College Provost Susan Prager, former dean of the law school at the University of California Los Angeles, emphasized the importance of sexual and racial diversity in society to a group of 80 people in 3 Rockefeller Center yesterday afternoon.
Prager said progress in removing racial tensions has been made in the civil rights arena. Explicit race-based efforts have been made to expand Latino and African-American presence, she told the audience made up mostly of College faculty and administrators.
"However, much more remains to be done," Prager said. The "climate for change" in the 1960s was high Prager said, but is eroding now.
Prager, a firm supporter of Affirmative Action, attacked Ward Connerly's efforts to end race-based preferences.
Prager said her reaction to controversial California anti-Affirmative Action Prop. 209 "was one of profound sadness."
She said Connerly's views are based on having achieved a "colorblind society." In reality, Prager argued, "we are very far from the ideal of a colorblind society ... We pretend the factor of race doesn't make a difference when we know it does."
She attacked people who claim "racial discrimination is a thing of the past" and said Supreme Court rulings after the Civil War were ignored for almost 80 years. "All reforms following the Civil War were eradicated."
Prager expressed her satisfaction at the role of women in society today, saying women have access to most jobs and are staying in power.
Referring to a Monday meeting with the chairs of academic departments at Dartmouth, 12 of whom were women, Prager said, "I felt so astonished I started counting."
Professions which were exclusive to men such as being university presidents or firefighters have been opened up, Prager said, but still called the elimination of sexual discrimination "a work in progress."
"In lauding these achievements, I don't say the work is finished."
Prager also alluded to the role of privacy and individual-decision making to increase diversity in society.
Referring to Connecticut as an example where even married couples could not use birth-control devices in the '60s, Prager said, in one case the judge gave the freedom to the individual person. Individual freedom leads to diversity, Prager said.
Prager, who left her position as dean of UCLA Law School to join the College as provost, gave tips on becoming a judge in America. While judges are precluded from expressing their political views on cases they are deciding and lead reclusive, constrained lives, Prager admitted to the high honor and stature of being a judge.
Judges "make law and navigate territory" in society.
She said people aspiring to become judges must do well at what they want to do, develop a record of community involvement, build a record of trial work, exemplify personal qualities and develop personal connections.
Prager gave the example of William Timber '37, a distinguished lawyer and judge who she said had those qualities.
Prager said there were many opportunities at Dartmouth to create a "multi-ethnic, well-functioning community." She said she was pleased with the next-year's number of Latino and Native-American admissions as well as with the diverse faculty.
