VIDEO: Students CONDEMN BLM after they learn where their money is REALLY going

An Emory University professor claimed before the Senate Judiciary Committee that election security laws are reminiscent of Jim Crow laws<a href="http://aas.emory.edu/home/people/faculty/anderson-carol.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a> <a href="http://aas.emory.edu/home/people/faculty/anderson-carol.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="http://aas.emory.edu/home/people/faculty/anderson-carol.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Carol Anderson</a> &mdash; a professor of African-American studies at Emory University &mdash; explained during the Tuesday<a href="https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/jim-crow-2021-the-latest-assault-on-the-right-to-vote" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;hearing</a> titled &quot;Jim Crow 2021: The Latest Assault on the Right to Vote.&quot; As part of a panel, Anderson asserted that Georgia&rsquo;s election security law represents &ldquo;bureaucratic violence&rdquo; toward Black Georgians&rsquo; rights. She Anderson&rsquo;s opening statement focused on &ldquo;the use of race-neutral language to evade the Fifteenth Amendment&rdquo; and &ldquo;the cloaking of disenfranchisement under the banner of election integrity.&rdquo; Anderson discussed poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and other policies used at the turn of the century to prevent African-Americans from voting in the American South. She noted that these policies caused Black voter participation to decrease. &ldquo;The lie of massive, rampant voter fraud is serving the same function today as it did during the rise of Jim Crow,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;It stokes fear in a segment of the population that democracy is in peril, and thus provides cover for laws that target Black voters with race-neutral language.&rdquo; Anderson condemned Republicans in 47 states for proposing &ldquo;voter restriction bills.&rdquo; She added that &ldquo;this onslaught of bureaucratic violence&rdquo; would make coordinated Jim Crow policies appear &ldquo;tame in comparison.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17203" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17203" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17203" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Students support voting bill...then learn it&#39;s actually Georgia&#39;s law]</a> Later in the hearing, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) argued that &ldquo;voter suppression is rooted in White supremacy.&rdquo; After likewise describing literacy tests and poll taxes, he asserted that the modern &ldquo;voter suppression playbook&rdquo; is &ldquo;motivated by the same factors&rdquo; as the Jim Crow-era regulations. &ldquo;Just because these new voter suppression tactics are facially neutral, it can be harder for people to recognize and understand their pernicious effects,&rdquo; Sen. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Lora; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">Padilla&nbsp;said. &ldquo;Can you share how these seemingly race-neutral policies nonetheless have disproportionate racial impacts?&rdquo; Sen. Padilla asked Anderson and the other panelists. Anderson explained that the Georgia bill causes &ldquo;an elimination in Atlanta &mdash; where the majority of Black voters are &mdash; we go from 94 drop boxes to 23. And those drop-boxes are now to be housed inside, in buildings that can be closed.&rdquo; &ldquo;This is how you can limit access to the ballot box while writing race-neutral laws,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;These aren&rsquo;t race-neutral. They&rsquo;re not as race-neutral as the poll tax was, or as the literacy test was. Neither of those said &lsquo;we don&rsquo;t want Black folks to vote.&rsquo; But that was the underlying premise behind them&hellip; and that&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;re seeing right now with these voter suppression laws.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17242" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17242" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17242" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Georgia Tech may change its fight song to be more gender-inclusive]</a> Other witnesses during the hearing did not agree that the Georgia bill has links to Jim Crow. Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah) told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he &ldquo;grew up in the era of actual, legalized institutionalized racism.&rdquo; &ldquo;I grew up in the Deep South &mdash; in Tallahassee, Florida &mdash; in the 1960s, during the days of KKK, Jim Crow, and segregation,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;As someone who has actually experienced Jim Crow laws, I would like to set the record straight on the myth regarding the recently passed Georgia state law, and why any comparison between this law and Jim Crow is absolutely outrageous.&rdquo; Rep. Owens said that &ldquo;the section of the Georgia law that has brought so much outrage from the Left simply requires any person applying for an absentee ballot to include evidence of a government-issued ID on their application.&rdquo; He finds the narrative from the left that &ldquo;Black people are not smart enough, not educated enough, not desirous enough for education&rdquo; to get an ID to be &ldquo;extremely offensive.&rdquo; Campus Reform&nbsp;reached out to Anderson for comment; this article will be updated accordingly. Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/BenZeisloft" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@BenZeisloft</a>

In contrast, Rep. Burgess Owens told the Senate that the Georgia law does not come close to Jim Crow-style regulations.

