REMINDER: Linda Chavez Speaks

A reminder to the UTC community, Linda Chavez, President of the Center for
Equal Opportunity, will speak in the Burkett Miller Distinguished Lecture
Series on Thursday, November 1, at noon in Roland Hayes Hall.  Ms. Chavez
will speak on the topic of Affirmative Action.  In March of 2001, numerous
reports from the 2000 census have indicated "Hispanics have overtaken
blacks as the nation's largest minority group."  The economic and political
implications of this growth are significant for affirmative action efforts
in both college admissions and government contracting.

Ms. Chavez states that she opposes racial preferences because they are
unfair, unconstitutional, and do not achieve their intended purpose of
helping minorities.  She also contends that college admissions programs
aimed at minorities are a notorious example of good intentions gone awry.

Linda Chavez writes a weekly syndicated column appearing in newspapers
across the country and is the author of "Out of the Barrio: Toward a New
Politics of Hispanic Assimilation."  In 2000, Chavez was honored by the
Library of Congress as a "Living Legend" for her contributions to America's
cultural and historical legacy.

Mr. Tim Chavez (no relation), columnist for the Nashville Tennessean, will
critique Ms. Chavez's presentation. Tim Chavez is noted for his liberal
columns specifically on Hispanic and minority issues such as bilingual
education. He recently won the Will Rogers Humanitarian Award from National
Society of Newspaper Columnists.

Given the growing probability that Adarand Constructors v. Mineta (No.
00-730) will be dismissed, the August 27th decision of the U.S. Court of
Appeals in Atlanta, has refocused national attention regarding affirmative
action.  The three judge appellate court ruled unanimously that the
University of Georgia's privileging of minorities in its admissions policy
is unconstitutional.  This decision threatens to supersede the
thought-to-be-landmark cases involving the University of Michigan, whose
undergraduate and law schools recently received contradictory rulings from
separate federal courts regarding affirmative action-based admissions
policies.  Because the University of Michigan will not receive an appellate
court decision until at least October 23, the University of Georgia case
will most likely reach the Supreme Court first, where it, rather than
Michigan, will elicit a landmark decision either affirming or overturning
the Bakke ruling of 1978.


Ann Wellington,
Administrative Secretary
to Dr. J. R. Clark, Probasco Chair
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
313 Fletcher Hall, Dept. 6106
615 McCallie Avenue
Chattanooga, TN  37403-2598
Phone: 423-755-4118
FAX: 423-755-5218