University of California Berkeley - Blue and Gold Yearbook (Berkeley, CA)

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Special Circumstances A 3.0 high school GPA and an 850 SAT just barely put him over the minimum eligibility requirements to even apply to the UC system. About to graduate from an inner city public school with no honors or Advanced Place- ment classes, this Hispanic student did not have the same opportunities as other applicants. His studies were inhibited by family responsibilities, which included taking care of three younger siblings and working thirty hours a week to supplement his father ' s minimum wage income. His parents were never formally educated and spoke only Spanish. He learned English through his studies and worked hard to master a language that could not be practiced in the home. He was well-respected by his peers and highly regarded by teachers who knew of his dedication to both school and family responsibilities. He aspired to go to college and follow with law school. He was admitted to the University and felt no stigma knowing that he was helped by affirmative action. Did he deserve to get in? Should all Hispanic students, who wouldn ' t be admitted on merit alone, receive the help of affirmative action regardless of their economic status or social circumstances? Students watch the sta e intently- Speakers throughout the afternoon included students and community leaders [abo c]. Dancers perlomi in authentic costume to cvpress cultural di ersit [Ictt], AFl- ' IRM.S 1 IVK ACTION 25

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continticJ from piigc 22] Should minorities, who wouldn ' t be admitted on merit alone, receive special privleges, regardless of socioeconomic status? school newspaper, a member of both the soccer and tennis teams, head of the debate club, and first cello in the orchestra. A 3.8 unweighted GPA and 1250 SAT allowed this Caucasian student to graduate from high school first in a class of 600. After turning down offers from UCLA, Northwestern, and Boston University, she accepted Berkeley ' s offer to defer her enrollment to second semester. She would spend the first part of her freshmen year in the UC Extension program, a smaller and more specialized form of the University setting that would provide extra attention and help integrate high school students into university life. The program would have a high Caucasian and Asian enrollment of students who would enter Berkeley in the spring and take the place of others who had dropped out after the first semester. Because University Extension students are not guaranteed freshmen housing she would have to live at home and commute from San Francisco each day until she could move into the dorms second semester. Would she have been accepted through merit-based admissions? Did she suffer, while someone else benefited from affirmative action? Didn ' t Need Affirmative Action Before graduating from high school as the first African-American valedictorian in her mostly Caucasian community, this high school senior accepted an offer from Berkeley. After turning down Columbia and Brown University due to the financial burdens, she enrolled in the College of Chemistry as a chemical engineering major. She earned a 4.0 GPA her first semester and made her way onto the Dean ' s list during the following three years. She had secured her admission to the University through academic merit alone, but, in her four years at Cal, sensed that her classmates believed she was the product of affirmative action. She felt as though she had to make a great effort to counteract the stereotype that all minorities must have had some type of help from special admission policies. Would her views on Affirmative Action be influenced by her experiences as an African-American woman admitted through merit? Si ns lultl liiali throut liout tlic dav were a sliow ol soluLinlv -is .1 nceii lor eanipus (li ers]ty was expressed [below].

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Reporter speaks to the canu-ra as students begin to gather at the walk out. News teams were on campus all dav to record events and artivitics [above]. Thousands of people showed up an d IIIUJ Upper Sproul in support of ainrmalivc action [below]. Walk This Way BY ELAN WAN G