The vice chair of the U.S. civil rights commission, the University of California regent challenging UC's affirmative-action policies, and the state assemblyman who has proposed a constitutional amendment to disallow race and gender preferences in hiring for state jobs and admitting students at state-run colleges are among participants in a symposium to be held Friday, March 10, at UC Davis' Freeborn Hall. Titled "Affirmative Action and Civil Rights: A Discussion of Dilemmas and Solutions," the daylong symposium is sponsored by UC Davis' Race, Ethnicity and Immigration Studies (REIS) program and the campus Cross-Cultural Center. "This symposium is an opportunity for public discussion of one of the most critical social policies of our times," said John H. Stanfield II, REIS coordinator and UC Davis professor of African and African American studies and sociology. "In a state as ethnically diverse as California, the equity issues undergirding affirmative-action policies are not going to go away -- no matter what occurs at the ballot box or in the legislative process. It would be greatly beneficial for all of us to come to terms with the complexities of these issues and to implement the most constructive policies possible." Added Francisco Rodriguez, Cross-Cultural Center director: "America is at a crossroads. How we as a society deliberate on affirmative action will chart the country's course far into the next century. The university is an appropriate locale for this discussion and debate." The symposium, free and open to the public, will convene at 9 a.m. and conclude at 5:30 p.m. Parking, at a cost of $2, will be provided in designated lots. Program highlights include: • 10 a.m. historical overview of affirmative action by Martha West, UC Davis professor of law. • 1:30 p.m. panel discussion of "UC Regents' Perspectives on Affirmative Action," featuring regents Ward Connerly and Ralph Carmona. Connerly, president and principal consultant of the land-use consulting firm Connerly & Associates, is advocating an end to race-based preferences in UC hiring and admissions. Carmona is director of public affairs and economic development for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District and also serves on the board of the UC Santa Barbara alumni association and the Statewide Advisory Council of the Center for California Studies at CSU, Sacramento. Panel moderator is Los Angeles municipal court judge Veronica Simmons McBeth. • 3 p.m. panel discussion of "Civil Rights and the California Civil Rights Initiative," featuring Assemblyman Bernie Richter, R-Chico, and U.S. civil rights commissioner Cruz Reynoso. Richter has proposed an amendment to the state constitution that would disallow the use of race and gender preferences in hiring for state jobs and in admissions at state-run colleges. Reynoso, former California Supreme Court associate justice, is vice chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and professor of law at UCLA. Panel moderator is Belva Davis, KRON-TV's urban affairs specialist and co-host of KRON's Sunday morning news and public affairs program, "California This Week." • 4:30 p.m. concluding remarks by Assemblywoman Marguerite Archie-Hudson, D-Los Angeles, chair of the Assembly Higher Education Committee. For more information, call the Cross-Cultural Center at (916) 752-4287.