Race question stirs U. debate

With President Bush's recent criticism of affirmative action, the decades-old issue has become especially salient.

Penn Forum hosted a discussion with just that in mind last night at an event entitled "Affirmative Action: Fostering Diversity or Fueling Discrimination."

"It's hard to think of a more timely topic right now," said Economics Professor Rebecca Stein, the panel moderator.

Although anti-affirmative action speaker and congressional candidate John McDermott was scheduled to attend, he canceled two hours prior to the event. With one hour of notice, Wharton freshman Syed Akbari filled in to join Villanova University Law School Professor Howard Lurie on the anti-affirmative action side of the panel.

Opposing them was Penn Law School Professor David Rudovsky as well as Penn graduate student and Daily Pennsylvanian columnist Vinay Harpalani.

"This debate comes down to those who think race still matters versus those who don't," Rudovsky said.

"What Trent Lott says is what a lot of people think," Rudovsky added. He emphasized that affirmative action was necessary because contemporary society is far from being rid of segregation and racism.

Yet Lurie argued that not only does the policy "diminish everyone of color," but also violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

"White men who believed in slavery wrote the Constitution," Harpalani interjected.

The anti-affirmative action side "interpreted the letter of the law, while the other side saw the spirit of the law," said College senior Radhika Bhattacharya.

"I don't see why our government can correct for market failures and not for social failures," Bhattacharya added.

Yet for some, affirmative action was still seen as more of a hindrance than an accomplishment.

"Race is the most arbitrary of characteristics," Akbari said. "The objective is to hire the best people for the job."

"The question is how do we measure 'best'?" Rudovsky countered, provoking audience applause.

Also garnering applause, several audience members spoke out for affirmative action.

Lurie then argued that diversity can be achieved through "selecting randomly," which elicited a student to interrupt, "Do you understand probability?"

In fact, many Penn Forum members felt the "audience hugely tilted in favor" of the affirmative action side, as College sophomore and Penn Forum Recruiting Coordinator Carrie Greene said.

Yet she praised the audience for being "energetic" and Lurie for "evoking the most passion."

"We would have been able to hit more issues if we'd had more questions asked to both sides," Penn Forum Chairman and Wharton sophomore Bret Sanner said.

Likewise, College freshman Titilola Bakare added she wished the Penn Forum planners had solicited a more diverse audience.

Yet College freshman Erin Branche complimented the event for confronting such a "focal and current issue."

"Some of the questions were pointed," Akbari said, "but ultimately that's what we're here for."

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