Students take varying stands on social policy

During the last night of a four-day symposium about affirmative action, each of the nine student panelists advocated equality - but they spoke from different perspectives about how it should be achieved.

"I don't think anyone would say we want an undiverse school," said Engineering first-year student and panelist Alok Agrawal, who opposes affirmative action.

With at least half the attendance and half the intensity of Wednesday's meeting that featured state politicians, last night's event focused on how affirmative action serves society.

Many of the panelists - each of whom came from a different campus organization - voiced agreement that members of society should funnel efforts into improving different areas, including primary education. Several students, however, said affirmative action and improving K-12 education must go hand-in-hand because eliminating affirmative action would worsen current problems.

"I don't think affirmative action is the only answer, the only solution," said LSA sophomore and panelist William Youmans. "Having both will only speed up the process."

But LSA junior Gregory Hillson said removing affirmative action practices will act as an incentive to make social changes necessary for establishing equal opportunities.

"If you want to get rid of the problem ... we have to end affirmative action," Hillson said.

Others argued that affirmative action is a form of discrimination, so trying to couple it with other reforms is contradictory.

"As we've seen, affirmative action is an inflammatory solution," Agrawal said. "If you use affirmative action, you're almost saying that even if we do balance our K-12 education, you still need affirmative action."

RC junior Neela Ghoshal said affirmative action must be maintained because it works to eliminate economic class discrimination, a force that can limit a student's primary education.

"I think that racism still permeates our society," said Ghoshal, adding that wealthy minority students also experience racism.

Several of the students advocating affirmative action said removing the policy from the University would have deep repercussions.

LSA sophomore Delbert Sanders said the University would not be an environment conducive to mutual learning among people of different classifications because it would be a more homogeneous place.

"I think we do a disservice to ourselves when we don't try to get to know each other," Sanders said.

Because of the symposium, LSA junior Jacob Kart said he was not "convinced" about how to feel about affirmative action. Rather, the symposium gave him the information to reach his own conclusion.

"I've been to three of the four nights and was pretty undecided when I came," Kart said. "Now, I feel like I can confidently say I'm in favor of affirmative action."

One of the student moderators, LSA senior Scott Pence, said the purpose of the symposium was accomplished last night.

LSA junior Melissa Walsh, also a symposium moderator and a member of Student Mediation Services, said students were able to hear a variety of different perspectives.

"It wasn't just, 'This is the standard pro and this is the standard con,'" Walsh said.

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