About Race About Race
Supreme Court should stick with its 1978 rule on affirmative action in college admissions.
April 3, 2003
Confronting the vexing issue of racial diversity in higher education for the first time in 25 years, the Supreme Court should reject the spurious notion that racial inclusion can be achieved while turning a blind eye to race.
The court got it right in 1978 when it outlawed racial quotas but said considering race as one of many factors in college admission decisions is constitutional. Under that rule, the University of Michigan admission policies challenged Tuesday should pass constitutional muster.
But the 1978 ruling is under siege. After decades of progress and controversy, the court is back to Square 1, weighing whether it is ever permissible for universities to consider race. With thousands of demonstrators outside the courthouse, justices heard arguments yesterday in two cases brought by whites whose applications to the U of M's undergraduate or law school were rejected.
Both schools overtly consider race as a factor in admission decisions - along with such things as geography, socioeconomic disadvantage and leadership. They are not quota systems.
The schools set no numerical targets and the number of minorities admitted varies widely from year to year. Still, rejected applicants cried foul, insisting they were victims of discrimination because minorities with lower grades and test scores got into the prestigious university. Their argument presumes that grades and test scores are the only appropriate arbiters of merit.
They aren't. That sterile notion leaves no room for weighing drive, special talents or life experience; or the educational value of interacting with people of varied races. The cases directly address only admissions to public universities. But if decided broadly, the court's ruling could ripple through private colleges, corporations and even the military.
Race still matters. It colors our lives in ways large and small, from where we work and live, the quality of our schools, how much we earn and even how long we live. Higher education is the surest way to narrow the persistent gaps.
Forcing universities to address race-based inequities without considering race is a sure-fire prescription for failure.
Copyright © 2003, Newsday, Inc.
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