Oct. 9

Is Affirmative Action in Decline or Out of Control?

With voters in Colorado and Nebraska preparing to vote on proposals to bar affirmative action, supporters and defenders of the consideration of race in admissions decisions are releasing new research to bolster their positions.

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The Center for Equal Opportunity — a group that has worked for years to bar the consideration of race and ethnicity — on Wednesday issued findings about admissions to the law school at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Those data show significant race and ethnicity gaps in the LSAT scores and college grades of applicants who were admitted in recent years to the law school.

At the same time, two sociologists have just published an analysis suggesting that affirmative action is in decline — and has never been as widespread as some imagine in states that have barred the use of race in admissions decisions.

‘The Declining Significance of Race’

For all the debate about the consideration of race in admissions, and the Supreme Court’s ruling that colleges may continue to do so (in some circumstances), a new article in the American Journal of Education (University of Chicago Press) builds on earlier research by the authors to show that affirmative action is in decline in American higher education.

Eric Grodsky of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and Demetra Kalogrides of the University of California at Davis have been analyzing data from the College Board on colleges’ admissions policies and have previously documented that since 1995, the percentage of colleges considering race has been falling — regardless of the impact of various state bans on affirmative action.

Their new study builds on this research, and finds that affirmative action — far from being as widespread in higher education as its critics portray — isn’t the norm. By 2003, only about one third of private colleges nationally and of public institutions without legal prohibitions on affirmative action said that they considered race in admissions, the study finds.

In addition, they note that the prevalence of affirmative action isn’t necessarily a cause for the movement to abolish it. In 1986, prior to the state bans that started to appear because of court rulings and referendums, 44 percent of colleges in states that would eventually ban affirmative action said that they considered race in admissions. In the rest of the country, that percentage was 57 percent.

That institutions pulled back in both groups of states isn’t surprising, the authors write, even though colleges in most states didn’t face the direct necessity to do so. “As the legal environment changes, or even as it is perceived to change, risk-averse institutions may simply abandon or repackage their affirmative action programs to avoid scrutiny, abandoning race-conscious admissions as one component of a broader effort to continue to attract diverse classes of students.”

Admission Rates at Nebraska’s Law School

The Center for Equal Opportunity has issued numerous reports comparing the grades and test scores of white and minority students and public colleges and universities — using state open records laws to obtain the data. The gaps from state to state aren’t shocking, given that there are national gaps in these data, but studies by the center have been politically powerful as states have considered admissions policies.

Nebraska has been something of a challenge for such an approach as the state is largely white and its admissions competition is comparatively low-key compared to that at the University of Michigan or the University of California — sites of previous showdowns over affirmative action. Hence the focus on the law school at Lincoln, which does have competitive admissions.

The data released by the center found large gaps by race in the ranges of students admitted by the law school. In a two-year period, the center said, 5 Hispanic, 12 Asian, and 389 white applicants were rejected by the law school despite higher test scores and undergraduate grades than the average black student admitted in those years.

Taken together, the center said that the data show that the odds favoring black over white applicants with the same background and academic credentials were 442 to 1. For Hispanic applicants, the odds radio was about 90 to 1. Looking purely at race and state residency (a key factor in public university admissions), said Roger Clegg, president of the center, “a white resident of Nebraska in 2007 was more than 20 times less likely to be admitted than an African American applicant from out of state.”

Steven L. Willborn, dean of the law school, said he hadn’t been able to analyze all of the data used by the center to produce its report. But he said that important context was missing. He noted that in recent years, black applicants have made up about 5 percent of the application pool — and 5 percent of admitted students. “We’re talking about a dozen students a year,” he said.

Willborn said that minority students are not the only ones who may benefit from an admissions boost. “We try for a diverse group of students,” he said. “We also give preferences for people who speak Mandarin, an NCAA All-American, and to people who overcome economic disadvantage, and I defend what we do vigorously,” he said.

— Scott Jaschik

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Comments

Affirmative action/ equal opportunity is history

Unfortunately now Affirmative action/ equal opportunity is history, in the past this nice system increased the diversity of science and scientific thinking in US and now somebody should be prepared to bring it back. Canada which always follows US now have a worse situation. Regards,Ahmad Mahdavi.

