As the University of Wisconsin system held a statewide forum by teleconference on Monday night on a plan to have each of its campuses consider race in admissions, it was clear that residents of the state were divided on the proposed move.
The proposal to consider applicants’ race and ethnicity is just one element of a broad overhaul of the system’s admissions policies that the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents plans to vote on next week. Yet it was almost the sole focus of discussion among those who gathered at five sites around the state for the forum.