Prop 209

Prop. 209

On November 5, 1996 we will have the opportunity to have our voice heard when we go to the polls on election day. Not only will we be able to vote on who will be the next U.S. President, but we can also help determine the fate of issues that will help shape the future of our state, from water to healthcare to campaign reform to minimum wage. One of these Proposition is number 209.

Prop. 209 will restore our historic Civil Rights Act that proclaims simply and clearly: |The state shall not discriminate against, or

grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group, on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in the operation of public employment, public employment, public education, or public contraction.X(Ballot pamphlet)

Prop. 209 will generally prohibits discrimination or preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employmnet, education, and contracting. A yes vote on this measure means the elimination of affirmative action programs for women and minorities that the government runs. It will save $125 million annually

by elemating programs that the state uses to inforce affirmative action. These savings can be used for other, more constructive programs to help elimate discrimination. Maybe other Propositions on the ballet can use the extra funds. I think that ending affirmative action will be the right thing to do. It ends government-sponsored discrimination by rejecting quotas, preferences and set-asides.

My brother had a run in with affirmative action. After attending a junior college and getting a 4.0 there he transfered to U.C. Davis for Pre-Med school. Two years later he applied to Davis+s Medical school and was rejected because there were to many white students in the college. He was then told to wait an entire year and apply again. Instead he moved back to our home town of Bakersfield and became a farmer with my Father. He had the grades and the chance to become a very successful docter. Now he is a farmer, far from the E.R. room.

Not every white person is advantaged like most think. We are all individuals. Real |affirmative actionX originally meant no discrimination and sought to provide opportunity. The only honest and effective way to address inequality of opportunity is by making sure that all California peoples are provided with the tools to compete in our society. Then let them succeed on a fair, color-blind, race-blind, gender-blind basis. Vote

fairness…not favortism.