GUEST COLUMN: "Equal representation for all"

Onyx Finney and Susie Lee say the United Minorities Council needs a permanent voice on University Council more than ever. ___________________________________ The United Minorities Council was established to represent the interests of the minority community at the University by addressing common causes, providing a forum for discussion, exploration and action on issues of concern to communities of color and presenting and celebrating the richness of our diverse cultures and backgrounds. There has been much controversy surrounding the United Minorities Council's recent requests to re-obtain a seat on University Council. In the past, the Undergraduate Assembly annually granted the UMC a seat. However, this arrangement depended directly on the views of the UA's membership. Three years ago, then-UMC Chairperson Jun Bang petitioned for the UMC to have a permanent seat. Not only was this petition denied, but the UA also ceased allocating the UMC a Council seat on an annual basis. Last year's UMC Chairperson, Elizabeth Melendez, resubmitted the proposal for permanent UMC representation on Council, but it was once again refused. Despite these failures, the UMC has put forth the proposal again now, because numerous issues affecting students of color on this campus have not yet been satisfactorily addressed by the UA. The UMC does not claim to represent every student of color at the University, but we do represent a significant part of the population. The UMC is the only organization on campus established precisely to address concerns that affect students of color. Since University Council advises the president and provost, and serves as a forum for discussion of various important campus issues, it is necessary and imperative that students of color have an institutionalized way of communicating with Council members. Council's discussions are central to the discourse of social, academic and political life on this campus, where people of color have been and continue to be marginalized. This can be seen in the small number of tenured faculty of color, the isolated location of the Greenfield Intercultural Center and the minute number of Native American students at the University. Also, there currently are only two ethnic studies programs here that offer majors, African and African American studies. Unfortunately, only minors are offered in Latin American and Asian American studies. Why is the University the only Ivy League institution that does not offer a program in Native American Studies? The recruitment and retention of people of color, specifically Native Americans, is another of the UMC's primary concerns. The recent and ever-present ethnic intimidation of South Asian students, BiCultural InterGreek Council groups and even the Onyx Senior Honor Society drive this point home. Some members of the Penn community are ignorant of the initiation processes of certain minority groups. But this does not justify their decisions to show their discontent by throwing items such as water balloons, fire-crackers and glass bottles out of high rise windows! Allocating the UMC a permanent seat on University Council would ensure that minority concerns like these are represented. The Undergraduate Assembly claims to represent all undergraduate students. However, it does not. In the latest DP poll of 100 randomly selected students, completed in mid-February, 99 percent said they had never contacted the UA. Seventy-eight percent felt the UA does not accurately represent their opinions. And although the UA has instituted a door-to-door policy to improve communication, 78 percent of the students polled had not been visited by a UA member. Since the UA clearly does not represent the entire student body, who does it represent? Mike Nadel poorly articulated in his DP column last semester, "Five branches of student government are now headed by members of the ethnic groups the UMC claims to represent.... The chairman and vice-chairman of the Undergraduate Assembly, who each sit on Council, are minorities under the UMC banner." Nadel simple-mindedly contends that since UA Chairperson Lance Rogers is Native American and UA Vice-Chairperson Gil Beverly is African-American, there is minority representation on Council. But just because students of color participate in organizations like the UA does not mean they are there particularly to speak for members of their own ethnic groups. Although the UA and UMC are establishing better lines of communication and will be working together on various issues in the future, our relationship is contingent on whether or not future UA bodies are interested in and value issues important to students of color. Another avenue for representation posed to the UMC has been to run for a seat on University Council. Why should the UMC run for a seat when all undergraduate representation is allocated to the Undergraduate Assembly, and when running to represent all undergraduates would take away from our ability to advocate for the interests and issue of students of color? This procedure also does not guarantee the permanent presence of a student on Council who will be devoted to issues facing students of color. The UMC feels it is imperative for the University community to understand why we are entitled to a permanent seat on University Council. Allocating a seat to the UMC will help the University live up to its public image as an institution of higher learning that is diverse, multicultural and multiethnically comfortable.