Following the discovery of a photograph of University of California, Los Angeles’ student body president Danny Siegel throwing up a gang sign, the Afrikan Student Union issued a series of demands to the UCLA administration. Specifically, the ASU demands a $40 million endowment “to address African-American underrepresentation on campus” and mandatory “cultural awareness training” for UCLA students. It also called for “safe spaces for ASU and its projects.”
Furthermore, the ASU asked for a “Black Resource Center,” which would “house meeting and safe spaces for ASU and its projects, such as the Academic Supports Program, Students Heightening Access Performance through Educations and the Afrikan Education Project.” Alicia Frison, a senior at UCLA and the chair of the ASU, told The Daily Bruin that other universities have such programs and resources so UCLA ought to follow their lead.
On May 11, the UCLA administration said it was reviewing ASU’s demands. Brian Haas, the university’s spokesperson, told The Daily Bruin that minority student enrollment has been up 13% since 2012 and has improved anti-discrimination procedures. The University had to respond to the demands by May 18. As of now, there is no word on whether the University met those demands.
As Daily Wire reported when Siegel’s photograph was discovered, many black students argued that the president’s decision to throw up a gang sign representing the Bloods was appropriated from black culture.