Supporters and opponents of affirmative action faced off in a heated panel discussion in Emerson Hall last night.

Approximately 30 students attended the forum sponsored by the Minority Students Alliance (MSA).

"We wanted an informal student discussion on affirmative action specifically relating to the minority student viewpoint," said MSA member Julie A. Chang '98.

William D. Zerhouni '97-'98, president of the Harvard-Radcliffe Republican Alliance, and Daniel H. Choi '94, a second-year graduate student in government, opposed affirmative action, calling it an ineffective program with significant drawbacks.

"The real tragedy of affirmative action is what it does to the people it is supposed to help," Zerhouni said. "Affirmative action is the ultimate band-aid, trying to tell us that we are a society without discrimination or injustice."

Choi said affirmative action creates unfair, unequal standards at the expense of white and Asian-Americans, particularly in college admissions.

"Should you lower the hurdles for minority students at the top institutions?" Choi asked, charging that Harvard accepts minority applicants with lower grades and standardized scores.

"There are double standards at work," he said.

James S. Hoyte '65, assistant to the president and associate vice president, who attended the forum on behalf of the University, responded to Choi's statement, saying admissions decisions are never made solely on the basis of scores.

Panelists Jovanni R. Neblett '98, a member of the Black Students Association, and Julie C. Suk '97, managing editor of Perspective, said they supported affirmative action as a way to acknowledge and compensate for the difficult circumstances faced by minorities.

"Affirmative action is just a way to try to level the balances that have been out of balance for so many years," Neblett said.

"It's important to have different standards for measuring different ethnic groups," Suk said.

"You have to take into account the hurdles and impediments that minorities have had to overcome," she added.

Neblett said diversity is one of affirmative action's many benefits.

"If you promote diversity, people will learn about other races and other cultures, so that we will hopefully eliminate the stereotypes and discrimination that exist today," Neblett said.