UC students demand affirmative action 

Students at UC Berkeley have declared today a day to unite against the ban on affirmative action in the University of California system.

"If  we can get the regents to reverse the affirmative action ban, it would be a big blow to the attack on affirmative action that is taking place across the country," said Hoku Jeffrey, a UC Berkeley student and member of the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action by any Means Necessary.

The ban, initiated in 1995 by the UC Regents, established that the system would no longer consider affirmative action in its admission criteria, Jeffery said.

Rallies, marches and teach-ins will take place today at UC Berkeley and other UC schools in conjunction with this day of action, Jeffrey said. 

The purpose of these events is to update and inform people about the effects the ban is having on the system and surrounding community, he said.

Effects of the ban include a national attack on the elementary and high school systems in a trend that resembles separate but equal education in certain communities, Jeffrey said. "Our long-term goal is the defense of affirmative action," he said. "It should have been publicized on all college campuses, so at least we would know what was going on," Burton said.

The loss of affirmative action on some college campuses poses a problem to a lot of communities, she said. "It definitely needs to be addressed."

Some faculty in the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity at UC Irvine are in the process of writing an affirmative action plan, said special projects coordinator Mary Veleta. "We're going to be educating people that affirmative action is not dead," Veleta said. "Opportunities still exist for staff and faculty through affirmative action."