By Naomi Nguyen
SCA-5, a bill that repeals part of Proposition 209, which keeps the State from treating people differently based on their race, ethnicity, or sex for public education and more, was recently passed in the California Senate. There is controversy surrounding the bill since it could allow for colleges and universities to discriminate a student based on these factors, making it more difficult for students to get into a school they wish to attend.
“I think that it’s completely ridiculous because [SCA-5’s] main purpose is to restrict the admission of students based on their race,” Quan Le (‘15) stated. “[It’s ridiculous] because it takes away the consideration of grades academic achievements and it places it on whether you’re asian or white or latino. Students are students and the ones that are the most motivated and most talented deserve to be admitted.”
“I don’t really like the prospect of colleges using race as a prospect of admission. It seems arbitrary,” said Thomas Mundi (‘15).
Students focusing on their GPA and testing scores and extracurriculars are often already stressed, but SCA-5 could cause many to worry about how their race, gender, or ethnicity will affect their getting into college in addition to their grades and activities .
“I feel like I would have to work extra hard and study even more to be considered the same. I only get three to five hours of sleep a night already!” stated Carolyn Nguyen (‘15).
Students aren’t the only ones worried about the bill. History teacher David Uribe said, “I don’t think it’s fair for many students that work really hard. It discriminates against other minorities, in particular Asians, whose numbers at universities would drop significantly,”
The bill, authored mainly by Senator Edward Hernandez, is meant to diversify schools more by giving more opportunity to other races that do not make up a relatively large percentage of students, but could make it more difficult for races that make up a larger part of the school’s population, such as Asians, to be accepted in.
Jonathan Hwang (‘14), said, “I think this bill is going too far with trying to achieve racial equality and causes a lot of anger and hate. There’s a limit to how far you can go to helping out underrepresented people.”
The bill was pulled March 17 for revision because it did not get the necessary amount of votes to pass the California State Assembly.