Prof tells Senate Judiciary Committee that election security laws 'target Black voters' like 'Jim Crow'

The State University at New York Geneseo has announced their newest addition the school&rsquo;s Umoja House, a dorm &quot;for students of color.&quot; The<a href="https://www.geneseo.edu/residence-life/umoja-house-living-learning-community" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;Umoja House Living Learning Community</a> will open for the Fall 2021 semester. According to the Geneseo Umoja page, those living in the dorm will &quot;support&quot; students of color on campus by planning and hosting events, and will &quot;examine the impact of social justice leaders and movements on current events.&quot;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16847" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16847" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Cornell charges students $1,800 for racially-segregated rock climbing class, frantically scrubs website when confronted]</a> Members will also take part in a discussion series surrounding &quot;race/ethnicity and politics, media, health, etc.&quot; <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17072" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17072" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17072" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Smith blasts Columbia University for segregated graduations: &#39;The Left doesn&#39;t actually care about racism&#39;]</a> &ldquo;The space is meant as a recharging station for students of color,&rdquo; SUNY <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Lora; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">director of multicultural programs and services&nbsp;Sasha Eloi-Evans <a href="https://www.geneseo.edu/news/living-learning-community-students-diverse-backgrounds-open-fall" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said</a>. &ldquo;The hope is that students will live together, form a community, and, because of those connections, be more engaged and invested in the institution. They then feel more confident about participating in other aspects of campus life and leadership roles&mdash;they aren&rsquo;t just on campus, they&rsquo;re in campus.&rdquo;SUNY Geneseo Associate Director of Residence Life for Educational Initiatives Meg Reitz reasoned that &ldquo;Part of the goal in supporting BIPOC students is giving them a place where they don&rsquo;t feel like they have to put on a different face.&quot; Campus Reform reached out to Evans, Reitz, and the university for commnt, but has not yet received a response. Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/Jess__Custodio" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@Jess__Custodio</a>

Students in the community will participate in "social justice" discussions.

SUNY Geneseo announces new dorm 'for Students of Color'

The U.S. Department of Education has proposed prioritizing grant projects that use Critical Race Theory in a competition for federal funding that is supposed to center on American history and civics.&nbsp;The Department issued a <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/04/19/2021-08068/proposed-priorities-american-history-and-civics-education" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Notice of Proposed Priority</a> Monday that would create a new allowable use for grant funding in the American History and Civics Education programs that exist to teach high school students and educators about the United States.&nbsp;Both programs within the American History and Civics Education grant are funded with taxpayer dollars through the the National Endowment for the Humanities. The initiative funds centers, <a href="https://oese.ed.gov/offices/office-of-discretionary-grants-support-services/effective-educator-development-programs/american-history-and-civics-academies/academies-for-american-history-and-civicsawards/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">typically</a> created in partnership with colleges and universities, that provide professional development for teachers and educational enrichment for high schoolers.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17197" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Iowa bill targets colleges that teach New York Times&#39; &#39;racist&#39; and &#39;historically inaccurate&#39; 1619 Project]</a>Should the priority move forward, applicants would be required to explain how they would &quot;take into account systemic marginalization, biases, inequities, and discriminatory policy and practice in American history.&quot; Other stipulations would require applicants to &quot;incorporate racially, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse perspectives&quot; and to &quot;support the creation of learning environments that validate and reflect the diversity, identities, and experiences of all students,&quot; among others.The notice published by the Department quotes professor and &quot;antiracist&quot; activist <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=46" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=46" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ibram X. Kendi</a>, who said, &quot;Antiracist ideas argue that racist policies are the cause of racial inequities.&quot;&nbsp;The Department continues, &quot;It is critical that the teaching of American history and civics creates learning experiences &nbsp;that validate and reflect the diversity, identities, histories, contributions, and experiences of all students.&quot; The proposal also references the <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16670">debunked</a> New York Times 1619 Project as a signal of the growing &nbsp;impetus to address slavery and its consequences in the classroom.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16649" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Ibram Kendi launches ANOTHER anti-racism center at BU]</a>A second proposed priority would support projects designed to foster news literacy skills. These projects would need to include &quot;evaluating sources and evidence&quot; and &quot;understanding how inaccurate information may be used to manipulate individuals.&quot;The program has been<a href="https://oese.ed.gov/offices/office-of-discretionary-grants-support-services/effective-educator-development-programs/american-history-and-civics-academies/funding-and-legislation/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;allocated $2,000,000</a> for new awards for this fiscal year. The Department has solicited feedback from the public on these proposed priorities. Those who wish to submit a comment may do so through <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/docket/ED-2021-OESE-0033/document" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Regulations.gov</a>.&nbsp;<strong style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Lora; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/AngelaLMorabito" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration: none; color: var(--red); font-weight: 600; font-family: Lora; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" target="_blank">@AngelaLMorabito</a>

The Notice of Proposed Priority cites Ibram X. Kendi and The 1619 Project as leading anti-racist learning sources.

