Ohio State University is seeing a decrease in African American applicants since they altered admissions policies for minorities.

As a tool for affirmative action, the university used a point-based system in which minorities were awarded an extra twenty points in their applications. A recent Supreme Court ruling deemed the points given to minorities unconstitutional, saying it treated whole groups of applicants differently based only on race.

Although all applications haven?t been processed for the upcoming school year, Ohio State has seen a decrease of 18.2 percent in African American applicants in comparison to last year, along with an overall decrease in applicants of 9.6 percent.

The undergraduate application now includes four short answer questions asking the student how they would contribute to diversity on the campus.

One such question asks the applicant to ?identify a living, public figure whose background, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion or ideology makes the person substantially different from you and indicate what you?ve learned from your awareness of this person and his/her background, views or experiences.?

Ohio State made the changes in its application after the points-based system at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor had been reversed.

?In the short term, the pulling away of points-based systems for minorities sends the signal to many that they are less welcome,? University of Wisconsin professor of educational administration Conrad Clifton said.

He feels the point-based affirmative-action policies, or ?bounty systems,? failed to appreciate other differences in applicants other than race.

?Institutions should advance equal opportunity; they shouldn?t restrain themselves to a point system,? Conrad said.

The main cause for the decline in African American applicants is unknown at the moment.

According to OSU?s Vice President of Undergraduate Admissions Mabel Freeman, some applicants may see the change as more work, and thus simply do not bother to apply. She said this filters out those applicants who are less interested in attending Ohio State.

Conrad believes the decline can be attributed to a ?pipeline issue,? and that the decrease in applicants is representative of other societal issues.

?Not only has the number of African American applicants decreased at Ohio State, but the number of male African Americans graduating from high school has also leveled off and even gone down in the last few years,? Conrad said.

Conrad believes a solution can be found in a better effort between higher education institutions and K-12 institutions to address not only college, but also all stages of education.

UW sophomore Ashley Wurster feels having a diverse college atmosphere is important, but does not think using a point system is the way to achieve that diversity.

?I think it?s very important to have a diverse campus, but I don?t really agree with giving minorities points? on their applications just because of their ethnic background. I believe students should be accepted into schools based on their grades and their academic activities in the past,? Wurster said.