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Christopher Edley, dean of UC Berkeley’s Boalt Law School, spoke about affirmative action a

Affirmative action and privatization were the buzzwords at Thursday’s discussion panel at UCLA with Christopher Edley, the dean of the UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law.

Edley, who recently moved to California from Harvard Law School, was in Los Angeles to speak at the Thurgood Marshall Lecture and Dinner on Thursday night, but spent an extra hour in the afternoon discussing issues with students and faculty.

The informal discussion focused on issues ranging from the future of affirmative action in California, to Edley’s work as the new dean of Boalt Hall, to the rumored privatization of Boalt.

“I thought the discussion was very pertinent,” said David Jones, a Berkeley alumnus who attended the event. “I am very concerned for the students who won’t be able to go to college, and I was hoping that someone like him would address these issues.”

These issues, for Jones, included Proposition 209, which effectively ended the use of affirmative action in public entities in California.

“I would like to believe that the eventual appeal of Prop. 209 is inevitable,” Edley said. “I think we have an opportunity in leading universities and law schools to help shape the public debate on this issue in the years ahead.”

To Edley, this “shaping” appeared in the form of research and using the resources of the university to address issues relating to accessibility and openness at the university.

But at the same time, Edley emphasized the need to remain faithful to the university’s mission to maintain high standards of education.

“The mission of a great public law school is to harness the excellence in the preparation of leaders and the excellence in the production of ideas,” Edley said. “We have to continually be engaged in tackling the difficult, most important problems facing society.”

Gladis Molina, a second-year law student, said she appreciated the issues that were addressed at the event.

“It was inspiring because he brings a lot of vision and energy,” she said. “We must be mindful of the issues that affect the public.”

One student asked Edley about the possibility of privatizing Boalt, in reference to a comment the dean had made in January. Edley said he was not necessarily advocating the privatization of the school, but the school should be more proactive in pursuing outside financing since state funds are continually being cut back.

“What I am saying is, let’s wake up. And if we actually care about our mission, we have to find different ways of financing it,” Edley said. “And that means much more fund-raising from alumni and other donors.”