Thursday, Mar. 13th:
UC-Berkeley DAY OF ACTION
to Increase Underrepresented Minority Enrollment in the UC System and Eliminate the SAT

RALLY AND MARCH!
12 Noon, Sproul Plaza, UC-Berkeley

Sponsored by BAMN and the UCB Graduate Assembly

The UC faculty committee BOARS (Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools) has proposed a new UC eligibility policy that includes eliminating the SAT II subject test requirement and the rigid use of other admissions criteria. The aim of the BOARS proposal is to increase the opportunities of Latina/o, black, Native American, Filipina/o, rural, and low-income students of all races to attend the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) and other UCs. If passed and correctly implemented, this proposal could represent a step forward towards restoring the mission of the UC system to provide a first-class education to all of California’s most promising young people, including those who have been denied equal educational opportunities because of institutional racism, segregation, and poverty.

In its current form, the BOARS proposal eliminates the guarantee of UC admission to the top 12.5% of California’s high school graduates The BOARS proposal must be amended to restore the 12.5%, both to prevent any counter-position of an increase in Latina(o) and black student enrollment to the maintenance of the 12.5% guarantee, and because the guarantee is a democratic gain that can be implemented to benefit all California students including its rapidly increasing Latina/o student population.

The BOARS proposal would be strengthened greatly and more likely to achieve substantial rather than token increases in underrepresented student enrollment if it is amended to eliminate the use of the SAT I and all standardized tests in the admissions process. The SAT and other standardized tests do not measure intellectual ability or potential. They do however stigmatize minority and poor students and provide an unfair advantage to white students and students from privileged backgrounds. Eliminating use of the SAT is necessary to protect meaningful gains in underrepresented student enrollment from the threat of right-wing lawsuits and demagoguery.

On March 13th, we will demand:
• Adoption of the BOARS proposal to reform the UC admissions system.
• Amendment of the BOARS proposal to maintain the guarantee of admission to the top 12.5% of California’s high school graduates.
• Amendment of the BOARS proposal to also eliminate the SAT I requirement to further increase underrepresented student enrollment.