In what it says is an attempt to get students to debate the issue of illegal immigration, a student Republican club at New York University has planned a novel game that some on campus are calling racist.
The College Republicans have scheduled "Find the Illegal Immigrant" for Thursday. In the game, members of the club who present their NYU identification become immigration agents looking for an illegal in the crowd. The agent who successfully identifies the illegal immigrant will reportedly win a gift certificate.

Many students have sent club officials E-mails against the event, calling it racist and disgusting. But the club says it is hoping to spark debate on the topic of illegal immigrants.

"It's not a racist event, first and foremost," said Sarah Chambers, the 21-year-old president of the College Republicans. "Just because we don't want illegal immigrants being able to completely disregard the laws of our country doesn't make us racist."

Some students say they will protest the event.

New York University spokesman John Beckman says administrators have no intention of taking any action to prevent or disrupt the game, in the name of academic freedom.

But some officials are skeptical of the group's motives, suggesting they seemed intent on generating more heat than light.

In an email message to Eyewitness News, Beckman wrote: "Our inclination is always to support free speech. Just as one group of students will conduct this so-called 'game,' others will be protesting it. At a university, this is exactly the kind of outcome we hope for from engaged students and scholars."

But Beckman clearly suggested that the administration doesn't necessarily approve of the exercise.

"At universities, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas, even difficult and unpopular ideas, is a key mission," Beckman wrote. "We hope the debates will be conducted with respect and civility, and will be driven by an impulse to provoke thought rather than anger. Illegal immigration is a totally appropriate topic for debate, though this event seems principally calculated to produce outraged reaction rather than dialogue."

(Copyright 2007 WABC-TV)