In affirmative company In affirmative company
Denver Post editorial
Wednesday, February 26, 2003
We strongly agree with defenders of the University of Michigan's affirmative-action program who assert that states have a compelling interest in achieving diverse public-university campuses and should thus have the right to design reasonable programs to attain that goal. We therefore welcome Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar's decision to join 21 other states in filing friend-of-the-court briefs supporting Michigan in the case pending in the U.S. Supreme Court. While Colorado's colleges and universities do not use a point system such as Michigan's to promote diversity, we believe such affirmative-action programs should be permitted as long as they conform to Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke, the 1978 case in which the Supreme Court outlawed rigid quota systems.
"The University of Michigan is doing exactly what was recommended in Bakke 25 years ago," Salazar said. "Just paying lip service to the principle that an academically qualified diverse student body that reflects the society our public institutions serve is a 'paramount' goal is not good enough. Diversity in our student population doesn't happen because we wish it so. Achieving diversity requires good-faith, affirmative, constitutionally sound steps. Our analysis, and that of many, many others, is that the University of Michigan's admissions processes meet the test." Michigan's affirmative-action programs focus on the individual merits of each student, but consider race and ethnicity as one factor in building a more diverse campus that reflects the outside world and contributes to a richer, more rewarding educational experience.
The university awards black, Hispanic and Native American undergraduate applicants an extra 20 points on a 150-point scale - and gives the same bonus to white applicants who show socioeconomic disadvantage. Twenty "discretionary" points can also be given to whites who are children of donors, faculty members, legislators and other university supporters. There is no "double dipping," however - 20 bonus points is the most any applicant can receive. Michigan's law school has no formal scale, but efforts to give consideration to minority students generally produce between 12 percent and 20 percent minority enrollment in entering classes. Such efforts are needed not only to redress discrimination but also to give all students on America's campuses the opportunity to learn to function effectively in an increasingly diverse society.
Even Michigan's system demonstrates that preferences based on race and ethnicity are not the only form of affirmative action on U.S. campuses. As The Wall Street Journal recently reported, preferences based on family and financial status are widespread. At Duke University, for example, it isn't uncommon for non-minority students with sub-standard grades and low examination scores to be admitted because they are from wealthy families that are likely to donate to the institution. Colorado joins nearly two dozen states and a host of leading businesses in defending Michigan's affirmative-action efforts. Particularly telling support comes from leaders of the U.S. military, where the benefits of affirmative action have had dramatic impact.
This broad support underscores the importance of affirmative action to the nation's welfare.
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