<p>For those who don't check the Parents Forum, this article about changes in diversity programs included Swarthmore's Tri Co.</p>
<p>Yes. Linda Chavez and her anti-affirmative action legal action group, Center or Equal Opportunity, have been forcing colleges to change all of their enrichment and scholarship programs formerly targeted at URM students. The Bush administration Justice Department has partnered in the effort.</p>
<p>The media missed the real news in the Supreme Court Michigan anti-affirmative action cases. While they upheld affirmative action, Renqhuist's decision was a blueprint for attacking any program or scholarship that was specifically race-based. Now, we are simply seeing the follow-up activity. This is also the motivation for the sudden interest in "socio-economic" diversity by colleges.</p>
<p>I don't see a fundamental problem with the changes. It seems to me that the Tri-Co orientation program is no worse, and probably better, by opening it up to all races and ethnicities. In many ways, I think the de facto segregation of student groups has undermined the potential benefits of affirmative action over the last 35 years. It's pretty easy to rewrite the guidelines for the effected programs to pass legal muster.</p>
<p>On a tangentially related matter, I was pleased to see that it took Swarthmore's Athletic Director less than 24 hours to ask for the resignation of an assistant coach of the women's basketball team after making a racial remark. If the Phoenix article is accurate, I also like that the two white students who heard the remark went to the two black players on the team (including a co-captain) and the students then took their complaint to the Assistant Athletic Director. 24 hours after the remarks were made, the Assistant Coach resigned in the meeting with the AD.</p>
<p>Seems to me that quick resolution of situations such as this is key towards preventing incidents from blowing up and sends a strong message. It is easy to imagine a situation where an incident such as this drags its way through layers of bureaucracy and inflames emotions on campus.</p>