Ahmad Mahdavi, Environmental toxicologist, at 9:00 am EDT on October 9, 2008

Financial Aid As Affirmative Action

Unfortunately, many authors that write about affirmative action miss part of the point. This article and most others focus on the admission decision. At many universities and in many programs admission is not the issue. It is acceptance of that decision by the individual minority student. The acceptance is driven by the financial package available to the student. Scholarships restricted to minority students are a way to make these packages more attractive.

There are universities that will tell you they do not use race as a factor when making admission decisions. However, there practice is to use race as a significant factor on the awarding of financial aid. A full understanding of affirmative action requires that both issues be analyzed. If so, one might discover that affirmative action has changed but not diminished.

Lawrence, at 11:20 am EDT on October 9, 2008

Is Affirmative Action In Decline or Out of Control?

The article was excellent as far as it took the subject. However, upon reaching the end, I felt the author had missed the opportunity to explore the most significant reason for undertaking the research; that being, were the decisions being made by the universities to divvy up their limited number of available law school openings by some demographical basis, versus documented scholarship, producing law graduates who were applying their law degrees and status in ways that were measureably different to society than before?

I understand that would require a much longer study to determine, but the author could take a step in that direction by measuring whether the “favored” law school applicants were able to compete scholastically while in law school against those who were selected based purely on their demonstrated scholastic records and other standard achievements taken into consideration by the universities.

As it is, the authors have basically “sliced and diced” readily available data, but they haven’t conducted any research into what ‘impact’ the decisions have had on society.

Dale Seay, Compensation Mgr at Boise State University, at 12:10 pm EDT on October 9, 2008

How About Root Causes ...

Let’s see, Scott, unless I’m mistaken, voters in Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma will be deciding in November if they want to ban affirmative action in government-funded projects and in public schools ... and California, Michigan, and Washington have already done the deed.

One would get the impression from reading your article that this is a big deal in academe. In a sense it is, but it’s impact on college and university diversity objectives is a relatively minor by-product of a much larger issue ... keeping Hispanics in their place. Take Colorado for example, a state with quite spectacular natural resources, an enormous number of wealthy expatriates from California and Texas, and right-wing (I won’t flatter them by calling them conservative) business and government communities. The state economy is heavily dependent on a highly productive Hispanic workforce ... but, for God’s sake, let’s keep them in their place. The more Hispanics take advantage of affirmative action programs in education and government, the more we will have to pay for their labor and the more we will have to share our economic, political, and social dominance with them.

There is little to celebrate about the economic crisis wrought by national economic policies of the past eight years, but the new economic realities captured in the following YouTube essay

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQPCHJBy3SQ&feature=related

very accurately – if satirically – describe why the voters in the five states mentioned above will rush to their polling places in November to cast their votes against affirmative action.

It’s a waste of time for colleges and universities to fight this phenomenon directly. It’s time to create and implement alternative (underhanded) strategies to undo the residual effects of centuries of inequalities foisted on minorities in this fair land, all in the name of affirmative action for us Caucasian males.

Frizbane Manley, at 3:25 pm EDT on October 9, 2008

Negative Action

I thought Affirmative Action was dead by now, but Lawrence has put his thumb on one of the measures by which it can be sustained.

Do we need to discriminate, or do we not?

Whenever we do, someone comes up against some discriminatory hurdle, and this is how it perpetuates itself. After all, when one encounters discrimination, one must fight it. Else, one is ultimately some kind of discriminator.

Let’s stop discriminating, period.

Color Blind, at 4:45 pm EDT on October 9, 2008

Affirmative Action in Decline

Amid the current credit crisis, which has brought the world economy to the brink of disaster, there is a lesson we can apply to the affirmative action debate. Doing nothing to ensure a more inclusive and fair society is a sure recipe for disaster, even for those who would benefit from the repeal of affirmative action programs.

