UC leaders promise to improve campus race relations
SAN FRANCISCO — Responding to racist incidents on the San Diego, Santa Cruz and Davis campuses, University of California leaders vowed Wednesday to improve race relations at the 10-campus system.
A better admissions process and other changes would help minority students feel more comfortable, UC President Mark Yudof said during a contentious Board of Regents meeting at UC San Francisco.
"We stand with you," he told students. "We will support you. There are no excuses for the behavior we've witnessed."
Several students spoke passionately about the pain caused by the flurry of incidents in January and February. The incidents included a noose found hanging at a UC San Diego library and swastikas painted on UC Davis doors.
Regents took no action on the issue Wednesday, but UC officials promised to take students' concerns seriously and to act soon. The university also appointed Christopher Edley, the UC Berkeley law dean whose background is in civil-rights law, to advise UC San Diego.