Biden administration signals intent to push critical race theory as American history and civics education

Members of Boston University&rsquo;s Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter are doubling down on calls for free laundry services. Campus Reform previously reported that the students began organizing for free laundry services in November. Insisting that &ldquo;there is plenty of money in the budget for the university to take this burden off of its student body,&rdquo; the students argued that the university ought to cover the cost of all laundry services in the interest of aiding &ldquo;less affluent&rdquo; students. The group&rsquo;s survey found that less than half of students paid more than $10 per month for laundry services.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16397" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16397" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16397" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Socialists at AOC&#39;s alma mater Boston University demand free laundry]</a> At the time, a university spokesman declined to comment, since the group had not submitted a formal request for the university to consider. However, as <a href="https://dailyfreepress.com/2021/03/29/bu-ydsa-protests-for-free-laundry-at-marsh-plaza/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Daily Free Press</a> &mdash; Boston University&rsquo;s student newspaper &mdash; reports, Boston University spokesman Colin Riley told the Young Democratic Socialists that the school would &ldquo;keep the request in mind as we move ahead in the future.&rdquo; He added that the students managed to meet with administrators, who said that students with financial need should seek aid from the school&rsquo;s Financial Assistance Office or Dean of Students. Nevertheless, the Young Democratic Socialists hosted a protest on March 26. Students held hand-drawn signs with slogans &ldquo;Free laundry for all!&rdquo; and &ldquo;Free Laundry: Let&rsquo;s talk about it!&rdquo; <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17157" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a>According to the <a href="https://dailyfreepress.com/2021/02/09/new-senate-positions-library-workers-accommodations-free-laundry-on-the-agenda-at-stugov-meeting/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Daily Free Press</a>, the Boston University Student Government passed a resolution in support of the effort by the BU <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Lora; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">Young Democratic Socialists of America&#39;s push for free laundry on campus. <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17157" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17157" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Brown University students overwhelmingly vote in favor of reparations]</a> Campus Reform reached out to Boston University and the Young Democratic Socialists for comment; this article will be updated accordingly. Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/BenZeisloft" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@BenZeisloft</a>

Members of Boston University’s Young Democratic Socialists of America club are pressuring the university for free laundry services.

