California Assembly Constitutional Amendment No. 5 (ACA5) has been introduced aiming to repeal Prop 209 approved by voters in 1996. ACA5, if approved, will give rise to the use of race, national origin, and gender as evaluation basis in the public sector of California for college admission, job application, and contract approval. It will regressively cause serious race discrimination and sex discrimination especially to the outrage of Asian Americans and Caucasian Americans. Please express your strong opinions against ACA5 now to California legislators, urging them to reject this calamitous and discriminatory amendment! Attached is a sample letter.
Everybody should be judged objectively based on merits including accomplishments, talents, dedication, and integrity, but not on immutable traits such as color of the skin/national origin or gender. Otherwise it is discrimination based on race or sex, in accordance with the current federal and state law! A March 2019 Pew study finds that the majority of Americans, 73%, believe that colleges and universities should not consider race or ethnicity in admissions.
The Hispanics and African American authors of ACA5 are attempting to change the current state law mainly for the benefits of their own ethnic groups. Diversity is their main excuse. This amendment will actually further divide our country and cause more ill feelings among races. Equality is their other excuse. However, evaluating applicants based on race/national origin is inequality, exactly contradictory to equality. This is huge injustice and incredible discrimination, seriously tarnishing the reputation and image of America! California’s result on this will be a guideline for the whole country.
ACA5 violates the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution which clearly states that no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of its laws. U.S. Supreme Court only allows very narrow usage of affirmative action (Fisher vs. U. of Texas at Austin). The user has to jump over the tough hurdle of strict scrutiny, that is to prove that not using affirmative action will cause tremendous harm to the state (compelling state test) and that there is no other better method to be employed.
The UC current system already uses the contention “every student has a story”, to give preference to applicants with so-called unfavorable background. Asian Americans are already having a tough time in dealing with this. Preferential treatment based on race/sex is indeed discrimination.
If Prop 209 is repealed, it is anticipated that the number of Asian American freshmen in UC will drop tremendously and Asian Americans will also be discriminated in job/contract application in the public sector of California! How can the top capitalistic democracy in the world allow such racial and gender discrimination formally?! It is imperative that we take action to stop ACA5 now!
The email address of your local California legislators can be found by going to — http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov Please send your opposition letters to them and other California legislators too. Again, attached is the sample letter.
Sample Let-Cal legislators against ACA5