Sunday, June 29, 2003

A Decision That Universities Can Relate To. To understand why universities like the Supreme Court's affirmative action decision, one has to delve into university culture. By Nicholas Lemann. [New York Times: Education]  I like the perspective this article presents. It adds something that neither side of the affirmative action debate usually addressess. In a certain way, upholding affirmatinve action preserves the autonomy of universities to admit who they want by keeping the door open for all qualified students. They are not tied merely to admit "the best qualified" applicants--as measured by some extremely limited limited standard like test scores. They certainly have the right to admit who they want in order to acheive the culture they want at ther institution. And that benefits the experience that the students gain there as well. Anyone who has had the college experience knows that it is about much more than getting an academic education. It is indeed a very whole experience that shapes one's personality and character for the rest of one's life. How much less significant my college experience would have been had it not been for the level of diversity that was available to me. I would be an entirely different person. 11:01:47 PM    comment []