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the value of racial and economic diversity in the student population of a college is often underrated. Then why are colleges fighting for the right to discrimi

the value of racial and economic diversity in the student population of a college is often underrated. Then why are colleges fighting for the right to discriminate on race alone (I've seen nothing suggesting that they're looking for economic diversity)? The claim is that a multiracial student body enriches the educational experience, and there's truth to that. But having representatives of many races actually does little. Having a wife of a different race, I think I'm qualified to claim that racial differences make up the smallest of differences between people. Far more important, in real life as well as outlook on the world, are factors such as religion, urban/rural living, size of family, and more. I don't see schools concerned about the portion of the student population of Buddhists relative to Catholics, or that there are enough kids who grew up on farms. So long as they are pursuing only racial diversity, I think that their claims about the value of diversity are a sham.

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newbusox 15y ago
That's not quite true. From personal experience at two different Ivy Leagues schools, I can say that these schools and probably top schools in general are completely obsessive about fulfilling certain stated or unstated "requirements" for students. Yale, for example, where I went for undergrad, prides itself in having students from all 50 states--I can pretty confidently say that, if you're from a state with a smaller population, or simply a smaller number of people who are interested in attending a school far away, your chances of admission are substantially higher (think Montana versus New York). As others have pointed out, although admissions is need-blind (it is not relevant whether you're rich or poor), I'm sure that socio-economic factors are also evident from where the student went to school, recommendation letters, information about parents and their professions/education (which are often asked on applications), and so on. So, while race may be the most obvious "discrimination" point, this is really, in my experience, not the case. And given these multifactored assessments, it is enormously difficult to "prove" that schools are discriminating based on race: it is NOT the case that the school gives everyone a number, and then increases or decreases that number based on your race, wealth, etc.: compare Gratz v. Bollinger (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratz_v._Bollinger http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratz_v._Bollinger) (point allocation system where underrepresented minorities received more "points" on their application illegal) with Grutter v. Bolilnger (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grutter_v._Bollinger http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grutter_v._Bollinger) (less-rigid race-based affirmative action permissible).

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newbusox 15y ago

That's not quite true. From personal experience at two different Ivy Leagues schools, I can say that these schools and probably top schools in general are completely obsessive about fulfilling certain stated or unstated "requirements" for students. Yale, for example, where I went for undergrad, prides itself in having students from all 50 states--I can pretty confidently say that, if you're from a state with a smaller population, or simply a smaller number of people who are interested in attending a school far away, your chances of admission are substantially higher (think Montana versus New York). As others have pointed out, although admissions is need-blind (it is not relevant whether you're rich or poor), I'm sure that socio-economic factors are also evident from where the student went to school, recommendation letters, information about parents and their professions/education (which are often asked on applications), and so on. So, while race may be the most obvious "discrimination" point, this is really, in my experience, not the case. And given these multifactored assessments, it is enormously difficult to "prove" that schools are discriminating based on race: it is NOT the case that the school gives everyone a number, and then increases or decreases that number based on your race, wealth, etc.: compare Gratz v. Bollinger (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratz_v._Bollinger http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratz_v._Bollinger) (point allocation system where underrepresented minorities received more "points" on their application illegal) with Grutter v. Bolilnger (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grutter_v._Bollinger http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grutter_v._Bollinger) (less-rigid race-based affirmative action permissible).