Fight Nears Over Restoring UC Preferences

Seven months after the University of California Board of Regents voted to abolish affirmative action, proponents of race- and gender-based preferences will try today to restore them--but not without a fight.

Two proposals that regents are scheduled to consider today in San Francisco have caught the eye of Gov. Pete Wilson, who in July helped persuade regents to ban the use of preferences in contracting, hiring and admissions at UC. One proposal would rescind that policy, while the other would change it from binding to advisory, essentially removing its teeth.

On Wednesday, Wilson, an ex officio member of the board, announced that he will attend today’s regents meeting--his first since July--to prevent the two proposals’ success.

“We cannot tolerate university policies or practices that violate an individual’s fundamental right to be judged based on merit and skill,” Wilson said in a statement. “Last July, the regents took an important and courageous step toward ensuring fairness for all. That decision will not be undermined or deterred by those who merely want to retain the status quo.”

Wilson’s sudden decision to make a rare appearance at a regents meeting suggests that the governor is hearing what regent-watchers have been predicting for days: that the pro-affirmative action proposals have at least a small chance of winning approval.

The key votes today are scheduled to take place in a joint meeting of the regents’ committees on educational policy and finance. There is always a chance that the items could be tabled, meaning that a vote would be postponed. But those who count heads predict that if a vote is taken, it could be very tight.

If a proposal were to pass, it would go before the full board Friday. Some state officials who usually do not attend regents meetings have been put on notice that their presence might be required Friday.

Officials in the office of Assembly Speaker Curt Pringle, for example, said the Orange County Republican might attend Friday if the pro-affirmative action proposals were approved in committee. Pringle, like Wilson, is a voting member of the board by virtue of his government post.

Other observers speculate that by attending the regents meeting, Wilson may be seeking to help the struggling effort to qualify the so-called California Civil Rights Initiative, a statewide anti-affirmative action measure, for the November ballot. This week, a fund-raising letter signed by Wilson was being mailed by the initiative campaign, and some believe that it will be more successful if the affirmative action issue remains in the news.

“He wants to see it pass,” said Peg Yorkin, chairwoman of the Feminist Majority, which is part of a coalition that opposes the anti-affirmative action initiative. “With him appearing [at the regents meeting], there will be even more attention paid to the issue.”

In many respects, today’s meeting was shaping up as being similar to the one seven months ago, when the first affirmative action vote was taken. Just as they did last July, student groups were planning a protest and picket line outside the meeting room, and UC officials said security measures were being beefed up.