SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS DEBATE OVER RACE POLICY CONTINUES SUPPORTERS URGING UC TO BRING BACK AFFIRMATIVE ACTION Monday, May 1, 2000 BY DANA HULL, Mercury News Staff Writer Caption: PHOTO: PAUL SAKUMA -- ASSOCIATED PRESS University of California Regents Ward Connerly, left, and William Bagley shake hands Tuesday before a debate over affirmative-action laws. Nearly five years after both the University of California and state voters approved measures that banned race and gender preferences, the contentious issue of affirmative action is once again bubbling to the surface -- both on campuses and nationwide. Proponents of affirmative action hope to persuade UC regents to bring back the policy, though it would mostly be a symbolic gesture aimed at persuading more minority students to apply and attend. But opponents of race and gender preferences -- including UC Regent Ward Connerly -- are taking their campaigns to other public universities and states across the country. Meanwhile, the latest admissions data to the UC system is in. Although the percentage of Latinos, blacks and American Indians accepted for the fall 2000 class still lags behind those accepted for fall 1997 -- the last year the university system used race and gender as a factor in admissions -- there has been a boost since 1998, when the new policy first went into effect. The most significant increase came in Latino applications for this fall's freshman class, with 3,382 students applying, up 20 percent from 2,818 last year. Applications from black students increased 9.7 percent, from 1,135 last year to 1,245. Educators and politicians alike are poring through the statistics, and everyone can point to something that supports their point of view. Many say that the true measure of the new era will be revealed this fall, when actual minority enrollment numbers -- particularly at the flagship campuses of UC-Berkeley and UCLA -- are compiled. California led the nation in the bitter debate about affirmative action. But the Golden State is also shaping up to be a laboratory, as the effects of the new policies are studied. As is often the case, UC -- one of the best known public universities -- is likely to be the guinea pig. On the pro-affirmative-action side, Regent William Bagley is proposing that the UC Board of Regents reverse SP-1, which ended racial preferences in admissions at the university. Bagley, UC-Berkeley's valedictorian in 1949, says that the July 1995 vote has damaged the reputation of his alma mater. But a reversal of SP-1 would largely be symbolic: Proposition 209, which was passed by California voters in 1996 and bans affirmative action by the state, would remain in place. ''Our flagship campuses are becoming more and more segregated. That's just a plain fact,'' said Bagley, a moderate Republican and prominent San Francisco attorney. ''I don't want the UC system to be known as the Bob Jones University of the West.'' Wilson's influence He believes that the regents' 14-10 vote to end affirmative action was largely due to the influence of Republican then-Gov. Pete Wilson, who was running for president at the time. He worries that black and Latino students will never feel truly welcome at the university unless the regents publicly disavow their 1995 decision. Bagley has been joined by Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante in his effort. Bustamante, who is also a member of the UC Board of Regents, is gravely concerned about minority enrollment, particularly at the graduate level and at the state's prestigious law and medical schools. ''While the UC might be admitting more minority medical students, it's not enrolling as many as it used to,'' Bustamante stated in a January opinion piece published in the Los Angeles Times. ''Too many qualified students are unwilling to go to an institution where they perceive that they are not wanted. The same is true at UC law schools.'' The Daily Cal, the student newspaper on the UC-Berkeley campus, has come out in favor of Bagley's proposal. ''Symbolism of this magnitude is far from empty,'' stated a February editorial. ''If Bagley's measure can enhance the university's reputation and encourage more minority applicants, the regents should back it. . . . With Gov. Gray Davis in office and no real political sacrifice on the line, what is there to lose?'' Many regents declined to comment publicly on Bagley's effort. But some said they feel that the issue is moot. ''Bagley hasn't called me yet,'' said Regent S. Stephen Nakashima, an attorney in San Jose. ''But it would be a useless act because of Prop 209. Why beat a dead horse? Symbolic gestures are mainly useless because they have no effect.'' But across the state, petitions to repeal Proposition 209 are currently being circulated. Ron Ramirez, who is spearheading the Repeal 209 campaign, could not be reached for comment. Push from both sides Mervin Evans, a Democrat from Los Angeles, is also gathering signatures. His measure would revise the California Constitution to restore affirmative-action programs. Evans is also pushing for a 1.5 percent tax on retail sales to establish ''The Student Higher Education Trust Fund,'' much of which would go to creating college-bound programs for low-income children.. On the other side of the debate, Connerly -- a Sacramento businessman who led the charge to end racial preferences in the UC system and became the public face of the Proposition 209 campaign -- is in the midst of a national book tour. ''Creating Equal: My Fight Against Race Preferences'' was published in late March. Connerly's book tour heads to Florida -- where he's fundraising to get an initiative similar to Proposition 209 on Florida's fall 2000 ballot -- on May 8. In recent weeks, Connerly has been an outspoken critic of the government's census forms, which ask individuals to identify their race. He feels that racial classifications are irrelevant in today's increasingly multiethnic society. Connerly asks librarians and bookstore owners not to shelve or display copies of his book in their African-American sections. ''I don't want skin color to have any relevance in our society,'' said Connerly during a debate against Bagley in Oakland last week. ''People want fairness. This is not 1960. It's the dawn of the 21st century, in one of the most multiracial places on the planet.'' But although affirmative action has resurfaced for discussion, many feel that -- right or wrong -- the programs are a thing of the past. And in the wake of Proposition 209, educators have searched for creative ways to ensure that the vast diversity of California is mirrored in its public institutions. Since the change, UC has focused on outreach efforts to tackle the academic disparity at disadvantaged schools, hoping to improve the quality of teaching at the K-12 level. In addition, policies have been established that guarantee the top 4 percent of graduates in each high school have a place at UC if they meet other eligibility requirements. Outreach efforts For 2000-2001, UC has budgeted $250 million for its outreach efforts. ''The indicators are that we are moving in a positive direction,'' said Terry Lightfoot, director of external communications for UC. ''That doesn't mean that all of our work is done. Our effort is to continue to admit and enroll a student body that reflects the state in terms of ethnicity, geography, and socioeconomic status. We have seen some improvement, and we still have a lot to do.'' The UC Board of Regents is unlikely to reconsider its 1995 decision anytime soon. Bagley has said that he wants to wait until he has secured a majority of votes before putting it on the agenda.