News: Racial Quota now permissible in admissions?

Applying to College
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<p>"U.S. Urges Creativity by Colleges to Gain Diversity"</p>

<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/03/education/us-urges-campus-creativity-to-gain-diversity.html?_r=1&hp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/03/education/us-urges-campus-creativity-to-gain-diversity.html?_r=1&hp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>*"The Obama administration on Friday urged colleges and universities to get creative in improving racial diversity at their campuses, throwing out a Bush-era interpretation of recent Supreme Court rulings that limited affirmative action in admissions...</p>

<p>The contrast with the Bush guidelines interpreting the same three cases is stark. Where the Bush administration’s letter in 2008 states, “Quotas are impermissible,” the 2011 version says “an institution may permissibly aim to achieve a critical mass of underrepresented students.” Even in addressing the same principles, the framework is practically reversed...</p>

<p>...Colleges seeking to increase diversity while not running afoul of Supreme Court guidelines, the new document says, “could select schools (including community colleges) based on their demographics (e.g., their racial or socioeconomic composition), and grant an admission preference” to graduates of those schools. They could also “select high schools for partnership” based, among other things, on “racial composition of the school’s student body” and former partnerships with historically black colleges and universities”; consider race as they select students for mentoring programs; and sponsor retention or support programs that highlight, for example, “the accomplishments of Latino business leaders.”..."*</p>

<p>What do people think?</p>

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<p>We don’t know if the U.S. Supreme Court will go along with Erick Holder’s claim that racial quotas are permissible. It is a green light for institutions that are so inclined, but they could still be exposed to civil actions brought by plaintiffs, rather than the DOJ. Also, the position of the DOJ could change as early as the spring of '13.</p>

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<p>See the FAQ thread for more: </p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1228264-race-college-admission-faq-discussion-9-a.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1228264-race-college-admission-faq-discussion-9-a.html&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>This news is the subject of the latest posts there. I’ll close this thread to consolidate discussion of this topic in the FAQ thread.</p>