Jury Still Out On Talented 20 Jury Still Out On Talented 20
South Florida Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board
August 14, 2001
It's too early to pronounce Gov. Jeb Bush's Talented 20 program a failure, as state Sen. Kendrick Meek and former state Rep. Tony Hill would have it. It's also too early to pronounce it a success, as the governor and his supporters would have it. The program, which replaced the use of racial preferences in state university admissions, guarantees admission to all students who rank in the top 20 percent of their high school graduating classes.
But few who have qualified for the program have needed the guarantee. Last year, only 145 out of 22,500 needed it. This year, it was 118 out of 21,000. Numbers that small may not justify abandoning affirmative action as a means of boosting minority enrollment. A troubling note also has been sounded by the University of Florida, which expects a sharp decline in minority enrollment this fall.
Blacks represented almost 12 percent of last year's freshman class at UF, but university officials estimate a drop to 6 percent or 7 percent this year. But more encouraging words come from the state's other 10 public universities. They told Bush last week that they expected minority enrollment to increase or hold steady this year.
If that proves true, it could suggest that UF has simply not outgrown a longstanding perception among minority students that they are not welcome there. As the state's premier public university, the school must do more to overcome that reputation, and it wouldn't be easy with a minority enrollment as low as 6 percent.
It's important to keep three things in mind. First, the One Florida initiative, of which Talented 20 is a key component, was launched at least partly to deter California businessman Ward Connerly from organizing a statewide referendum that might have permanently banned affirmative action in Florida. One Florida stops short of that. Second, no hard figures will be available until September. Only then will it be clear how accurate the enrollment estimates have been.
Third, the Talented 20 program is only a little more than a year old. That may not be enough time to fully assess its value. Still, the governor should not be wedded to it. If the September figures are disappointing, and if subsequent figures don't improve, he should consider accepting Meek's suggestion to at least partly restore affirmative action as a supplement to Talented 20.
The state cannot afford to take a step backward in its quest to ensure equal opportunity and greater racial diversity in its institutions of higher learning.
Copyright © 2001, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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