Ohio State President “Brit” Kirwan’s initiative on race and President Clinton’s national initiative cross paths tomorrow, providing a good opportunity for Kirwan to learn from Clinton’s mistakes.Kirwan should be applauded for prioritizing race relations eons more than Gordon Gee did. Shortly after arriving here, Kirwan scheduled town hall meetings on race every quarter of the school year.Tomorrow afternoon, OSU joins 50 other colleges and universities in a nationally-televised discussion on race, including a link-up with Clinton. As a follow-up to the program, OSU will hold a town meeting in a local Baptist church. It will focus on the role the university can play in improving race relations throughout the city.The Clinton race initiative began with promise. After more than a year of work and three town hall meetings attended by the president, including one in Akron, it ended with a fizzle.Last year, the Advisory Board to the President’s Initiative on Race issued a 121-page report that said little more than for America to “keep talking.” We continue talking: talking until we’re blue in the face, but with few substantial results.Kirwan came to OSU after the frustration of minority students reached a fever pitch with the May occupation of Bricker Hall. That frustration was the result of an administration that cared so little about minority affairs it appointed an interim director to butcher the department, and let positions like affirmative action director remain unfilled for years.Kirwan at last named an interim affirmative action director, with a search underway to fill the position full-time. He is fond of the safe but substance-free mantra of many university presidents, of supporting “diversity.”At least Kirwan will go on record as backing affirmative action. Still relatively new here, his University of Maryland record of increasing minority enrollment during his term there should also be noted.But with the current environment, we hope more is in store. The movement attacking affirmative action is creeping ever closer to our campus.It started with Proposition 209 in California, which has had a devastating effect on minority enrollment in that state’s public universities. Washington followed suit, with Michigan targeted next.Don’t be surprised if Ohio follows suit. In fact, OSU faculty member and state Sen. Eugene Watts, R- Dublin, recently said it’s time for the Legislature to find the “courage” to confront the issue.With a high-profile faculty member attacking affirmative action, Kirwan needs to express his support in a concrete way. A permanent affirmative action director would be a nice start.Black freshmen enrollment decreased from 575 in 1997 to 554 this year. More must be done to attract and retain black students.Some blame the Bricker Hall occupation for the drop in black admissions. To help mend the distrust between minority students and the administration, Kirwan must ensure the provisions that ended the protest are met. Students must be a part of the restructuring process and Barbara Rich must have a permanent successor by July.Talking is a good thing, unless it’s lip service. Clinton’s race initiative will be a mere footnote in his presidency, but we hope Kirwan’s initiative will be one of the centerpieces of his time here.