It's About the Constitution - StupidEditor's Corner
It's About the Constitution - Stupid
The Bush Administration predictably caught a lot of flak from Democrats when the Administration filled a brief with the Supreme Court asking it to overturn the University of Michigan's practice of using racial and ethnic preferences in it's admissions policy. President Bush rightly said "our constitution makes it clear that people of all races must be treated equally under the law."
The University of Michigan argues that maintaining a diverse student body is its compelling interest, and it's use of race and ethnicity is narrowly tailored to achieve that goal. Proponents of using racial preferences to achieve diversity point out that other factors such as legacy (children of alumni), athletics, and geography are also used in the college admission process.
While one could argue about the fairness of using any criteria other than academic performance for college admissions; the argument that using other factors, justifies the use of racial preference, ignores the fact that unlike racial preference, using factors such as legacy are not a violation of the Constitution. The U.S. Civil Rights Act has been amended by Judicial interpretation to permit preferential treatment for certain groups on the basis of race in the name of "diversity." As a simple matter of logic, one cannot offer preferences based on race without discriminating against someone else.
Using such a preference is a violation of Civil Rights. The court should hold that the University's race and ethnic preference policies are unconstitutional. Race should not be used as a consideration in college admissions or anywhere else.
Diversity is a doctrine which splits people into ethnic groups instead of treating people as individuals. It's the very antitheses of Dr. Martin Luther King's dream that his children would "live one day in a nation where they would not judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
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