The Red and Black

By ANDREW DEMILLO Staff Writer

California's drop in minority admissions could have a "chilling effect" on the future of affirmative action in Georgia universities, state and University officials said Wednesday.

The University of California at Berkeley announced Tuesday that its next freshman class will have significantly fewer black and hispanic students than in previous years.

The drop, which officials say resulted from the state's ban on racial preferences, includes a 64 percent decline in black students and a 56 percent decline in hispanic students.

Dawn Bennett-Alexander, a University associate law professor, said she wasn't surprised by the drop. She said misconceptions have led many schools to dismantle their preference programs.

"Part of the problem occurs when you replace a program that's been around since 1776 with a fairly recent one," Bennett-Alexander said. "You can't expect to see the fruits of it immediately."

Expectations to see effects immediately have caused many to deem affirmative action a failure, according to Bennett-Alexander. She said it's possible for Georgia to follow the trend set by California.

"Even though there has been historical support for the program, the tide could turn," Bennett-Alexander said. "It would definitely have detrimental effects if it happened."

State Rep. Louise McBee (D-Athens) said the possible dismantling of race-based admissions has been a hotly contested item in the General Assembly.

"There are members of both parties who have equally strong feelings about this," McBee said. "Luckily, we've been able to halt any attempts that have been introduced."

State Sen. Chuck Clay (R-Marietta) said the state's current affirmative action policy needs to be reviewed.

"We're currently able to recruit athletes without using race or other arbitrary categories," Clay said. "Race shouldn't be used as an arbitrary category."

Clay said he doesn't want to eliminate affirmative action programs entirely.

"I don't want what happened in California to happen in Georgia," Clay said. "We just need to take a careful look in the mirror."

Executive Director of University Communications Tom Jackson said he doesn't expect the University's preference policy to change.

"This could have a chilling effect on other schools' ability to promote diversity," Jackson said. "As always, we're committed to promoting diversity here."

Other officials, however, still are reserving judgement on University President Michael Adams' promise to stand behind affirmative action at the University.

Adams was out of town Wednesday and could not be reached for comment.

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