Democratic Socialists at AOC’s alma mater are still protesting for free laundry

Students for Life of America, a pro-life organization that <a href="http://college.studentsforlife.org/about/mission-statement/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">aims&nbsp;</a>to &ldquo;recruit, train, and mobilize the pro-life generation to abolish abortion,&rdquo; recently released a list of Christian universities with ties to Planned Parenthood. The group announced in a <a href="https://studentsforlife.org/2021/03/03/students-for-life-of-america-finds-planned-parenthood-infiltration-at-christian-colleges-universities-widespread/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">press release</a> that they investigated over 700 colleges and universities, 100 of which had ties to Planned Parenthood. According to the release, the 100 schools are related to Planned Parenthood through &ldquo;advertising Planned Parenthood internships and career postings, referring students to Planned Parenthood as a resource, incorporating Planned Parenthood into medical school rotations, or hosting events for students with the abortion giant.&rdquo; &ldquo;There is an unholy partnership between a number of Christian schools and the abortion industry,&rdquo; said Kristan Hawkins, the president of Students for Life of America in the press release, &ldquo;but Students for Life is mobilizing pro-life advocates nationwide to cut ties with the nation&rsquo;s number one abortion vendor.&rdquo; <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16827" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: OSU hosts Planned Parenthood-supported &#39;Sex Week,&#39; complete with &#39;kink,&#39; &#39;sex work,&#39; and &#39;decolonizing porn&#39;]</a> Students for Life found that 25 universities have extremely friendly ties with Planned Parenthood. Some even list Planned Parenthood as a &ldquo;trusted resource&rdquo; on their website. The pro-life group is in the process of compiling a comprehensive <a href="https://studentsforlife.org/christianschools/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">map&nbsp;</a>that details the Christian schools supporting abortion, documented by red flags, and the Christian schools who have cut ties with Planned Parenthood. After conducting itsinvestigation, Students for Life sent formal letters to schools with ties to Planned Parenthood urging them to &ldquo;kick the abortion giant to the curb.&rdquo; Since the letters were received, a handful of universities have cut ties with Planned Parenthood. Students for Life calls these &ldquo;Christian School Victories&rdquo; and documents these schools on the map with purple, rather than red, flags. The site gives many examples, such as &ldquo;Lubbock Christian University, a school affiliated with the churches of Christ in Texas, agreed to remove Planned Parenthood from their website as a resource to students.&rdquo; &ldquo;Our hope is that the schools that remain on our list will learn from this example and cut ties with the nation&rsquo;s biggest seller of abortions&hellip; which clearly has no place within a Christian institution,&rdquo; says an <a href="https://studentsforlife.org/2021/02/26/christian-schools-project-launch/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">article</a> on the Students for Life website. In an interview with <a href="https://www.christianpost.com/politics/sfla-lists-christian-colleges-with-ties-to-planned-parenthood.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Christian Post</a>, Hawkins explained the difficulties of establishing a Students for Life chapter on many private Christian university campuses. <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=15733" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: VIDEO: Students shocked to learn of Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger&#39;s &#39;racist&#39; quote]</a> &ldquo;The hardest places for us to start a Students for Life group is often on a private school campus and particularly Christian school campuses where &hellip; we don&rsquo;t have the same First Amendment rights as you would on a public school to be able to a launch a Students for Life, pro-life group on campus,&rdquo; Hawkins said. Students for Life plans to release an in-depth report on the schools found to have ties with Planned Parenthood later this year. In the meantime, colleges and universities will be added or removed from the map as more information becomes available. Hawkins said in the interview that there will be &ldquo;two more waves of schools&rdquo; before the SFLA publishes the comprehensive report, which will most likely be in August or September. Follow the author of this article:<a href="https://campusreform.org/profile?pid=6097034" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;Addison Pummill</a><a href="https://campusreform.org/profile?pid=6097034" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration: none; color: var(--red); font-weight: 600; font-family: Lora; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" target="_blank"></a>

Some schools reportedly cut ties with planned parenthood after being contacted by Students for Life.

Pro-Life student group exposes Christian universities with ties to Planned Parenthood

Georgia Tech students will vote on approving a change to the school&rsquo;s fight song in the interest of gender inclusivity.The second verse of &ldquo;Ramblin&#39; Wreck from Georgia Tech&rdquo; <a href="https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/sites.gatech.edu/dist/9/988/files/2021/02/Fight-Song-Lyrics.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reads</a>, &ldquo;If I had a daughter, sir, I&rsquo;d dress her in White and Gold, and put her on the campus to cheer the brave and bold.&rdquo;&nbsp;However, students will be able to vote upon changing the word &ldquo;cheer&rdquo; to &ldquo;join.&rdquo;The spring 2021 student government elections <a href="https://www.sga.gatech.edu/elections/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ballot</a> contains a referendum for amending the lyrics.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=15776" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Georgia Tech coughs up $50k to settle free speech lawsuit involving MLK&#39;s niece]</a>In a <a href="https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/sites.gatech.edu/dist/9/988/files/2021/03/Fight-Song-Referendum-Bill-1.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">resolution</a> establishing the referendum, the undergraduate student legislature noted that an identical ballot measure was offered six years ago. At the time, 71.29 percent of respondents voted against swapping &ldquo;cheer&rdquo; with &ldquo;join,&rdquo; with 82 percent of alumni and 68 percent of students opposing the change.The resolution also reported that at the time, 70.67 percent of all respondents &ldquo;did not think there was a pertinent issue of gender equality on our campus.&rdquo; The vote was relatively evenly distributed, with 73 percent of alumni and 70 percent of the undergraduate and graduate students agreeing with the statement.The student government noted that the School Chairs of each academic department recently &ldquo;submitted a formal request to honor Georgia Tech&rsquo;s women students&rdquo; by changing the fight song.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=15294" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Majority of Georgia Tech profs call for &#39;default&#39; virtual instruction]</a>Caleb Torres, Chief of Staff to the Student Body President at Georgia Tech, told Campus Reform that &ldquo;as of now, the course of action pertaining to the proposed change to the fight song is undecided.&rdquo;&ldquo;We will continue collaborating with the Institute, including the group of School Chairs who proposed the change,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;The referendum is simply helping us collect the opinions of the student body on this important issue.&rdquo;Campus Reform reached out to Georgia Tech and the student government for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.Follow the author of this article on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/BenZeisloft" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@BenZeisloft</a>

In 2015, students overwhelmingly shot down the same proposed change.

