Proposition 209 is a statewide constitutional amendment initiative in California, which, if passed in November 1996, will eliminate all statewide affirmative action programs. It is argued that, contrary to its title, this amendment is an extreme and unnecessary measure that will actually undermine further advances in civil rights. There are differing opinions about affirmative action in the Asian Pacific community, but much of the discussion has focused on college admissions with many Asian Pacific Americans believing that affirmative action penalizes their ethnic group for academic achievement. However, it is important to look at the whole spectrum of affirmative action and to remember that success in the classroom does not equal success in the workplace. Proposition 209 deceives voters into thinking that they are voting for civil rights when they are actually voting to nullify some rights as we know them. Under Proposition 209 the following types of educational programs will be subject to legal challenge: (1) state education codes that require inclusion of material on the Holocaust, Japanese internment camps, and Armenian atrocities; (2) programs and centers for ethnic and women's studies; and (3) curricular units for courses on women and minorities. History shows that equal opportunity has never come about through voluntary means or human goodwill. Affirmative action has only been in existence for 30 years, and it has never been accepted fully nor implemented in a good faith manner. Affirmative action deserves more of a chance. California's problems are too complex to be eliminated by an ill-defined constitutional amendment. (Contains one table and three graphs.) (SLD)