BERKELEY, Calif.

In response the anti-affirmative action referendums and policy statements which have become the law of the land in the state of California, students here have crafted the Equal Educational Opportunity. Initiative (EEOI) in hopes of getting it on the ballot in November.

The new initiative states: "In order to provide equal opportunity, promote diversity, and combat discrimination in public education, the state may consider the economic background, race, sex, ethnicity, and national origin of qualified individuals."

The goal of the students, who come from almost every campus in the state and have banded together to form the Students for Educational Opportunity (SEO), is to gather 1 million signatures by April 17 to qualify for the November ballot. To qualify, 800,000 signatures are required.

More than 1,000 students have mobilized and are now working to gather signatures, according to Andrea Guerrero, a student at the University of California (UC) Law School and one of the coordinators of the multiracial effort.

Last fall, UC-Berkeley Professor Ron Takaki also called for a people-driven initiative to counter the anti-affirmative action referendums which have passed in California. After learning that students were simultaneously crafting their own initiative, he met with the student leaders and decided to put his own plans aside to assist the student effort. He believes the student initiative will spark a debate on issues of equality and the future of the state.

"There's an impending crisis over Proposition 209. We have a hint of the future to come. With affirmative action applying to freshmen this coming year, we project that the UC System will be 93 percent White and Asian," Takaki said. "This will cause a racial earthquake in California. People are going to be asking themselves why they should be paying taxes to subsidize-the elite."

Students for Educational Opportunity can be reached at: (510) 601-8405 or <EEOI@aol.com>.