Georgia Tech may change its fight song to be more gender-inclusive

Nearly 89 percent of students who voted in the University of Virginia&rsquo;s recent Student Council elections approved removing gendered pronouns from their constitution.The first referendum question on the students&rsquo; ballot was entitled &ldquo;Modernization and Inclusion of Student Council Constitution.&rdquo; As University of Virginia Student Council Director of University Relations Noah Strike confirmed to Campus Reform, the updates strike &ldquo;any use of &lsquo;he or she,&rsquo; him or her,&rsquo; or &lsquo;his or hers&rsquo; to the gender-neutral singular &lsquo;they&rsquo; pronoun&rdquo; in the student government&rsquo;s constitution.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16251" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: UVA student newspaper opinion writer: &#39;Stand up&rsquo; to &lsquo;racist family&#39; at Thanksgiving]</a>&ldquo;Seeing as our offices are all gender-neutral (i.e. not limited to &lsquo;men only&rsquo; etc.), the update reflects how students of any gender identity could serve in positions,&rdquo; explained Strike.According to Strike, 25 percent of the student body<a href="https://studentelections.virginia.edu/spring-2021-election-results" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> voted</a> on the referendum question, with 88.75 percent approving the passage. The minimum threshold for passage is a 66.6 percent affirmative vote.Strike told Campus Reform that the team is currently working to update the existing constitution. The current version was last <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ba956a916b6406fa63a6a71/t/5c639444f4e1fc401aec7ed1/1550029892918/Student+Council+Constitution.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">amended</a> in February 2008.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16874" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: UVA, fourth best public college in US, lowers academic standards for two more years]</a>According to Strike, the University of Virginia Honor Committee&#39;s governing <a href="https://honor.virginia.edu/documents" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">documents</a> were &ldquo;updated to include gender-neutral pronouns&rdquo; in 2018.As Campus Reform recently reported, the University of Virginia Student Council recently passed legislation to encourage the university to &ldquo;divest&rdquo; from fossil fuel investments.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16898" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Utopian dream? UVA student gov wants &#39;community gardens&#39; instead of fossil fuels]</a>Campus Reform reached out to the University of Virginia for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.Follow the author of this article on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/BenZeisloft" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@BenZeisloft</a>

Nearly 89 percent of the student body voted to scrap gendered pronouns for gender-neutral pronouns, such as “they.”

UVA students scrap gendered pronouns from constitution

A University of Utah campus recreation job posting demands that applicants &ldquo;promote racial equity and inclusivity.&rdquo;The university <a href="https://archive.vn/9okNH" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">published</a> a job ad for a Campus Recreation Director of Student Services who is able to &ldquo;nurture the habit of using a racial equity lens in the operation of the department.&rdquo; The successful candidate will earn between $90,000 and $115,300 annually.The candidate must also be able to develop &ldquo;an efficient diverse department by recruiting, hiring, training, retaining, evaluating and providing development opportunities for all Campus Recreation Services staff members.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17031" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: &#39;Woke&#39; books authored by &#39;anti-racist&#39; profs infiltrate US Navy reading list]</a>The candidate must also be &ldquo;knowledgeable about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion best practices as they relate to the mission of the department and university as a whole&rdquo; and facilitate &ldquo;a work environment that encourages knowledge of, respect for, and development of skills to engage with those of other cultures or backgrounds.&rdquo;Indeed, at least five of the nineteen job responsibilities are directly related to diversity or cultural sensitivity.A student affairs employee at the University of Utah &mdash; who told Campus Reform that &ldquo;having my name attached to anything critical of racial equity would have detrimental effects on my career&rdquo; &mdash; noted how &ldquo;the posting lists &lsquo;promote racial equity&rsquo; is listed first, meaning that it was most important to the job posting.&rdquo;&ldquo;This issue with this is that student affairs professionals are not and should not be activists,&rdquo; the employee explained. &ldquo;For a public institution to institute a purity test and ask their employees to promote and implement a divisive ideology should be unacceptable.&rdquo;The employee also believes that generally speaking, &ldquo;the university is sacrificing their stated mission on the altar of wokeness&rdquo; by emphasizing &ldquo;social justice activism over intellectual development of students and in this instance, effective management of their rec center.&rdquo;Campus Reform has repeatedly reported on universities&rsquo; fascination with ensuring that administrators address race relations. In many cases, universities have hired vice presidents and directors of diversity, equity, and inclusion.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16473" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Rutgers pays new &#39;Equity&#39; VP $300,000, despite projected $200 million COVID losses]</a>Campus Reform reached out to the University of Utah for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/BenZeisloft" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@BenZeisloft</a>

Five of the nineteen listed job responsibilities directly relate to racial equity or diversity.

