Supreme Court Case Puts Affirmative Action Issue Back in National Media Spotlight

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  Bob Smith said on Oct. 12, 2012 at 11:32 a.m.
  Saying that the University is not sufficiently diverse because some classes have only one Black student is a ridiculous argument. Not because the University should not be fostering diversity, but because it isn't a valid argument. A walk across the campus reveals a gradient of increasing numbers of Black students as one moves from north to south. Instead of increasing Black enrollment in Business and Education through quotas, why not focus resources on how to get more minority students in science and engineering. Secondly, as someone who experienced the consequences of affirmative action in the UC system, before it was abolished, I feel certain that any institution that places a high priority on promoting diversity at all costs faces a very hard choice: either lower academic standards so all can succeed (the UT way) or set some minority students up to fail horribly. Finally, one has to ask if forcing the population of the preeminent university in the state to have a population mirroring that of the state is a wise goal. All should have access to higher education, and the 8 percent rule is a good way to ensure that all who want it have an opportunity, but as research universities are also the main engines of forward-looking economic development in a state like Texas, should we be trying to promote social goals (with questionable success) at the expense of raising academic standards and promoting excellence?