In an ongoing effort to increase cultural education, student activists collaborated to sponsor a panel Tuesday to discuss affirmative action and how it affects students of color.
The panel discussion was co-sponsored by the United States Student Association, the Associated Students of Madison, the Multicultural Student Coalition and United Council.
USSA Vice President Jo’ie Taylor said the most important purpose of the panel was to dispel the myths surrounding the topic.
“I think it is important for students to walk away with an understanding of what affirmative action really is,” Taylor said. “It’s not just about quotas and all the myths people think it is. It’s something that is … very necessary. Affirmative action has opened doors for underrepresented folks to attend colleges, and provides equal opportunity for [all] people to participate in society.”
Fred Mohs of the UW System Board of Regents, a noted critic of affirmative-action policies, said he disagreed with Taylor, feeling that affirmative action is not only unnecessary, but detrimental in offering special opportunities or increased chances of employment and enrollment to minorities.
Mohs said UW-Madison has a certain portion of applicants who are accepted and a certain number who are rejected, and that often a student of color’s application will be taken from a pile of rejected applications and accepted purely on the merit of that person’s minority status.
“I am a vocal opponent of the use of race as a determinant in how we admit [students] to this university,” Mohs said. “It excites me to think that every American citizen has the chance to grab the golden ring, be productive, [and] have opportunities. Face it, people from all over the world [want to become American citizens]. Even the most downtrodden of [our citizens are] better off than people in other countries.”
UW professor Michael Thornton vehemently disagreed with Mohs.
“Affirmative action is making a positive action in favor of someone,” Thornton said. “[It is] an attempt to provide an alternate source of power.”
Mohs said this alternate source of power should be found in education and denied that this way of thinking was racist.
“The origin of the SAT, class rank, and so on … these came because we wanted to come up with a method of treating people equally,” Mohs said. “Just the mere assertion that students of color are taking spots [on merit of minority status alone] is racist.”
MCSC Chair Tshaka Barrows was pleased with the dialogue at the panel discussion, saying it was important for people of dissenting views to argue their beliefs.
“More people need to stand up for what they believe in,” Barrows said. “I don’t necessarily agree with [some of the views expressed here] but people who have objections need to sit down with folks from the other side, and they have to talk, and they have to listen.”