Want to work in the University of Utah’s gym? Better bring your ‘racial equity’ creds.

The English department at the University of Arizona has released a list of new courses that are scheduled to begin this Fall. One class on this list is titled &ldquo;<a href="https://english.arizona.edu/upcoming-courses" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Anger and Resentment in the Wake of Trump and the Coronavirus</a>.&rdquo; <a href="https://english.arizona.edu/people/matthew-abraham" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Matthew Abraham</a>, an English Professor specializing in &ldquo;Rhetoric and Composition&rdquo; at the University of Arizona, is listed as the instructor for the online course which will last 7 weeks. Abraham is the<a href="https://parlorpress.com/products/the-making-of-barack-obama-the-politics-of-persuasion" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;co-editor</a> of &ldquo;The Making of Barack Obama: The Politics of Persuasion&rdquo; and the <a href="https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9781137031945" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">author</a> of &ldquo;Intellectual Resistance and the Struggle for Palestine.&rdquo; The <a href="https://catalog.sbs.arizona.edu/?dept=9&faculty=Abraham" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">professor</a> currently teaches several classes including &ldquo;Studies in Rhetoric and Composition&rdquo; and &ldquo;Critical Cultural Concepts.&rdquo; <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16951" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16951" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16951" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Here&#39;s how much American academia spent lobbying the federal government]</a> According to a description of the curriculum, the students will focus on exploring &quot;the role of anger and resentment in the context of understanding this current historical and political movement that has made resistance fashionable again.&rdquo; Division in our nation is due to &ldquo;anger, resentment, and calls for resistance&rdquo; that have been &ldquo;especially prominent since January of 2017,&rdquo; the website states. The brief summary goes on to mention the Coronavirus pandemic and the lack of resources which have caused &ldquo;general disgust directed toward those who look or behave differently.&rdquo; &ldquo;The rise of the Black Lives Matter Movement, #MeToo, and immigrant activism point to a widespread recognition of how systemic abuses of power are being resisted strongly by certain demographic sectors,&rdquo; the course description states. <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17021" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17021" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17021" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Collin College fires prof who tweeted about Mike Pence&#39;s &#39;demon mouth&#39;]</a> &ldquo;At the center of this storm of protest and resistance is the presidency of Donald J. Trump, whose unprecedented campaign and election fueled the rise of large-scale resistance movements among women, ethnic minorities, environmentalists, and ordinary citizens intent on defending constitutional norms and mainstream governmental institutions,&quot; the description continues. The course description makes a direct link between the &ldquo;backlash against these movements&rdquo; and &ldquo;the rise of white supremacy and white nationalism.&rdquo; University of Arizona&rsquo;s web page also addresses some questions that will be &ldquo;explored&rdquo; during the class, such as &ldquo;how have other oppositional movements, such as those expressing nativist and racial supremacist sentiments, channeled their anger and resentment in the age of Trump through social media?&rdquo; &nbsp; <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17010" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Iowa universities receive backlash for silencing conservative voices on campus]</a> The possible textbooks listed for this course are &ldquo;<a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691190785/deaths-of-despair-and-the-future-of-capitalism" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism</a>,&rdquo; &ldquo;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dying-Whiteness-Politics-Resentment-Heartland/dp/1541644980" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment is Killing America&rsquo;s Heartland,</a>&rdquo; and &ldquo;<a href="https://katherinestewart.me/books/the-power-worshippers/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism</a>.&rdquo; Alton Zhang, the President of College Republicans at University of Arizona, stated during a phone call with Campus Reform that &ldquo;the U of A CR&rsquo;s are incredibly appalled by these actions&rdquo; and &ldquo;colleges were never meant to be politicized. It&rsquo;s very upsetting to see an Arizona college stoop to this level.&rdquo; &ldquo;When a professor puts together a class like this it makes you wonder what their true intentions are for their students. Because in the end the students are not the ones benefiting from this,&quot; Zhang said.

