While improving the quality of education for some, the decision to implement a voucher system in Pennsylvania could result in less diversity at Penn State and further hinder disadvantaged students, some minority students say.

Some students fear that the number of minorities at Penn State could be adversely affected by the voucher system because minorities are underrepresented at the university and make up a disproportionately large sector of America's poor.

According to the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, the proposed voucher system would siphon money away from already floundering schools and leave even more students without an adequate chance to gain admission to universities.

LaKeisha Wolf, president of Black Caucus, said vouchers are part of a larger problem of limited higher education opportunities for minorities.

"I think that access for minorities — specifically blacks — to college, has recently been declining due to the banning of affirmative action programs in colleges across the country," she said. "I think the ideas behind voucher programs are linked to the same attitudes behind affirmative action bans."

The Pennsylvania legislature will be examining the issue of school vouchers within a year, said Betsy Vogely, the presiding officer of the League of Women Voters of Centre County.

According to the league's official argument, disadvantaged high school students would not benefit from vouchers in the same way other students would. The league said the voucher's amount would not be sufficient for disadvantaged students and their families would not be able to earn the difference to send them to the school of their choice. Consequently, these children would be forced to attend under-funded schools.

According to the league's findings, more than 60 percent of the state's proposed voucher funding would be diverted to the six counties with the most private schools. The proposed voucher funds would bleed the already meager school budget because there is no separate source of revenue for vouchers.

More than 200 rural and small school districts struggling with dwindling tax bases have initiated a lawsuit against the commonwealth, alleging inequities in the state's funding system.

The league reports that none of the proposed voucher systems have any way of generating revenue to fund themselves. This means that money would have to come from already existing funds.

In contrast, one state that has implemented a voucher system is Wisconsin. Since the Wisconsin State Supreme Court included parochial schools in the voucher program, it has grown significantly. Nearly 8,000 students attended 91 "choice" schools during the 1999 to 2000 school year, according to a study published in September in Essence magazine. Studies of Milwaukee students show children who participate in voucher-like programs have benefited significantly.

Although minority enrollment at Penn State is on the rise, some students wonder if this trend will continue.

"I definitely don't like the sound of this. How are . . . my parents going to pay for school, and how can we even get into school if we can't read and write?" Rabiya Sheikh (junior-science).