MIT
to End Programs' Racial Exclusiveness MIT
to End Programs' Racial Exclusiveness
Nonminority Students to Be Accepted
washingtonpost.com
By Michael A. Fletcher Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 12, 2003; Page A03
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, under pressure from federal investigators, will change the admissions policy for two summer enrichment programs aimed at enhancing the math and science skills of underrepresented minority high school students and incoming freshmen, officials said yesterday.
The programs, which previously admitted only black, Hispanic and Native American students, will now be open to students of all races -- although race will remain one of many admission factors.
The decision came after MIT lawyers concluded that they could not defend the programs' racially exclusive admissions policies, which have been under investigation by the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights since last May.
"Our best advice was that for racially exclusive programs, our chances of winning were essentially zero," said Robert P. Redwine, MIT's dean of undergraduate education. "We'd be much better off putting our energies into redesigning our programs to achieve the goals that we want, while opening it up to other students." The MIT programs, which have been operating for about three decades, each enroll about 60 students every summer.
The high school program offers top students a free seven-week summer curriculum aimed at boosting the number of blacks and Hispanics in science and engineering, fields in which they are severely underrepresented. The program for incoming freshmen is designed to help minority students make the transition into the rigorous academic demands of MIT.
MIT's decision follows a similar move by Princeton University, which in the face of a complaint from anti-affirmative action activists last week announced plans to end a summer enrichment program that encourages black and Hispanic students to pursue graduate programs in international affairs and public policy.
The decisions by two of the nation's most prominent private universities come as the Supreme Court prepares to decide the constitutionality of race-conscious college admissions programs. The outcome of the cases, which involve admissions programs at the University of Michigan, could alter not only admissions, but also race-based enrichment, financial aid and faculty recruitment programs at schools across the country.
"Pending the outcome in Michigan, I think these institutions are taking the safest route available to them," said Theodore M. Shaw, associate director-counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which supports race-conscious affirmative action programs.
Scores of selective colleges and other entities run academic enrichment programs that target minority and disadvantaged students. The programs are generally seen as an effective way to acclimate students to college life. Most of those programs should be on safe legal footing, analysts said, as long as admission is not based solely on race.
Besides the MIT program, the only enrichment program facing a federal investigation is one for minority students run by the Wisconsin Department of Education, according to Susan Aspey, a U.S. Department of Education spokeswoman. As activist groups have stepped up efforts to outlaw race-based affirmative action, college officials have grown increasingly concerned that race-specific enrichment programs may not withstand legal scrutiny.
Nearly two years ago, two anti-affirmative action advocacy groups, the Center for Equal Opportunity and the American Civil Rights Institute, sent a letter to MIT saying the two summer programs were illegal because they limited enrollment to underrepresented minorities. The groups wrote the letter after fielding a complaint from the parents of a student interested in one of the programs.
After MIT replied that it believed its programs were legal, the groups filed a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights, which launched an investigation that led to the decision to recast the programs. "We think enrichment programs like these are wonderful," said Edward Blum, legal affairs director for the American Civil Rights Institute. "The only problem is they should be open to all students, regardless of their race or ethnicity."
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