Students will discuss why “anger and resentment” have become prominent in political movements during the past several years and how they link to “white supremacy and white nationalism.”  

UArizona unveils English course on ‘Anger and Resentment in the Wake of Trump’

The University of California Berkeley is looking to hire a <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Lora; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">&ldquo;Wellness and Environmental Justice Coordinator&rdquo; that will run environmentally-focused student programs such as &quot;meet-ups with Bay Area QT+ and BIPOC climate activists,&quot; &quot;climate healing circles,&quot; &quot;wellness collaboration days,&quot; and more.To be considered for the <a href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:sfI_Yapdk3QJ:https://www.uzoes.com/us/details/f754529216dbd4454c651dad4038862d+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">job,</a> the applicant must have a &quot;intention of justice and liberation over status quo/reformation,&quot; in addition to a bachelor&#39;s degree and &quot;at least&quot; two years of experience in &quot;sustainability or environmental jobs.&quot; The job is part-time and will pay $23.95-$25.34 per hour. The position is housed in the Student Environmental Resource Center, which is a department within the Dean of Students office. <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16879" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Lawmakers propose tapping academics for $94 million &lsquo;environmental justice committee&rsquo;]</a>According to the center&#39;s <a href="https://serc.berkeley.edu/our-values/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">website</a> it provides &quot;environmental and social justice programming and resources to create a space that values the perspectives and narratives of marginalized and underrepresented students.&quot; This particular position&#39;s duties ar4e to be executed while &quot;centering under-served and historically marginalized populations on campus.&quot; <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Lora; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">&ldquo;We are looking for equity-minded applicants who represent the full diversity of California and who demonstrate a sensitivity to and understanding of the diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, and ethnic backgrounds present in our community,&quot; the job description states. The coordinator will also be tasked with reinforcing student advocacy and &ldquo;fostering wellness and collectivism&quot; and developing &quot;and/or adapt curriculum surrounding wellness and healing in the environmental movement.&quot; <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=14836" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: American University caves to environmentalist students&#39; demands]</a> Despite being a part-time job, the coordinator, according to the job description, will be in charge of &quot;Wellness and Environmental Justice Education and Programming,&quot; &quot;Strategic Program Analysis and Assessment,&quot; &quot;Student Group and Civic Engagement Advising Services,&quot; &quot;Community Engagement and Partnership Creation,&quot; &quot;Student Supervision,&quot; and &quot;Budget Management and Administration.&quot; Dan Mogulof, the assistant vice chancellor for executive communications at the University of California Berkeley told Campus Reform that &quot;The position is in the process of being filled,&quot; and said that the position is a temporary, three year contract.<a href="https://dailycaller.com/2019/02/07/ocasio-cortez-green-new-deal-oppression/" style="text-decoration:none;"></a>

Successful applicants must have a "intention of justice and liberation over status quo/reformation."

Berkeley is looking for an employee to run 'climate healing circles' with 'BIPOC' activists

JACOBSON: BLM co-founder’s million dollar mansions a prime example of ‘rules for thee…not for me’