CJ, at 7:40 pm EDT on October 9, 2008

“ake Colorado for example, a state with quite spectacular natural resources, an enormous number of wealthy expatriates from California and Texas, and right-wing (I won’t flatter them by calling them conservative) business and government communities. The state economy is heavily dependent on a highly productive Hispanic workforce ... but, for God’s sake, let’s keep them in their place. The more Hispanics take advantage of affirmative action programs in education and government, the more we will have to pay for their labor and the more we will have to share our economic, political, and social dominance with them.”

I *also* find that ad hominem attacks are much easier than addressing the other side’s arguments, but (if I may now be so bold as to engage in some myself) they usually seem to be a trait of people who have taken a position they can’t defend in a more substantive manner.

I do appreciate your forthrightness in suggesting schools should now engage in underhanded methods, though — not that I don’t oppose it, but it would be easier to stomach if those egging on such tactics dropped the facade.

AD, at 7:40 pm EDT on October 9, 2008

What have you done?

Frisbane Manley tells us we still need strategies to “undo the residual effects of centuries of inequalities foisted on minorities” in the USA that benefited Caucasian males, like himself.

Perhaps Frisbane can share with us some of the strategies that he has used personally to unburden himself of such alleged “benefits.”

Chuck, at 10:30 pm EDT on October 9, 2008

legacies?

As usual, no mention of legacy admissions. Why does class resentment always move downward instead of upward? Does anyone think George W. Bush earned a spot at Yale or Harvard Business School?

Jim A., at 4:55 am EDT on October 10, 2008

You Missed My Point Chuck

I’m trying to understand how you chose that particular sentence of mine as a basis for making your “point.”

Perhaps you don’t think there were several centuries here in the U.S. during which we Caucasian males were the beneficiaries of affirmative action. Or perhaps you DO think Caucasian males were the beneficiaries of affirmative action for several centuries, but you don’t believe there was a residual effect that trickled down to make the so-called “playing field of life” more difficult for minorities today. Or perhaps you DO believe we Caucasian males were beneficiaries of affirmative action for several centuries and you DO believe there was a trickle-down effect that tilted the playing field in our favor vis-a-vis most minorities, but Hell, that was yesteryear ... so let them fend for themselves ... we don’t owe them a damned thing. Maybe you’ll let me know which, if any, of those scenarios is true.

But in answer your question, I can only exclaim, “What? ... me burdened?!” Cut me some slack. I’m not female ... I’m not Black ... I’m not Hispanic ... I’m not Native American ... I’m not Jewish ... I’m not Muslim ... I’m not poor ... I’m not short ... I’m not substantially overweight ... I’m not uneducated (oops, that one hardly matters). I have no burdens. Throughout my life – and with virtually no effort on my part – the playing field has been so significantly tilted in my favor, I have achieved “great success” just by coasting through ... and with virtually no requirement for self-awareness. If you’re looking for burdens, look elsewhere. Just like those who have “conquered” Sagarmatha,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Everest

a hoard of underlings hauled all of my stuff to base camps, set everything up for me, did all of my bidding ... and, when everything was in place and the weather was right, I took a few weeks off and strolled to the top. While I haven’t got a clue what you mean by my needing to be unburdened, I certainly appreciate your letting everyone know my benefits are “alleged.”

Oh, by the way, did I mention that I’m not female ... I’m not Black ... I’m not ...

Frizbane Manley, at 4:55 am EDT on October 10, 2008

“Perhaps you don’t think there were several centuries here in the U.S. during which we Caucasian males were the beneficiaries of affirmative action.”

Perhaps you don’t realize a very large proportion of Caucasian males came to this country far more recently than four centuries ago, never owned slaves, never oppressed blacks, and, while they weren’t discriminated against to the same extent as African Americans, were still heavily discriminated against in their own history.

If the above group does not include you, that’s cool, but don’t try to assuage your own guilt by foisting whatever your ancestors did onto everybody else, much less expect them to feel guilt when they were also on the receiving end of the discrimination game.

AD, at 8:20 am EDT on October 10, 2008

To Jim A.:

I suspect that GWB earned his spot before your boy, Al Gore, did, judging by comparison of their GPA’s. Or, are you saying that his C’s and B’s were handed to him also? If he had that much pull, don’t you think he would have settled for better grades than those?

