The worst message America can give black and Hispanic students is not expecting them to measure up to the rest of America, Linda Chavez said. "Affirmative action is feeding them this devastating and racist message."

Linda Chavez spoke last night to a crowd of about 300 on her views against affirmative action. Chavez was the fifth and final lecturer in the 2003-04 Distinguished Speaker Series.

Chavez talked about the evolution of affirmative action and why, despite her early efforts to help organize affirmative action, she is currently against the idea.

"Affirmative action has transformed from a helping hand into a crutch that is no longer needed and is actually injuring America," Chavez said.

She refuted the rationale that affirmative action is necessary because of the discrimination America has inflicted on minorities in the past.

"Most discrimination in our nation has passed," Chavez said. "We need to wipe the slate clean; we have already made up for this discrimination for over 30 years."

Chavez said schools that decide to admit a student to broaden their diversity need to look at all aspects of diversity.

"Most schools just look at racial diversity, but there are all sorts of diversity," Chavez said. "We now have unequal opportunity on social status and family structure, not race."

Chavez, a civil rights activist, is president of the Center for Equal Opportunity and the author of three books. She is currently on the board of directors for several non-profit organizations and has held numerous political positions. Formerly a democrat, Chavez joined the Republican Party in 1985. Many know her from her syndicated column, which is published in newspapers across the nation.

Mike Garvey (sophomore-journalism) said he came to see Chavez for a class assignment but knows a lot about her from her columns.

"She seems like she knows what she is talking about in her columns. I believe she makes truly good points," Garvey said.

The Distinguished Speaker committee said Chavez was important to balance out the series, which hosted liberal comedian Margaret Cho earlier this year.

"We haven't had a very conservative speaker yet this year," said Amanda Reinitz, committee board member. "Her being a Hispanic woman who has participated in both political parties is a very important perspective for the campus to hear."

Chavez said both Supreme Court cases involving affirmative action, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke and Grutter v. Bollinger, were flawed.

"The decisions read like social science textbooks, not law books," Chavez said. "I believe every individual should be viewed as an individual. They need to be looked at on the content of their character and their effort and performance, not based on a racial group."

Many students who came to see Chavez said they agreed with her. Others were surprised at her negative views toward affirmative action.

"She is a very good speaker with lots of information," Brittini Schafer (junior- advertising) said. "She spoke about a lot of different things, but some of her views on affirmative action I didn't completely agree with."

Chavez closed her argument with a quote from abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass.

"If the Negro cannot stand on his own legs, let him fall. All I ask is, give him a chance to stand on his own legs! Let him alone," she said.