Bringing a speaker to campus who claims racism doesn’t exist is a strange way to celebrate Black History Month.That’s exactly what’s happening tonight, with author Dinesh D’Souza speaking at the Ohio Union on why affirmative action is unnecessary. D’Souza is the author of “The End of Racism” and worked in the Reagan White House.The speech is in part sponsored by the Ohio Union Activities Board, a group that brings a broad variety of speakers to campus. As shown by Dan Quayle’s paid stump speech in the fall, the board has become a tool for conservatives to use Ohio State’s money to help fund right-wing speakers.Although it’s still a stretch, a case could be made that Quayle has some sort of broad appeal as the former vice president and butt of a 1,000 late-night jokes. No such illusion exists with D’Souza.The premise of D’Souza’s latest book is that Ronald Reagan has done more positive and lasting than any other individual in the 20th century. An Indian immigrant who came to the United States in 1978, D’Souza is a darling of conservatives who love to tout his background as a sort of perverse credential.His major claim to fame is the book “The End of Racism.” Among the book’s arguments is that slavery was not a racist institution. D’Souza suggests because there were thousands of slave owners who had at least partial black ancestry, and that in some cases those owners were more cruel than whites, slavery couldn’t have been justified by racism.Another argument used to support D’Souza’s assertion that institutional racism doesn’t exist is that whites have nothing to gain from oppression. He claims instead that the “civil rights industry” oppresses poor blacks as a way of continuing programs of racial preference and set-asides.D’Souza’s rhetoric builds to a crescendo with his solution: Repeal the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and replace it with a new law that prohibits any recognition of race within the government, but allows it in private industry.In other words, make discrimination legal to cure racism. D’Souza conveniently turns criticism away from those who discriminate toward those who try to solve the problems of racism, albeit with imperfect solutions.Bringing D’Souza to campus is a good thing. Ohio State should be a place where students have a chance to hear from speakers of every political persuasion, right-wing extremists included.However, the activities board isn’t supposed to be about just bringing in political speakers, much less only those from only one side of the aisle. That makes it twice as offensive that the speech falls right in the middle of Black History Month.It’s an affront to black students, and holding a panel discussion afterward is a mere afterthought to appease critics. The board has removed any doubt that it’s anything other than an arm of the College Republicans. An upcoming change in its leadership must insure that it is not controlled by someone with a political agenda.D’Souza is part of a bigger wind blowing through this part of the country. California and Washington have banned affirmative action, with Michigan targeted next. Ohio might soon follow, with state senator and OSU faculty member Eugene Watts leading the charge.People need to speak against people like Watts and D’Souza now, before we have what has taken place in California: A devastating drop in minority enrollment at state universities. D’Souza’s arguments are their own undoing, but using the university coffers to legitimize such people makes a bad statement about OSU’s commitment to minority students.