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  CATHERINE JUN Ghaith Mahmood, president of the Muslim Student Association, protests during Chancellor Albert Carnesale's town hall meeting.

By Robert Salonga

Daily Bruin Contributor

Chancellor Albert Carnesale endured criticisms and was the subject of a walk-out during a town hall meeting in Ackerman Union on Tuesday.

During the public meeting, the chancellor fielded questions from members of the UCLA community regarding the BruinGo! bus program, UC President Richard Atkinson’s recent proposal to drop SAT I scores from admissions requirements and the possible repeal of SP-1 and 2, 1995 measures which eliminated affirmative action in university admissions and hiring.

The chancellor also addressed issues dealing with Professor Joshua Muldavin’s denial of tenure, same-sex couples’ difficulty in finding university housing and the possible freezing of student group funds in case a decision was not made by the Undergraduate Student Association Council to amend its bylaws.

The meeting, with an audience of about 80 people, was moderated by Graduate Student Association President Martin Griffin and USAC President Elizabeth Houston.

Carnesale said SAT I scores already bear little weight in UCLA’s admissions process.

“We have been moving toward a more comprehensive process in admissions,” Carnesale said.

He said he is reevaluating the BruinGo! bus program’s effectiveness in reducing demand for parking on campus.

In regards to the tenure process, he said it was set by the UC system, not UCLA.

Carnesale also said the shortage of housing in general makes it difficult for all graduate couples, not just those of the same sex, to find university housing.

Regarding the possible freezing of student funds, he said he would rather let USAC work with administration before intervening himself.

But the most heated debate occurred over the issue of SP-1 and 2, measures the UC Regents passed in 1995 that eliminated affirmative action in university admission and hiring practices.

While the regents may repeal the measures, the ban on affirmative action would still be in place because of Proposition 209, the ballot initiative passed by California voters.

“The repeal of SP-1 and SP-2 would be solely symbolic because Proposition 209 is the law,” Carnesale said.

“I would prefer that SP-1 and SP-2 were not on the books, but at the same time, I am not prepared to pay a substantive price in diversity for that,” he continued, adding that it is up to the Regents to decide whether to repeal the measures.

Supporters of the repeal protested Carnesale’s stance.

Carrying signs with quotes by Martin Luther King, Jr. and a poster-sized petition for support of the repeal, protesters stood on both sides of Carnesale while some students spoke and others yelled at the chancellor.

“This is the most crucial issue at UCLA today,” said Li’i Furumoto, a history student.

“It’s an issue of social justice,” she added.

Furumoto questioned Carnesale’s leadership and demanded he sign the petition, which had on it a pre-written statement of his support for the repeal.

Carnesale refused to sign, stating it was partly because of the way he was addressed. Furumoto yelled loudly as Griffin continuously attempted to moderate the discussion.

But when protesters had a different member ask him to sign the petition – this time in a calmer manner – Carnesale still refused to sign.

The group then stated they would walk out of the meeting because of Carnesale’s refusal, emptying out more than half the room.

The meeting concluded shortly thereafter.

Houston said there could have been a more productive and mature way to hold a dialogue with the chancellor.

Despite the walk-out, some responded to the town hall meeting positively.

“I think it was very effective and gave the chancellor a chance to respond to urgent issues,” Griffin said.

Bob Naples, vice chancellor of student and campus life and dean of students, said the outburst may have been more detrimental than helpful to the protesters’ cause.

“Sometimes the disruption tends to overshadow the importance of their issues,” he said.

But Furumoto said the reason for the outburst and subsequent walk-out was to get Carnesale to publicly state his support for repealing SP-1 and 2.

“To say wait and to tell us to calm down is to say never,” Furumoto said. “We did this just as much to let people know how we felt and that this is a major issue.”