UCLA, Protesters May Be on Verge of Compromise

Substantial progress was reported Sunday as both sides talked into the night to resolve the dispute over Chicano studies at UCLA, possibly clearing the way for hunger strikers to end their 13-day fast just as some were beginning to show signs of weakening health.

After four days of intensive bargaining, a compromise was said to be near that would strongly enhance the powers of UCLA’s Chicano studies program to hire its own faculty and make curriculum decisions, both sides said.

One high-ranking UCLA administrator described the negotiations as “90% complete, but there is still 10% hanging out there.”

Strikers met among themselves for more than four hours Sunday night to consider “detailed final documents,” said UCLA medical professor Jorge Mancillas, one of the strikers.

The parties are to meet at 9 a.m. today to iron out what both sides hope will be the last details of an agreement.

Although the hunger strikers are preparing to claim victory, they would not get all they wanted in the plan because the 20-year-old program will not be called an independent department and students would not have a major say in faculty hiring.

State Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica), who attended the strikers’ four-hour session as an adviser to the group, said “a settlement is emerging but it’s not quite complete.”

Beyond the academic issues, legal ones remained. There was a round of telephone calls Sunday among UCLA officials, attorneys for the strikers and Los Angeles City Atty. James K. Hahn.

Although not all details were available Sunday night, a deal apparently was in the works that might allow for financial restitution instead of prosecution for some of the $30,000 to $50,000 in damages allegedly caused at the UCLA Faculty Center during a May 11 rally calling for the Chicano studies department. That could mean that seven students now facing possible vandalism charges might not be prosecuted.

UCLA Chancellor Charles E. Young on Saturday faxed a letter to Hahn that asked for leniency for 84 other students who were arrested May 11 and who could face lesser charges, such as trespassing.

Both sides fear the strikers may be on the verge of the devastating effects of a prolonged water-only fast. And that gave new urgency to the movement toward settlement.

On Sunday, several appeared noticeably weakened. At one point, a UCLA emergency medical crew rushed to the conference room on the second floor of Murphy Hall after Mancillas was reported near collapse. Mancillas recovered unaided.

The hunger strikers and their supporters hope for an agreement they can describe as a victory for Chicano identity and power nationwide.

UCLA’s top administrators want to extricate themselves from a no-win situation. They feared for the health of the strikers and were under pressure from some state legislators and the Latino community to boost the status of Chicano studies.