Tired of Idiots, at 3:00 pm EDT on October 10, 2008

In Response To AD

I certainly agree with you, AD, that history begins the day we are born ... and not a day sooner ... and from that day on, everyone dukes it out on the same playing field ... we’re all equal.

And I also agree with you that anecdotal evidence of a relatively small number of Caucasian males who have lived with discrimination (usually on the basis of ethnicity, religion or social status) trumps any evidence of centuries-long, systematic, often government-sponsored discrimination on the basis of race or gender ... and that’s why I mentioned religion, social standing, and physical characteristics, just for example.

I don’t know what it is with you and Chuck suggesting that I must be saddled with burdens or consumed by guilt. In response I can only exclaim, “What? ... me burdened?! ... me guilty?!” I have already told you I’m not female ... I’m not Black ... I’m not Hispanic ... I’m not Native American ... I’m not Jewish ... I’m not Muslim ... I’m not poor ... I’m not short ... I’m not substantially overweight. I have no burdens, and I have no guilt. I have accomplished what I have accomplished with a remarkable lack of social conscience. That’s the way it should be for everyone.

I think I inspired criticism in this blog by suggesting that voters in Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma will be trucking off to their polling places next month to cast their votes against affirmative action — not for philosophical reasons and certainly not for educational reasons, per se – but to keep Hispanics (and to a lesser degree, African-Americans) “in their place.” The first thing you know they’ll be going off to schools like Columbia and Harvard and Tufts and they’ll want to be Governor of New Mexico ... or, God forbid, President of the United States.

P.S. You know, I was sitting at my desk this morning wondering if I had missed something. Should I be burdened? Should I be racked with the pangs of guilt? Those negative thoughts inexplicably led to repugnant images of affirmative action and Michael Moore. In an instant I put 2 and 2 together and was at YouTube. There I uncovered ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XehsebwL6E0

I have to admit, that’s the same sort of affirmative action that paved my way through life.

Oh yes, you might want to watch ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saIVafSC38k&feature=related

http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/434/video.html

Frizbane Manley, at 5:10 pm EDT on October 12, 2008

Manley White Male Cliche-Mongering

Reading Frizbane Manley’s comments, I have to ask whether engaging in some kind of unintentional Onion-type self-parody. Such an awesome blizzard of pc cliches and trumped up sarcasm!

The “research” showing that AA is in decline is as phony as a 3 dollar bill. As Manley hints, just because an institution says it isn’t doesn’t mean it isn’t. They’re just doing it in “creative” ways, using various “proxies” for race.

Manley’s emotion, I can guarantee you, won’t ever extend to himself. He’s not going to give up anything. He’s simply going to screw helpless (and clueless) gentle white males of the younger generation, who will probably feel vaguely grateful that they can give up their law school ambitions in favor of someone who can barely write.

Frizbane, the swamps of Louisiana are filled with the bones of “white” Irishmen who died helping to build New Orleans.

This whole “white male” thing is utterly bizarre, a social construction that nobody wants to notice, let alone deconstruct. In “white” Princeton in the mid-50’s, George Elderkin, a professor emeritus of History, achieved considerable notoriety with a series of anti-Catholic research bulletins. What followed was a series of debates, carried on by letter-to-the-editor of the local Princeton newspaper, between Elderkin and Hugh Halton, the Catholic chaplain. Halton, an incredibly erudite and genuinely brilliant fellow, dissected Elderkin without a hint of vaunted Christian charity. It was so embarrassing that Princeton had to intervene — not by apologizing, but by cancelling the right of the Catholic Church to use the Princeton Chapel for services!! The Church responded by “reassigning” Halton.

When Kennedy ran for president a few years later, the fine Episcopalians and Presybterians who dominated Princeton society were scandalized.

On the other hand, the Saudi Arabian princes attending Princeton and the local prep schools were treated with respect and deference.

So what is this stuff about “white” males? The lives of Italian and Irish Catholics of that era had little in common with the J. William Duponts of the time. Certainly, the last thing any of them thought about was having a personal photographer with them in a Vietnamese combat zone.

Stubbornly Rational, at 11:40 am EST on November 17, 2008

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