Race was the dominant issue at a system-wide video conference held by the UW Board of Regents Monday night. The public weighed in on a proposed freshmen admissions policy that would alter policies at other UW campuses.
Simultaneous meetings at UW-Eau Claire, UW-Green Bay, UW-Milwaukee and UW-Stevens Point were connected to facilitate a system-wide conversation.
""Academic factors are the most important in the admissions process,"" said UW System President Kevin Reilly in a brief overview of the current UW System policy.
The proposed holistic admissions policy, which has largely been in place at UW-Madison for years, would take into account such non-academic factors as work experience, race, leadership qualities and community involvement, among others.
If approved by the Board of Regents, the policy would not affect the UW-Madison admissions process, but the admission procedures of other UW schools, according to UW-Madison Director of Undergraduate Admissions Robert Seltzer.
""This is a policy that isn't a big change,"" said Board of Regents President David Walsh. ""We've had holistic here [at Madison] for some time now.""
Walsh said public reaction to the policy has been positive.
Former UW Regent Fred Mohs, who attended the forum and argued against the proposal, felt differently.
""Our policy, if it considers race at all, is discrimination,"" Mohs said. He also said affirmative action is a corruption of what the Civil Rights Movement stood for and Americans are not in favor of it.
Former UW Madison Economics Professor Lee Hanson also disagreed with the proposed policy.
Hanson called evidence from the 2003 U.S. Supreme Court case Grutter v. Bollinger, which upheld the University of Michigan's Law School admission policy that took race into consideration, ""deeply flawed.""
He also said student views on campus should be considered when looking at the policy.
UW-Madison student Hannah Buck disagreed with Hanson and said she felt students supported holistic admissions. Buck, chair of Associated Students of Madison's Diversity Committee, said, ""Holistic admissions is not only American, it is Wisconsin.""
