MADISON, Wis. -- Hundreds of people from across the state packed a state Capitol hearing room to hear a special legislative committee discuss affirmative action.

Part of the reason for the large turnout was the presence of a polarizing figure. The State Special Committee on Affirmative Action brought in Ward Connerly, chair of the American Civil Rights Institute, to testify.

The special legislative committee is considering how to ban the practice in state government.

Connerly, who is black, is a vocal opponent of the use of race as the sole determinant of affirmative action in hiring or school admissions. He has led successful efforts to eliminate affirmative action in California, Washington and Michigan.

About 100 people went on a match from the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus to the Capitol Tuesday evening to protest Connerly's presence at the hearing.

"There is probably no issue in American life that is more contentious than the issue of race," Connerly said. "I happen to believe, and I always have, that the use of race by my government is wrong -- for me or against me."

The committee also heard from Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and Madison Department of Civil Rights director Lucia Nunez.

Cieslewicz and Nunez said Tuesday night that they believe affirmative action is crucial in the hiring of minority candidates to city positions.

"The bottom line is that affirmative action works for the city of Madison," Cieslewicz said. "We realize that we're not as successful as we need to be. We try to set high standards for ourselves, and when we don't meet them we try to find ways to reach those standards."

Connerly said that background or income status should be factors to consider but not race.

Connerly said that the era of affirmative action is coming to an end because the majority of American people don't support racial preference.

"I'm not an opponent of 'affirmative action.' I'm an opponent of treating people differently on the basis of race, applying different standards, in some cases giving extra points," Connerly said.

Before and during the committee hearing, UW students staged a silent protest of the discussion of modifications to the state's affirmative action laws, which they said are crucial to diversity on the UW's campuses.

Tuesday's hearing was the second meeting at the Capitol of the special legislative committee, which aims to examine all the state's affirmative action laws The committee plans to also hold hearings like this in Milwaukee before creating any changes to legislation.

The Special Committee on Affirmative Action is a Legislative Council Committee, which means it works on proposing legislation and invites who it chooses to testify before it.

If any legislation would be introduced, the public would then be able to comment in a public hearing.

The committee's consideration Tuesday evening came as the University of Wisconsin System moves toward giving greater weight to race and ethnicity in admissions.

System president Kevin Reilly last year created an admissions advisory group to review the undergraduate admission process and recommend guidelines to help campuses attract a diverse student body.

The universities' admission officers are considering more than academics in applications, including race and ethnicity.