REQUEST FOR ACTION BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
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All requests may be typed and submitted to the Executive Vice President no later 5:00 p.m. Thursday in order to be included in the agenda for the following Tuesday. The Executive Vice President reserves the right to delay the Request for Action to a later Council session if the Executive Vice President feels the agenda for the next schedule meeting is full. |
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| Item Number: 29 | Legislation Number (B: Bill, R: Resolution): |
| Second: |
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| Synopsis: In Support of a Multicultural Center on the UC Berkeley Campus | |
| Date of Presentation: |
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| WHEREAS, a multiracial coalition of students came together and formed the third world Liberation Front (twLF) in 1969 and demanded that the University acknowledge the histories of communities of color as vital scholarship; and WHEREAS, the 3 month long twLF protests of 1969 led to the creation of the Ethnic Studies Department ? with programs in African American, Asian American, Chicano/a, and Native American Studies; and WHEREAS, under the banner of the 1969 third world Liberation Front, University of California, Berkeley (UCB) student strikers protested a series of cuts to the Ethnic Studies Department by holding rallies, sit-ins, building occupations, and even a hunger strike; and WHEREAS, UCB?s administration, Department of Ethnic Studies, and Academic Senate, in response to the April Protests, entered into a 5 point agreement in support of Ethnic Studies with students on May 7, 1999; and WHEREAS, the University agreed to students? demand for the establishment of a multicultural center on the UCB campus; and WHEREAS, a collective of students under the banner of twLF exist today to ensure that the strike demands of 1999 are fulfilled; and WHEREAS, a sufficient multicultural center fails to exist on the UCB campus, 5 years after the twLF agreements were made in May of 1999; and WHEREAS, according to the UC Berkeley news center, Fall 2004 admissions show a dramatic decrease in a number of underrepresented communities: African American admissions are down 29.2% since last year; American Indian admissions are down 21.6%, and Chicano/Latino admissions are down 7.3%. While the admissions number for students under the broad category of Asian American went up 4.7%, the number of students admitted to the university who identify themselves as Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander was down 12%. White student admission went up 10.6% in the previous year; and WHEREAS, a lack of a diverse student body inhibits the opportunity for students to learn, understand, and respect a variety of different cultures and perspectives; and WHEREAS, every day, at least one hate crime occurs on a college campus with the number of hate crimes increasing by 121% from 1995 to 2001; and WHEREAS, the establishment of a multicultural center and multicultural programming will facilitate necessary education, critical analysis, awareness, and dialogue that will address issues of diversity and unwelcoming campus climate; and WHEREAS, UCB is the only UC campus that does not have a multicultural center; and WHEREAS, the Berkeley University has agreed to provide a multicultural center in Heller Lounge within the Martin Luther King, Jr. Student Union Building, a highly visible and trafficked location that allows for multicultural programming, performance, and lounge space; Therefore, LET IT BE RESOLVED that the Associated Students of the University of California, Irvine support the temporary establishment of the ?Multicultural Center? within Heller Lounge of UCB?s Martin Luther King, Jr. Student Union Building. |
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| Referred to: Rules |
Committee on: Rules: Pass |
| Vote Required: Majority | FINAL VOTE: Passed YEA: 10 NAY: 0 ABS: 0 |
| THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL OF THE ASSOCIATED STUDENTS OF THE |
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| ____________________________ | _____________________________ |
| Executive Vice President, ASUCI | Verification of Executive Cabinet |