There’s an opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times that discusses the University of California (UC) system’s revised admissions policy in the context of Proposition 209, which became state law in 1996.
Since voters barred the state from discriminating against or preferring individuals or groups based on race in hiring, contracting, and admissions, certain government institutions have tried to find loopholes. The UC system, for example, recently changed its admission policy to eliminate two previously required SAT subject tests, a change intended to benefit blacks and Hispanics. Some Americans of Asian descent, who’ve complained about the changes, believe the new policy will negatively impact them.
Other changes include reducing guaranteed admissions for high school students graduating from the top 12.5 percent of their class to the top nine percent.
“The theory is that this will guarantee more spots for students at underperforming high schools where opportunities are not as great and more of the students are underrepresented minorities,” Marc B. Haefele writes.
The writer brings up a point I often emphasize when discussing attempts to attract more black students. If UC applies the new (lower) standard to all students, it would increase the percentages of white and Asian students, because they too will benefit from the lower standard. The only way the system can admit more black students while keeping white and Asian numbers more or less constant is to apply the changes only to blacks, and that’s against the law.
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