When news broke last month that the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse planned to raise tuition by $1,320 to expand and diversify its student body, it generated so much controversy that the university erected a Web site defending the plan.
Among those who contacted the university was a state legislator, who demanded, “Could you explain what I would learn about working with people of ‘color’ had I attended the university that you envision?”
Interim Chancellor Elizabeth Hitch said the legislator wasn’t the only one with the query. “I had parents ask the same question, but in a less nice way.”