Diversity Plan Shaped in Texas Is Under Attack
By JONATHAN D. GLATER
AUSTIN, Tex., June 8 — Texas lawmakers thought they had found the ideal alternative to race-based affirmative action.
Seven years ago, after a federal court outlawed the use of race in the admissions policies of the state's public universities, the Legislature came up with an answer: It passed a law guaranteeing admission to the top 10 percent of the graduating class from any public or private high school. After a few years of hard work, diversity was restored and other states, including California and Florida, adopted similar approaches. The law looked like a success.
But the 10 percent rule, which seemed to skirt the tricky issue of race so deftly, is coming under increasing attack these days as many wealthy parents complain that their children are not getting a fair shake. A consensus seems to be building that some change is necessary.
Parents whose children have been denied admission to the University of Texas at Austin, the crown jewel of Texas higher education, argue that some high schools are better than others, and that managing to stay in the top 25 percent at a demanding school should mean more than landing in the top 10 percent at a less rigorous one. The dispute shows how hard it is to come up with a system for doling out precious but scarce spots in elite universities without angering someone.
So. Affirmative action based on economic class is being rejected. Race based programs are already rejected.
I have no idea why people thought wealthy folks would accept any diversion of the privileges of wealth. And the way our system works, they'll likely get their way.
Posted by P6 at June 13, 2004 10:16 AM
Trackback URL: http://www.niggerati.net/mt/mt-tb.cgi/2272
Comments