Once again, Dartmouth finds itself in the national limelight. This time, the College joined seven other prestigious schools in filing a brief imploring the Supreme Court to allow schools to consider race or ethnicity in the college application process. While I usually don't appreciate universities meddling in the affairs of the federal government, I strongly laud our administration's staunch stance in support of affirmative action. Dartmouth, like all schools, fights in the trenches of race relations and needs to take its post seriously.
This pending Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action in academia has grave consequences in America. Ever since 1978, universities have been guided by the monumental Allan Bakke case, a Supreme Court decision outlawing the inflexible quota system. However, this razor-thin 5-4 decision allows schools to take race into consideration, a tenet to which most schools adamantly adhere. Many American schools add their own little twist to this principle. Dartmouth has no point system, nor does it have a set formula or equation. On the contrary, our school places every applicant under the microscope: race is considered, along with geography, life experiences and several other factors. Although the process isn't flawless, it is successful in establishing diversity. The University of Michigan, on the other hand, uses a point system to determine the acceptance of an applicant. This impersonal and cold method of admission is partially due to the size of the applicant pool. A more personal and in-depth analysis of applicants would require more time and manpower, a cost Michigan does not wish to pay.
This "unfair" process has been sent to the Supreme Court and has polarized America. President Bush is firmly against affirmative action and has castigated the Michigan application process. He plans on filing a brief counter to Dartmouth's, stopping just short of asking for the reversal of the Bakke decision. Does Bush propose any alternatives? Yes -- requiring state universities to accept top-scoring high school students into college. This principle would only apply to state-funded schools, however, leaving Dartmouth and others unaccounted for. Bush's idea also neglects diversity in graduate schools.
Other opponents of race consideration in the university admission process propose the idea of "race neutral" admission. Applications would lack a box to check ethnicity or race, and applicants' names would be masked until a decision has been reached. Though plausible on paper, this method would give rich, private school students a huge advantage, as they are better taught and have greater opportunities than many underprivileged minorities. The only solution seems to be Dartmouth's method: an individual study of each applicant.
Michigan's point system, although not nearly as perfect as the Ivy League method, does indeed promote diversity and should be continued -- although in an adjusted format. Michigan's point system is based on 150 points. Students that score about 100 points are awarded admission to the school. Those within 10 points of this score receive the infamous waitlist status. GPA and standardized test scores garner many points in the admission process -- almost 70 points combined. An outstanding essay earns one paltry point.
Minorities are awarded 20 points on skin color alone. Even so, their socioeconomic backgrounds fail to factor into the point equation. This system runs counter to academia's idea of diversity and affirmative action -- the purpose of which is to integrate underprivileged minorities into American society. These underrepresented minorities were the result of discriminatory practices of the government and society in the past. Without immediate action by our government, the scourge of discrimination and a dual class system will continue. Michigan should put weight into all aspects of minorities' backgrounds, not just their race.
Those who do not appreciate the merits of preferential treatment of underrepresented minorities in university admissions need to examine the big picture. America has made great strides over the past few decades in regards to race relations. However, there is much room for improvement. Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman defended the school's practice, saying, "Now is not the time to turn back the clock on decades of progress in higher education. There is no effective substitute for the consideration of race as one of many factors in our admissions process." The reversal of the Bakke decision could eventually lead to the resegregation of our universities and of America -- a nightmarish, yet not so unbelievable, outcome. Unfortunately, our society is not colorblind, nor a meritocracy. The onus is on America's universities and colleges to lead the assault on discrimination -- these schools mold the leaders of the future. Let us make America's future a bright one.
