Should public university admission decisions be affected by race?
Some people say current policies are reverse racism, others say the question itself shows racism still runs rampant. I say, echoing our forefathers, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed?”
People have cited these hallowed lines from the United States Declaration of Independence for hundreds of years because though the Declaration is not law, its lines embody what we instinctively feel about the government’s role. Therefore, my question is, “do universities run by a government, (i.e. public universities) equally protect the right of pursuing happiness for each individual applicant?”
Admissions to the University of Virginia Law School were recently studied by the Center for Equal Opportunity, which primarily examined the 1998 and 1999 admissions to the school. The study was based entirely on data received from UVA and to date, no organization has contested the results.
The study’s findings are significant to say the least. The study found that, controlling for GPA, LSAT score, gender and residency, the odds of an African American applicant being accepted over a Caucasian applicant were 730.8 to 1 in 1999. The ratios for Hispanics and Asian Americans compared to Caucasians were not significant and barely significant, respectively.
The CEO study also provided sample admission percentages for a variety of scenarios. A hypothetical Caucasian male Virginia resident with a 3.25 undergraduate GPA and a score of 160 on the LSAT had a 3 percent chance of admission. If the applicant were Hispanic or Asian American, he would have a 5 percent chance., and if African American, 95 percent.
Another hypothetical male Virginia resident with a 3.50 undergraduate GPA and a score of 165 on the LSAT had a 52 percent chance of admission if Caucasian, 54 percent if Hispanic, 67 percent if Asian and 100 percent if African-American.
All students with a score of 170 on the LSAT and a 3.75 undergraduate GPA, regardless of race, had almost a 100 percent chance of admission.
The University of Virginia Law School’s Web site says that the admissions process “considers a broad array of factors in addition to the LSAT and GPA, with a view toward assembling a diverse class while at the same time arriving at a fair appraisal of each applicant.” Based on the results presented by CEO, it is quite clear that ethnicity is an enormously positive factor only in the case of one ethnicity at UVA.
It would be hard to argue that preference based on race equally protects the right of all applicants to pursue happiness. Rather, some applicants have their pursuit of happiness subsidized and others have it hindered based on a factor completely beyond their control.
The undergraduate admissions policy of the U illustrates one race-neutral method of considering applicants. The U combines ACT/SAT score with high school GPA to arrive at an admissions index number. Students with a sufficiently high index are admitted, the rest are not. Students who fall below the index, but have a sponsor (in the form of a professor or department) at the U are also admitted. However, less than 5 percent of the U’s freshmen are admitted under this policy every year. Under this policy, students know exactly what they need to do in order to be accepted to the U.
At the U the right to the pursuit of happiness?assuming admission is the same as happiness?is secured. Each student is equal, or rather, is held to equal standards. The sponsors exception allows admission for students who don’t qualify based on the numbers, but have exceptional talents that deserve special consideration.
Wouldn’t it be interesting to see what would happen if all public universities operated under such a policy for a few years? So far the Supreme Court has not conclusively ruled on the issue of race in admissions, but as conflicting opinions continue to mount, it is likely they will do so soon.
Grades and test scores have been shown to correlate with actual future performance. For instance, in the CEO report the average African American first year GPA at the UVA law school, just like the LSAT and undergraduate GPA, is significantly below the average for the other ethnic groups. Previous studies have also shown that students admitted with subpar academic credentials at other universities underperform compared to the student body as a whole.
But regardless of the academic benefits of admitting the students who have the best chance of succeeding, nothing outweighs the importance of insuring that all Americans have an equal chance to pursue happiness. Another simple way to ensure equality would be race- and gender-neutral applications where, if applicants are asked for their race or gender, such information is separated from the application before admissions officers see it.
Until such policies are implemented, the issue of racial preferences will continue to be divisive.
Brent welcomes feedback at [email protected]. Send letters to the editor to [email protected].