No instant gratification but the simple solution is to educate everyone equally
Quote of note:
Shewmaker encouraged the task force to think about creating an environment where students learn how the rest of the world functions, instead of focusing on potential lawsuits.
"Whether or not the law approves, that's the second step, not the first step," Shewmaker said.
Diversity criteria debated at UGA
By KELLY SIMMONS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/06/04
ATHENS — A University of Georgia task force on Monday began discussing ways to reintroduce race as a criterion for freshman admissions without getting sued.
The group, which includes faculty and administrators, is charged with defining the university's need for a more diverse student body and determining at what point UGA will have fulfilled that need.
It's a difficult decision, UGA attorney Steve Shewmaker said, because it is subjective.
"You have to establish where you are now," Shewmaker said. "Then, what is the goal at which you would reach critical mass."
A faculty committee has recommended adding diversity criteria, including race and ethnicity, to the school's admissions policy as soon as next year. Other diversity criteria would include: where the applicant is from, whether he or she speaks a foreign language or has familiarity with a foreign country, and whether he or she possesses a talent that would benefit the university.
