Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Stop fighting UW System’s ‘race conscious’ admissions policy
Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has upheld an informal opinion on the University of Wisconsin’s admissions policy, which includes race as one of many factors to be considered.
One of the Republican legislators who sought the opinion, Sen. Glenn Grothmann of West Bend, says he is “disappointed” with Van Hollen’s ruling and promises to introduce legislation to stop the policy.
His effort will only make it more difficult to ensure that UW enrollment reflects the state population as a whole.
UW officials have been concerned about the lack of diversity at UW campuses. In addition, some businesses recruiting at UW-Madison have expressed similar concerns, saying that they were not sure that UW students would be able to handle the diversity of the modern workplace.
The UW System policy, which allows the university to admit freshmen on a variety of factors in addition to academics and test scores — including whether the applicant is a “member of a historically underrepresented racial or ethnic group,” according to a news release from the Attorney General’s Office.
While Van Hollen warned UW officials that they must be “very careful in applying any race-conscious college admissions policy if it is to comply with the equal protection requirements of the state and federal constitutions,” he also said that the policy was in line with both the constitutions and the law.
David Giroux, a UW System spokesman, described the issue this way: “The consideration of race is not new. It’s been an official part of our admissions policies for 35-plus years. Those policies, however, had become fragmented and outdated. The new component of our process is the ‘whole student review — treating people like human beings, not numbers.”
Nineteen Democratic legislators sent a letter to Van Hollen in March to defend the policy. They wrote: “It is a laudable goal to believe that we can achieve a colorblind society where these policies are no longer necessary ... But we are not there yet. Until racial and ethnic minorities are able to fully participate in every aspect of American society, we must continue to ensure they have access to higher education in order to level that playing field.”
Allowing for some consideration of race or membership in a historically disadvantaged group will help make sure that the student body reflects the makeup of the state — and it will help disadvantaged individuals get the education they need to succeed.
Legislators of both parties should support this effort.
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