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

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clapping and shouting could be heard ail around campus during the peak hours of the rallv Riled up students vscre rcadv and willing to voice their opinions. When asked about Berkeley in the 1960s, any self-respect- ins; American conjures up images of tic-dve-clad flower children, free love, psychedelic drugs, groovy music, and, of course, radical protest. As the center of the Free Speech Movement and the Third World Strike, Bcrkclcv was, without a doubt, the place to be for the radical activist set. In the nearly three decades since the tumultuous sixties, however, Berkeley has experienced a decline in its activist image. The ' weirdos ' still hang out on Telegraph, a tic-dyed shirt is not an uncommon sight, and marijuana is still the drug ot choice, but Berkeley seems to be lacking a certain, jc nc sais quoi, revolution- ary umph. According to Mother Jones magazine, the University is not ranked among the top ten most active campuses in the United States. Our sister school, UCLA, captured the title for the nineties. Many of these discouraging notions were dispelled, however, when close to 5,000 students and faculty gathered October 1 2 on Upper Sproul Plaza to hold a rally in detcnse ot affirmative action. The Reverend Jesse Jackson put it best when he pro- claimed, Berkeley ' s back! during his fifty-minute address, the climax of the day ' s festivities. Although Jackson was the most visible and well known speaker, others made similarly moving statements. Ethnic Studies professor Carlos Munoz, Jr. compared the protesters to their counterparts from the 1960s. The spirits of my comrades, the men and women who died in the 1960s... are alive and well with us today, Munoz said. I think we pay them honor today. Several of the speakers, including Martha Jimenez, a Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) attorney, and State Assemblywoman Barbara Lee Despite its past, the Berkeley campus is not ranked among the top ten most active campuses in the United States. UCLA captured the title for the nineties. , FFIH 1AriVF, ACTION 27

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.. [continued from page 27] commented on the help that thev reiei e l Irom allirmativc aetion. I am a product of AIRrmative Aetion and I am verv proud of that, Lcc said. Jimenez pointed out that, Atlirmati e Aetion h(l not take my tests, did not write mv papers, and did not pass mv bar exam. Hcnrv Dor, who represented Chinese for Affirmatixe Action (CAA) strived to show that Asians arc not negatively affected by race-based admissions. Dcr challenged Governor Pete Wilson, the Board of Regents, and other skeptics to produce evidence of harm done to Asians due to affirmative action. You walk on these campuses, you find me the victims who have been hurt bv affirmative action, he said. All the speakers stressed the importance of unitv and encouraged students to carry on the struggle and provide leadership for the next generation. Let ' s not give up the fight, Der said. The fight has only just begun. We need vour leadership to change [discrimination!, Jimenez said. We arc qualified and we are here to stav. As history was being made on the steps of Sproul, political infighting and confrontation was taking place in the back- ground. Brief altercations and yelling matches involving the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action By Any Means Necessary, a campus activist group, broke up the rally several times. The Coalition, expelled from the organizing body of the protest, was trying to draw attention with a bullhorn and microphone separate from the ones used by the keynote speakers. Hostilities broke out when members of the crowd or the organizers tried to grab their microphone away. Rivalry had festered between the Coalition and Diversity in Action (DiA), the main organizers of the protest, for several months. Problems began hen the Coalition was barred from participating in organizational meeting because they were too disruptive. Di. ' V feels they have to control the movement, Coalition member and first-year student Ronald Cruz said. .According to Cruz, DiA leadership refused to allow Coalition members to voice their opinions on the walk-out agenda. Despite all the disputes and distractions, organizers felt the day was successful. For an action, [the walkout] didn ' t accomplish much, Cruz said. However, it helped to build momentum. It ' s given students confidence. Others not so actively involved could disagree. It was sorry, first-year student Daniel Gianella said. There were not enough people who were concerned. Shadow s ol the protesters can be seen on the brick patterns nativ e to campus vvali vavs. AKHRMA I IVE .-VCTION 29