I don't mean to shock anyone, but Wisconsin is a pretty white state. It's telling that the University of Wisconsin, which itself is nearly 90 percent white, seemed like an oasis of diversity when I first moved here from my Green Bay suburb. This is not to say that Wisconsin doesn't have fantastic traditions. Between our worship of all things football, our consumption of brats, cheese curds and beer, and our polka fests, cranberry fests and summer fests, Wisconsin is a German-American's dream come true. Additionally, it's understandable that UW is largely white because state law requires that 75 percent of students come from the state.
But it's important to keep in mind that Wisconsin is simply not representative of the country, much less the world. It lacks the racial and ethnic diversity that most graduates of this university will someday encounter. This gets to the heart of the question: Does race matter anymore? Is race something we should take into consideration at all, or should we all emulate Stephen Colbert's mantra and pretend we just "don't see race?"
Some would argue that we have reached the point where society should be colorblind. Ward Connerly, a former member of the Board of Regents of the University of California system, has been campaigning to persuade states to put referenda on their ballots banning the use of race-based preferences or affirmative action in college admissions. He's currently targeting nine more states with amendments to be placed on their 2008 ballots. These amendments would be disastrous to the aim of diversity and subvert the discretion of colleges in devising admissions policy.
Mr. Connerly has already been successful in passing these initiatives in California, Washington State and Michigan. A report in the New York Times Magazine last weekend illustrated some of the challenges of maintaining diversity when preferences cannot be given to minorities. For example, in 1997, the year after the amendment banning racial preferences in California was approved, there were 221 African American freshmen at UCLA. Last fall, the number plummeted to 100. Clearly colorblind policies are not an option if universities consider diversity an important goal.
There are also compelling economic reasons for maintaining a diverse campus. Diversity is a big attraction for campus recruiters, but UW-Madison is one of the least diverse schools in the Big Ten Conference. Alcoa, General Motors and other companies have stopped recruiting on campus in recent years because of the lack of diversity here.
Proponents of affirmative action often claim that it helps rectify the legacy of slavery and racism in the history of the United States. Admission preferences may make some small step toward accomplishing that, but it is also worth acknowledging the disparities that exist currently. Many minority students attend segregated urban schools that lack the course selection and extracurricular activities offered in wealthier, suburban schools. Minority students are also more likely to live in poverty and come from single parent homes.
A new study described in an article in yesterday's issue of The Badger Herald suggests these inequalities are particularly dire in Wisconsin. According to the 2007 National Assessment of Education Progress, the gap between reading scores for white and black fourth and eighth graders is larger in Wisconsin than in any other state in the union.
Mr. Connerly would argue that all racial preferences in college admissions undermine fundamental notions of fairness. He's correct in a way. It is unfair that any white student would be refused acceptance to the college of his or her choice in order to grant acceptance to someone who is less qualified. But life is full of unfairness. Some children grow up wealthy, some poor, some athletic, some nerdy, some naturally brilliant, and some just aren't the brightest crayons in the box.
Interestingly, opponents of affirmative action don't seem to get quite so worked up about admissions preferences for legacies and athletes. Surely these preferences are just as offensive as the racial ones, right? After all, whether you're a legacy or good at sports are not things you can control.
Affirmative action is by no means a remedy to racial injustice, and it's not a substitute for government policy that works to improve underlying inequalities, but universities simply have no other means to ensure diversity. A compelling interest of universities is to give its students exposure to people from different walks of life so they encounter people with views different from their own. Racial diversity inevitably leads to exposure to these varying perspectives that are so invaluable to gaining a well-rounded education.
Of course, universities should constantly debate how much diversity is necessary and make sure they aren't admitting any students who aren't likely to be able to handle the university's course load. But diversity is important, important enough to disadvantage some college applicants for the overwhelming benefit of the group.
Ryan Greenfield ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in political science and economics.
