Affirmative action and privatization were the buzzwords at
Thursday’s discussion panel at UCLA with Christopher Edley,
the dean of the UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law.
Edley, who recently moved to California from Harvard Law School,
was in Los Angeles to speak at the Thurgood Marshall Lecture and
Dinner on Thursday night, but spent an extra hour in the afternoon
discussing issues with students and faculty.
The informal discussion focused on issues ranging from the
future of affirmative action in California, to Edley’s work
as the new dean of Boalt Hall, to the rumored privatization of
Boalt.
“I thought the discussion was very pertinent,” said
David Jones, a Berkeley alumnus who attended the event. “I am
very concerned for the students who won’t be able to go to
college, and I was hoping that someone like him would address these
issues.”
These issues, for Jones, included Proposition 209, which
effectively ended the use of affirmative action in public entities
in California.
“I would like to believe that the eventual appeal of Prop.
209 is inevitable,” Edley said. “I think we have an
opportunity in leading universities and law schools to help shape
the public debate on this issue in the years ahead.”
To Edley, this “shaping” appeared in the form of
research and using the resources of the university to address
issues relating to accessibility and openness at the
university.
But at the same time, Edley emphasized the need to remain
faithful to the university’s mission to maintain high
standards of education.
“The mission of a great public law school is to harness
the excellence in the preparation of leaders and the excellence in
the production of ideas,” Edley said. “We have to
continually be engaged in tackling the difficult, most important
problems facing society.”
Gladis Molina, a second-year law student, said she appreciated
the issues that were addressed at the event.
“It was inspiring because he brings a lot of vision and
energy,” she said. “We must be mindful of the issues
that affect the public.”
One student asked Edley about the possibility of privatizing
Boalt, in reference to a comment the dean had made in January.
Edley said he was not necessarily advocating the privatization of
the school, but the school should be more proactive in pursuing
outside financing since state funds are continually being cut
back.
“What I am saying is, let’s wake up. And if we
actually care about our mission, we have to find different ways of
financing it,” Edley said. “And that means much more
fund-raising from alumni and other donors.”