After a controversial reaction to the Penn State College Republicans' plans to hold an Illegal Immigration Awareness Day, Penn State issued a statement last night urging event planners to rethink their approach.

According to the statement, Penn State President Graham Spanier said, "The nation's immigration policy is a legitimate topic for discussion and debate. ... However, the approach initially proposed by the College Republicans, while protected by the First Amendment, was unproductive and offensive to many."

Illegal Immigration Awareness Day is scheduled for Wednesday. According to a College Republicans press release, the event aims to raise "awareness to the topic of illegal immigration, as well as to highlight the positive aspects of legal immigration."

The College Republicans could not be reached by press time yesterday.

Latino Caucus and Black Caucus members responded angrily when the College Republicans first announced the day, along with its plan for a "Catch an Illegal Immigrant Game." After discussions between the two groups, however, the game was eliminated and the group placed more of an emphasis on education.

Penn State spokesman Tysen Kendig said the statement was prompted by concerns regarding the theme of the event.

"Given the understandable ill feelings that were generated as a result of the initial plans, we felt it was appropriate to discuss the university's stance on the character of the events, as well as remind people of our nondiscrimination policy," Kendig said.

He added that Penn State cannot force the College Republicans to cancel its plans.

"They have a constitutional right to hold whatever event they'd like, as offensive as it may be," Kendig said. "We cannot and should not be in a position to stop them. We are encouraging them to rethink their plans in the interest of campus civility."

A group of students opposed to Illegal Immigration Awareness Day, who are calling themselves True Voices, will hold a rally at 11:30 a.m. today on the ground floor of the HUB-Robeson Center.

Latino Caucus and Black Caucus representatives did not return phone calls by press time yesterday.