Regents to Weigh in on Collection of Race Data (UC Berkeley. Initiative would ban data collection)

DailyCal ^

[chance33_98]

Regents to Weigh in on Collection of Race Data

By EMMA SCHWARTZ Daily Cal Staff Writer Tuesday, May 13, 2003

The UC Board of Regents is scheduled to take a stance Thursday on a controversial ballot initiative that would ban the collection of racial data in California's public institutions.

The resolution calls on the regents to oppose CRENO, a March 2004 ballot initiative that UC President Richard Atkinson said would restrict the university's ability "to carry out its core mission."

As a leader in the nation's debate about the use of racial data in colleges, the board's decision will be closely watched.

A few regents have come out against the initiative. UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Berdahl also opposes it. In contrast, Regent Ward Connerly is one of CRENO's strongest backers.

Although CRENO would make exceptions for federally funded programs and medical research, it would effectively bar UC from basic activities—from research to enrollment, according to a preliminary UC legal analysis.

"CRENO is going to hinder if not restrict UC from fully serving the state of California," said Student Regent Dexter Ligot-Gordon.

Academic research would be hurt by a loss of access to numerous state databases with information classified by race and ethnicity, depriving faculty across disciplines of data relevant to their studies, according to the General Counsel's analysis.

"This loss could impede the university's ability to conduct research to advance knowledge and inform public policies," according to the analysis.

Without this information, UC's efforts to attract the best faculty and graduate students could hit a roadblock, the analysis found.

It continued to argue that the initiative would come into conflict with UC's ability to measure its outreach efforts—the primary center for recruitment of minority students. UC President Richard Atkinson has said UC already fails to represent California's full diversity.

UC would also be hindered from helping students find scholarships offered on the basis of a person's racial background.

UC has a long history with decisions about race. The regents banned affirmative action systemwide in 1995, before the passage of state Proposition 209. In a symbolic measure, the regents rescinded their decision in 2001.

[coloradan]

Science is bad - it might change people's minds. But science requires data. Ergo: Ban data collection! We will forge ahead sure in our own minds about what is right, and no one will have the evidence to show otherwise!

[goldstategop]

Take away the race baiters crutch and they're at a complete loss.