I think race acts as more of a red herring when it comes to this matter. Agreed. Allowing elite universities to continue to serve up this shadow-play of a sort

I think race acts as more of a red herring when it comes to this matter. Agreed. Allowing elite universities to continue to serve up this shadow-play of a sorting function has led to a perverse credentialism that often fails to reflect the actual performance or qualifications of elite graduates. And even if I were to concede that admissions to elite schools should matter, this thread's focus on URMs reminds me of the joke that was circulating earlier this fall, punchline: 'Watch out for that URM guy. He wants a piece of your cookie.’ http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/golden1.htm http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/golden1.htm