There is no doubt that racism occurs on campuses across the country and it's refreshing to see a film, like Higher Learning, addressing this issue.

Director John Singleton, however, goes about it in all the wrong ways, creating a film that sends mixed messages and breaks no new ground.

Higher Learning, the acclaimed director's third film, follows several freshmen at a California university and shows how they deal with the racial tensions that surround them.

First of all, it seems that Singleton, also the film's writer, has not met a stereotype he did not like. White-hating blacks, black-hating whites, lesbian feminists and rape-committing fraternity boys abound. Those are not characters, they are stick figures, behaving in the clichd ways that are expected of them.

Another problem is that the situations Singleton thrusts his characters in are too clear-cut. There are no characters choosing between good and evil. They are either good or bad. No shades of gray exist in this movie, only things conveniently separated into black and white.

However there are some fine performances here. Omar Epps, playing a track star thrust dead center into the racial turmoil, accurately shows the rage someone in his situation would be feeling. Equally impressive is model Tyra Banks who, playing his girlfriend, is one of the film's few fully drawn characters.

Unfortunately those performances, along with the others, lose most of their impact in the film's improbability and heavy-handedness. Instead of simply showing a group of racists, Singleton throws in a few neo-Nazis. (Do skinheads frequently and visibly inhabit campus?) The film's climax is marred by an objectionable and unnecessary plot twist involving bigoted campus security officers.

A film that dares to portray campus racism should have something important to say and a few possible solutions on hand. Unlike Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing,Higher Learning does not even attempt to be revolutionary. Instead it depicts discrimination in a shockingly simplistic way. The film's message, if there is one at all, is muddled.

Higher Learning is a noble effort that Singleton, with his talent, should have been able to pull off. In the end he simply gives us a racially-charged scenario that does not answer any important questions because it fails to ask them in the first place.