Fighting Back in Florida

Black Issues in Higher Education, Dec 9, 1999 by Matt Avery

University of Florida student government, interim president say Bush's plan would hurt campus diversity

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Although approval of Gov. Jeb Bush's anti-affirmative action One Florida plan by the Board of Regents was a forgone conclusion last month, student government officials at the University of Florida were encouraging students to oppose the policy.

And Dr. Charles E. Young, the university's interim president announced his intentions to "convince the people who run the [University of Florida] system that more consultation is needed."

"I just couldn't believe the fact that the Regents approved the plan in principle without first consulting with the faculty, staff, administration and students," Young says.

University of Florida Student Body Vice President Jocelyn Moore says One Florida would create "ghetto schools" where minorities from underperforming schools would be sent because they could not meet admissions requirements to schools like UF.

"We have certain differences in our [K-12] school system, which, under this plan, aren't going to be remedied," Moore says.

She adds that she is still "reeling" from the reality of Bush's plan, which she says could cause an immediate decline in minority admissions at UF.

"It really scares me," Moore says. "I don't know where we're going to go from this."

Moore encouraged students to protest the plan, however, she did not expect such action would prevent the regents from accepting the plan, which they did, at their November meeting.

"They've already disregarded students blatantly," Moore says.

The student government will form a task force to examine the way One Florida will affect University of Florida admissions policies and the diversity of the student population. Members will come from a "cross section of the student body," but Moore says she could not release any further information.

Student Body President Brent Gordon says that while he needs to see specifics before he can form an opinion, he opposes the way the plan was written. Gordon adds that no students were involved in drafting the plan that, if approved, will ban racial preferences in state university admissions criteria.

Racial preferences were bound to be an issue on the 2000 Florida ballot. She would have preferred if the public had been allowed to vote on the measures.

"It's the responsibility of our government not to blindside people," Moore said. "We're talking about educating people, and we're not involving the people we're trying to educate at all."

And with the help of Ward Connerly, Moore may get her wish. Connerly, the Black California businessman and state regent who was behind the successful anti-affirmative action campaigns in his state and in Washington, said last month that despite Bush's proposal, his organization will continue efforts to put the matter to vote. Connerly doesn't think Bush's plan goes far enough (see Black Issues, Nov. 25 edition).

Moore, who has in the past opposed a ballot initiative banning racial preferences by Connerly, says she preferred his campaign to Gov. Bush's One Florida. She thinks Bush's plan is a measure calculated to force Connerly to abandon his Florida campaign.

"While I don't agree with Ward Connerly, I do agree with his methods," she says. "What [One Florida] does is put a Band-Aid on for the time being."

Meanwhile Kevin Nguyen, spokesman for Connerly's American Civil Rights Coalition, said last month that had One Florida been intended to "take the wheels out of our campaign," Bush would have made a greater effort to address all of Connerly's concerns. Nguyen says Bush's plan serves to intensify public awareness and public focus on the issue of racial preferences.

Nguyen also says it was interesting that opposing parties could find common ground over One Florida.

"It's funny that, though [the UF student government disagrees with us], we both see the value of putting the issue in the hands of the voters," Nguyen says.

Gordon says he also is concerned with possible problems implementing One Florida. He particularly was concerned with racial inequities that could result from Bush's Talented 20 Percent plan, which guarantees the top 20 percent of every high school's graduating class admission to a state university.

"You have such extremes in Florida with the K through 12 system," Gordon says. "Twenty percent doesn't mean much."

Bush's plan could either reverse the trend toward greater diversity in state universities or could admit students to universities for which they are not qualified. If every school were required to admit a certain number of students under the Talented 20 Percent plan, Gordon says it would result in schools like UF lowering their academic standards.

On the other hand, without some sort of admissions quota, certain Florida universities could be turned into "receptacle schools" for minorities, Gordon says.

UF officials also were not clear on how One Florida would affect the school. Interim Provost David Colburn said UF tries to admit the best students possible regardless of minority status. He said UF Interim President Charles Young has stated clearly that he believes a diverse environment enriches the quality of education.