Universities are thinking one step ahead in preparing for the Supreme Court ruling. end race-based registration practices.
Ideas include adding essay questions. student status ask students to submit Diversity statement. These ideas none new. The University Board has made recommendations along these lines for many years. The purpose is clear. Continuing race-based admissions without provoking court scrutiny. (Related: Michael Mashera: Will Scotas stop affirmative action?)
University administrators’ vague language around race and affirmative action often makes it difficult to obtain solid evidence to support their intentions. University administrators openly admit to using the controversial “”.aware of race” Admissions practices to increase student diversity.
But is the administrator actually trying to capture and use the applicant’s demographic information through the essay?
From what I’ve seen, the answer to this question is a definite yes. I recently obtained a large number of emails through a public record request from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). The emails provide substantial evidence that UNC administrators continue to abuse subjective criteria such as essays to discriminate on the basis of race in the eyes of the public.
If it’s happening with a UNC, perhaps it’s happening elsewhere.
UNC’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media hosts its annual Chuck Stone Program for Education and Media Diversity, provides 12 high school students with the opportunity to receive hands-on journalism experience. Program graduates who go on to journalism schools receive special services such as mentorship and career readiness support.
Applicants are required to submit letters of recommendation, high school transcripts, and an essay on how the student’s background contributes to the diversity of the community. The school said that the program “open to all students“
But school authorities are actively considering racism behind closed doors. In a 2022 email obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, graduate students managing applications for UNC programs asked applicants who do not disclose such identities to “how to identify their race and gender.” I asked my supervisor if I could “judge”.
Program Director Livis Freeman replied, “I can tell most of it from their essays,” and “I’ll go back and add what I find from the essays!”
Clearly, UNC officials use essays to determine a student’s race, but one might wonder if this information is collected for statistical purposes. It is important to note that these emails were sent BEFORE, not after, the decision to enroll in the program was made.
This means that this information was definitely used in the decision making process.
university profile The percentage of participants in this program further supports evidence that school officials are doing deliberate racial balancing for the program. From 2016 to 2020, the school consistently accepted one white student for every two non-white students.
2020 and beyondIn a year that saw a wave of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in colleges and companies, the ratio of white to nonwhite students dropped to 1:5. Given the context of the emails, the most likely explanation for this artificially stable population distribution appears to be race-conscious enrollment by journalism school officials.
Outreach efforts like UNC’s Media Diversity Program are part of a broader trend to expand the number of minorities that colleges and universities can select during the admissions process to meet their diversity goals. UNC increased the overall percentage of minority students in journalism classes from 2018 to 22% to 32% In less than 10 years.
No wonder the school sees its media diversity program as “a key recruitment strategy to attract underrepresented minorities.” (Related: Hans von Spakowski: Supreme Court ruling on race-based territorial restructuring really gives me headaches.)
Even if the Supreme Court bans affirmative action, it may not affect recruitment practices like UNC. The College Board claims in it: playbook Targeted efforts may be legal because underrepresented students are seen as ‘inclusive’ rather than ‘exclusive’.
In other words, recruitment activities do not determine admissions, they simply expand the pool of applicants. While these arguments are still preliminary and have not been thoroughly tested in court, we believe they will push to the limit any loopholes higher education institutions can find.
Racism of any kind is wrong, regardless of whether their actions are perceived as lawful.
State legislatures can pass laws that outright ban race-sensitive outreach and recruitment programs at state universities. Universities committed to equity in higher education should condemn such practices. Additionally, university officials must ensure that: Recruitment and Promotion Criteria The faculty excludes participation in such programs.
As more universities introduce subjective metrics to deal with the backlash against affirmative action, we must not forget that these metrics invite all possible kinds of bias. No one should have to wonder if the color of their skin excluded them from their chances.
Neetu Arnold is a fellow of the National Association of Scholars and a Young Voices contributor. Follow her on her Twitter @neetu_arnold
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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