The Michigan Daily/New Student Edition - Thursday, September 7, 1989 - Page 3 ROBIN LOZNAK/Daily UCAR battles by the United Coalition Against Racism to rid University of racism 16 This past year has been one of protest on Michigan college cam- puses. Students of color outraged by racist attacks, few faculty members of color, low student of color en- rollment, and small budgets for pro- gramming, took to the streets and sat-in at university administration buildings across the state. However, neither the protests nor the problems are confined to the past year. Student demands for changes in the racial and class inequalities which pervade this university date back to 1970 when Black students in BAM I raised the demand for in- creased Black enrollment. Although the movement has ebbed and flowed since then, it has never completely died.. The harsh realities of physical at- tacks on Black students, as well as the equally violent institutional forms of racism which students of O color face daily, reignited the anti- racist movement at Michigan in the Winter of 1987. After several racist assaults on Black students, which were comple- mented by the University's no-action response of "business as usual" stu- dents of color and progressive white students joined together to form the United Coalition Against Racism (UCAR). This group eventually formulated a list of twelve anti-racist demands which it viewed as the min- imal institutional changes that would make this university more hospitable to people of color. UCAR focuses on fighting insti- tutional racism at the University, and its policies and practices, formal and informal, which serve to exclude the majority of people of color from participation in institutions of higher education. UCAR also recog- nizes that attitudinal racism stems from and is reinforced by these larger institutional factors. Thus the main thrust of UCAR's on-going anti-racist campaigns have been aimed at the University admin- istration, challenging its role in maintaining systems of inequality. Over the past two and a half years UCAR has confronted the University through sit-ins, teach-ins, and by initiating a proposal for a mandatory University-wide course on racism. In addition, UCAR has been instru- mental in facilitating peer education about racism, sexism, homophobia and class exploitation by creating an alternative center for education, the Ella Baker-Nelson Mandela Center for Anti-Racist Education. Many things have changed at the University since 1987. But far too many other things have remained the same. The University administra- tion's propaganda vehicle would have us believe that they are "com- mitted to fundamental institutional change" and actively striving to achieve "diversity through excel- lence"; and that the racial tensions that rocked the campus in '87 and '88 are resolved. Yet many of their answers to the "challenges of the twenty-first century" continue to fall short of the lofty promises. Black student enrollment has never come chose to the 10 percent and 12 percent numbers demanded by students in 1970 and 1987 respec- tively and the numbers for other stu- dents of color are equally horrendous. The curriculum is still very eurocen- tric and non-inclusive of people of color and women. Students of color are virtually unprotected by a ha- rassment policy which is too vague and administered by a body itself guilty of past institutionally racist transgressions. And perhaps most blatant of all, the majority of people of color, particularly those who are economically disadvantaged, con- tinue to be denied access to public universities such as the University. It remains obvious that the work of UCAR and other progressive or- ganizations on this campus is far from over. The reinvigoration of the student anti-racist movement in the state - as evidenced by the militant sit-ins at Wayne State and Michigan State - is a positive sign that stu- dents understand that our struggle continues. Over this summer, UCAR along with the Black Student Union and the Association of Black Social Work Students, initiated the forma- tion of a state-wide alliance of pro- gressive student activists. The result- ing Michigan Alliance of African African Students (MAAS) includes students from Michigan, Wayne State University, Michigan State University and Eastern Michigan University and is aggressively out- reaching to other campuses. Uniting under the slogas "Education is a Right and Not >Y Privilege", MAAS hopes to coordi nate campaigns across the state to, fight for educational access for stu- dents of color and poor students.- This type of access campaign has far reaching implications not only for students already here at the Uni- versity, but especially for those people who remain in the communi- ties from which we have come. UCAR believes that we should have accountability to those communities and remain involved even if we are physically removed from them. We encourage all students to be- come involved in the anti-racist stu- dent struggle at the University - continuing the legacy of activism which has gone before us. UCAR meets every other Thursday in the Michigan Union at 6 p.m. All are welcome. . The Baker-Mandela Center Teaching students that thinking is the first and most crucial action for success by Tracye Matthews BMC Coordinator In the Winter of 1987, the University campus exploded when Black students, supported by other progressive students, organized to fight against the blatant racist at- tacks and institutional racism at this University. It is now the summer of 1989 and both the spirit and the ideas of those students have become a lasting part of the University through the ' Ella Baker-Nelson Mandela Center for Anti-Racist Education (BMC). The BMC is a student-run alter- native resource and education facility 'We think that you will find the center to be an invaluable re- source as well as a necessary compon- ent to a well round- ed education here at the University' initiated by the United Coalition Against Racism. It is the Center's goal to encourage the study of the is- sues of race, class and gender as they impact upon people's lives and to begin to challenge existing para- digms and theories which are often eurocentric, racist, sexist and homo- phobic. An underlying philosophy of the BMC is to think in order to act. als which focus on race, class and gender and current issues confronting our communities. These materials include a variety of mediums. For example, videotapes such as Angela Davis' 1988 campus visit and "Racism 101"; cassette tapes of Malcolm X and Manning Marable; and magazines and newsclippings from the 1960's are just a few of the resources at the BMC available for student and community use. In addition, there are several on- going projects coordinated through the center which encourage student and community cooperation and in- put. For example, the BMC has ini- tiated a Black Women's oral history project to chronicle the lives of women in the surrounding Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Detroit com- munities. Too often the important contributions of everyday people are excluded from the history books. This project brings together Black students with the Black community to exchange life experiences and learn from each other. Additional BMC projects include a video detail- ing the anti-racist movement at Michigan and a research project on access to higher education for people of color and the poor. There are a variety of ways to get involved with the BMC and make use of its offerings. The BMC would like to encourage all students who are curious about the student movement at Michigan and nation- ally; interested in learning more about race, class and gender issues; Miami uprisings, AIDS in the Black and Latino communities, the Palest- inian Intifada, and the Howard University sit-in. These informal discussions provide an opportunity to share insight on issues which af- fect our lives and to meet with other people who have similar interests and concerns. Many of the resources of the Baker-Mandela Center, particularly the person power, are ones that may not be found in other areas of a University which tends to be big, cold and impersonal. We think that 'It is the hope of the BMC to put theoreti- cal work to practical use in service of Third World and poor communities' you will find the center to be an in- valuable resource as well as a neces- sary component to a well rounded education here at the University. The Baker-Mandela Center is lo- cated in Room 3 East Engineering, the phone number is 936-1809. HIR ETo 5-AI DAVID LUBLINER/DaiIy UCAR member Kim Smith is seen here taking a guest on a tour of the Baker-Mandela Center during its grand opening last fall. The center is a student-run alternative resource and education facility. The goal of the center : is to encourage the study of the issues of race, class,and gender as they impact upon people's lives. The hope - is students will be able to then challenge the existing paradigms and theories of our society. L ET U S Y/EU You CERTAIN media trics laugh track soundstage