The Multicultural Center will lead a discussion Thursday fromnoon to 1 p.m. about affirmative action and how it might affectBall State.
The discussion will start a series of monthly Brown Bag meetingsat the center. Thursday's informal bring-your-own-lunch chat isdesigned to help people understand last summer's Supreme Courtdecisions concerning the University of Michigan's affirmativeaction quota policy.
"We're hoping people will have a better understanding of whathas led up to the case," Cathy Beckel, the discussion'sfacilitator, said.
In March 2001, a judge ruled that Michigan's undergraduate andlaw school admission requirements were illegal. In June, however,Supreme Court judges overturned the March decision, but only forthe law school. The judges reversed the undergraduate policy, butstill allowed for consideration of race.
"Essentially, courts ruled that affirmative action is legal butcan't be narrowly defined by things like race," Beckel said.
Though the talk will also assess how the case affects BallState, administrators say Ball State's admissions criteria is notsimilar to Michigan.
"As far as admissions go for students, Ball State is moreconcerned with academic criteria," Dave Griffey, assistant directorof admissions, said.
Doug McConkey, vice president for student affairs and enrollmentmanagement, said Ball State does not focus on race.
"We basically comply with the court cases ... (Race) may beconsidered a factor in certain circumstances, but for the vastmajority race is not a factor," McConkey said.
Thursday's discussion will also lead to a graduate seminar onaffirmative action, which starts in October.
Melody Fisher, assistant director of the Multicultural Center,said this is the second year that Ball State has had a Brown BagSeries. Discussions are usually the first Friday of every month,but the October talk was moved because of Fall Break. Upcomingdiscussions include "Hip Hop: Culture or Craze?" in November and"My Stress Isn't Like Yours" in December.
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