Hundreds of participants met to discuss causes of racism on American campuses Thursday as part of an all-day conference entitled “Racial Discrimination on Campus.”

Issues ranging from minority retention in colleges to educating people on the issue of racism were addressed through seminars by administrators and campus leaders from across the Midwest.

NIU President John LaTourette said his view of an educated person is someone who can appreciate different points of view.

He said racism is “inconsistent with education on college campuses.” He said he hopes the conference has recognized NIU’s committment to change racial behavior on campus and in society.

“These attitudes have no place on our campus,” LaTourette said.

Board of Regents member Clara Fitzpatrick addressed the issue of minority retention and said a study reported black students who have the same grade point average and economic status as white students do not remain in school.

Fitzpatrick discussed the reason for the high dropout rate among black students by telling a story about a boy she called “Todd X.”

She said Todd X was a 21-year-old black male with a 2.4 grade point average who is involved in the Army Reserves and is a marketing major.

She said Todd X walked into a bookstore and security people started following him and later harassed him because he was black. “How would you feel, what would you do? Pretty soon you would go home,” Fitzpatrick said.

Fitzpatrick then identified Todd X as a member of the audience. He was one of four students accused of shoplifting in the Holmes Student Center Bookstore Jan. 21.

Michael Nettles, senior researcher for Educational Testing Services in New Jersey, began the lecture series by offering statistics on the low count of minorities enrolled in higher education.

He said there are 16 percent fewer blacks in college today than there were a decade ago and 69,000 fewer black undergraduate students today than in 1981.

Nettles said one reason for the problem is the lack of minority student preparation prior to college. “Counselors are not telling (minority) students how to prepare,” he said.

There also is an apparent correlation between financial aid availability and rise in admission standards, Nettles said.

“In 1980, 80 percent of federal financial aid was in the form of grants. Two years ago 50 percent was in grants, and 50 percent was in loans,” he said.

Nettles said minorities who have SAT scores equivilent to whites tend to get lower grades in college and have less interaction with faculty and administrators, he said.

Clarence Shelley, University of Illinois assistant vice chancellor, said racism is not a new problem and “we must confront and challenge it every chance we get.”