 letters to other colleges, she said. I ' m still keeping those applications, but I doubt I ' ll transfer because it ' s such a pain in the ass. Toong Chiang said he also considered transferring to another school in the United States, but that it was too late to apply to many schools for the 1985-86 academic year. I sent letters to schools like the University of Michigan and the University of North Carolina, he said, and they sent me back replies saying it was too late to apply for even the spring 1986 semester. Besides, transferring is not such an easy thing. It ' s not just pack up and go. Mark Bachman, physics senior from Austin: think it will hurt the quality of Texas because the only way we can compete with more prestigious uniuersities is by having competitive tuition rates. - Mug shots by Kathy Gilbert Without education there is no life, reads one banner in Spanish during the April 2 Capitol rally. Photo by Robert Cohen Undergraduate tuition and fees 1984-86 . fL - H. - RESIDENT M f T NON-RESIDENl 1. Vermont $2,793 % p $7,036 Michigan 1. 2. Pennsylvania $2,500 Vermont 2. 3. New Hampshire $7,000 New Hampshire 3. 4. Michigan $2,000 $5500- Colorado 4. 5. Minnesota Rhode Island 5. 6. New Jersey $5 000 Pennsylvania 6. 7. Illinois Minnesota 7. 8. Virginia California 8. 9. Rhode Island Maine 9. 10. Delaware Connecticut 10. 11. Massachusetts Illinois 11. 12. Connecticut Massachusetts 12. 13. Ohio $4,500 Delaware 13. 14. Maine Virginia 14. 15. Indiana Indiana 15. 16. New York S 1 ' 500 Ohio 16. 17. Colorado Wisconsin 17. 18. Oregon $4,000 Oregon 18. 19. South Carolina Missouri 19. 20. Missouri Maryland 20. 21. Maryland Arizona 21. 22. Georgia Georgia 22. 23. Mississippi Washington 23. 24. California $3,500- Iowa 24. 25. Washington New Jersey 25. 26. Wisconsin North Carolina 26. 27. Iowa Utah 27. 28. Nebraska Nevada 28. 29. Alabama Kentucky 29. 30. Utah New York 30. 31. South Dakota Nebraska 31. 32. West Virginia West Virginia 32. 33. Kansas Hawaii 33. 34. Kentucky $3,000 South Carolina 34. 35. Nevada Idaho 35. 36. North Dakota Tennessee 36. 37. Louisiana j 1 QQQ Kansas 37. 38. Idaho New Mexico 38. 39. Tennessee Florida 39. 40. Alaska Montana 40. 41. Arizona Alabama 41. 42. Montana 5W Mississippi 42. 43. Arkansas Louisiana 43. 44. Hawaii Oklahoma 44. 45. Oklahoma South Dakota 45. 46. New Mexico Wyoming 46. 47. North Carolina Arkansas 47. 48. Florida $2,000 Alaska 48. 49. Wyoming $500 North Dakota 49. 50. Texas $462 $1 ,542 Texas 50. National Average $1 ,362.96 National Average $3,669 Tuition across the nation These numbers combine tuition and fees for two semesters, based on 15 hours per semester. Graph reprinted with permission by The Austin American Statesman. Copyright 1985. Tuition 47

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the groups, especially of the Black Stu- dent Alliance, an umbrella organization for all black groups on campus. BSA President Randy Bowman had been involved in the group since its for- mation in the 1981-82 academic year, and had a chance to mature along with the organization. We have grown into the role, that of constructive agitation, that we were thrust into three years ago, said Bowman. I see the role of black students now and in the future to be primarily similar to that of the ' 60s: we have to be the torchbearers for blacks across the nation. Success ' 85: Profiles in Mexican-American Ex- cellence earned 14 Hispanic student groups the Union ' s Best Co-Sponsorship award. Photo by Kevin Gutting Fulfilling that role meant addressing issues considered priorities by the dif- ferent sectors of the black community. A few of the major issues BSA brought before the UT System Board of Regents and other University officials concerned divestiture of UT System holdings in South Africa, reformation of Texas Stu- dent Publications policy to require organizations appearing in the Cactus yearbook to register with the Student Activities Office which would require that the organizations sign a statement saying they do not participate in discriminatory practices -- and refor- mation of TSP policy to prohibit com- panies with interests in South Africa from advertising in TSP publications. The efforts of the BSA brought mixed results: the regents voted unanimously in December to retain the System ' s holdings in South Africa, but Bowman said that a BSA member had been working with state legislators to author a bill regarding UT System divestment. TSP did rule that or ;,:.;. , pages in the Cactus inu i the Student Activities UU H ' :. .i.|..r in the ' 86 Cactus, but, on a l .i. .1! iiu- University ' s lawyers, maintained its open advertising policy. La Amistad was also working to balance improved academic perfor- mance with more social opportunities. We ' re a social support group where Hispanics from all over can meet we try to make an environment where it ' s easy to make friends, Rodriguez said. Even so, half the group ' s efforts were geared toward h elping students do bet- ter academically, Rodriguez said. Retention, keeping students in school once they had enrolled, was an area of special emphasis for La Amistad. While interactions between minority and white student groups signified a step in the right direction, a poll con- ducted by the Students ' Association that asked students if they felt there were enough minorities on campus, more than 60 percent answered Yes, proving there was still a long way to go before the University could become a university of the first class for all students. Rodolfo de la Garza, executive assistant to UT System Chancellor Hans Mark, addresses the con- ference with state Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos and Troup Coronado, conference coordinator. - Photo by Kevin Gutting Highly visible black student leaders Eddie Reeves, Reginald Baptiste, Randy Bowman, Dar- rick Eugene and Major Thomas celebrate Black History Month Feb. 19 on the West Mall. - Photo by Kevin Gutting Minority Affaire 49