The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh tapped a counseling professor to focus upon &ldquo;racial battle fatigue&rdquo; and &ldquo;microaggressions.&rdquo; The university hired <a href="https://uwosh.edu/coehs/people/bowser-ph-d-ncc-teysha/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Teysha Bowser</a> &mdash; who wrote a dissertation called &ldquo;Gendered Racial Microaggressions, Racial Battle Fatigue and Intergenerational Learning with Three Generations of Black Women&rdquo; &mdash; and highlighted her work in an article <a href="https://uwosh.edu/today/94852/new-prof-offers-uwo-professional-counseling-students-perspective-on-racial-battle-fatigue/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">posted</a> to the university website. Bowser&rsquo;s work examined &ldquo;coping mechanisms in response to racial battle fatigue&rdquo; &mdash; which Bowser defines as &ldquo;a stress response that people of color experience from constantly dealing with racism and microaggressions in their daily lives.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16884" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16884" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Why don&#39;t Black people ski? One prof blames systemic racism]</a> Bowser will incorporate her research into graduate level courses for professional counseling students, according to UW Oshkosh Today. &ldquo;At first, some Black women might feel like the gendered racial microaggressions they experience are not that bad, but then they build up and gradually make an impact,&rdquo; explained Bowser. &ldquo;Counselors should emphasize the need for Black women to check in with themselves and incorporate more balance in their lives, but they also need to understand the context and barriers that may make it difficult for them to do so.&rdquo; &ldquo;While it is important and necessary for Black women to find time to take a breath and be more attuned with what they are experiencing in body, mind, spirit, they will not be able to fully do so if we as counselors are not able to identify and address what prevents them from doing so,&rdquo; she added.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16880" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16880" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Want to fight racism? According to one university, cancel classes and take a nap.]</a> As National Association of Scholars Director of Research David Randall explained to Campus Reform, &ldquo;counseling is already a heavily politicized field&rdquo; and noted that &quot;therapeutic managerialism&quot; has become the &ldquo;raison d&#39;etre of the American elite.&rdquo; &ldquo;A field dedicated to training &lsquo;counselors&rsquo; will have a vested interest in telling society that they need well-paid counsel,&rdquo; he explained. &ldquo;The racialized version is particularly noxious in that it says that to be black (or a member of any other &lsquo;oppressed&rsquo; group) is to be so mentally damaged as to require permanent &lsquo;counseling.&rsquo; Because our progressive elites ascribe social status to claims to this sort of &lsquo;mental damage,&rsquo; too many Americans are willing to claim they are sufferers, as a means to acquire social status.&rdquo; &ldquo;It is always difficult to tell how many such status-seekers sincerely believe themselves to be mentally damaged,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;But surely too many habituate themselves to the impaired life of the &lsquo;mentally damaged.&rsquo; The counseling profession, along with the other therapeutic managers of American society, certainly lessen Americans&#39; vigor, cheer, and self-reliance.&rdquo; Campus Reform&nbsp;reached out to Bowser and the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh for comment; this article will be updated accordingly. <span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/BenZeisloft?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration:none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#cc0000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">@BenZeisloft</a>

The professor will incorporate her research into graduate-level courses so that future counselors can “emphasize the need for Black women to check in with themselves and incorporate more balance in their lives.”

UW Oshkosh hires counseling prof who specializes in 'racial battle fatigue'

VIDEO: Students support court packing... until they hear Democrats used to oppose it

Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota is offering race-based &quot;affinity groups,&quot; including a new &quot;weightlifting for women of color&quot; program, according to a statement from the college&#39;s president.&nbsp;President Suzanne Rivera of Macalester College, a private liberal arts school in St. Paul, Minnesota, provided an &ldquo;<a href="https://www.macalester.edu/president/messages/update-on-equity-and-anti-racism-initiatives/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Update on Equity and Anti-racism Initiatives</a>,&quot; which read, &quot;Macalester continues to do the important work of self-assessment with a focus on identifying opportunities to increase the diversity of students, faculty, and staff on our campus and to foster a culture of inclusion in which each member of this community can thrive and flourish.&rdquo;&nbsp;In the update, Rivera wrote about identity-based affinity groups for Macalester&rsquo;s very diverse staff. Rivera noted, &ldquo;Identity-based affinity groups are being established to provide support for underrepresented employees at Macalester. Information about these spaces will be posted on the Employment Services website by the end of the week.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17040" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: &#39;The endpoint of critical race theory&#39;: Columbia University faces backlash for segregated graduations]</a>Rivera continued on to note that &ldquo;50% of our full-time staff hires identified as being a part of a minoritized group,&rdquo; the past year at Macalester collegeIn addition, Macalester College is creating a new Vice President position &ldquo;to lead the college in the fostering of inclusive excellence in learning and teaching, institutional equity, and community flourishing.&rdquo;In the update provided, a number of priorities are outlined, including &ldquo;weightlifting for women of color,&quot; specialization of &ldquo;mental health for &nbsp;LGBTQIA+&rdquo; and an &ldquo;Equity purchasing Initiative,&quot; which &quot;provides resources to help identify minority-owned businesses and women-owned businesses.&quot;&nbsp;Rivera wrote that, &ldquo; Business Services announced details of our new Equity Purchasing Initiative. This initiative helps us all to consider the ways and the places we spend the college&rsquo;s money.&rdquo; Rivera also wrote that&ldquo; we have been engaged in a search for an additional full-time mental health counselor, with expertise in mental health care for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16955" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: &#39;Yoga for QTPOC Folx&#39;: Despite segregated rock climbing backlash, Cornell offers more identity-specific classes]</a>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve said before that there is still much work to be done as we advance our institutional commitments to equity and inclusion. I&rsquo;m excited to be engaging with so many of you in this important work,&quot; Rivera concluded.&nbsp;Macalester College did not respond to&nbsp;Campus Reform&#39;s request for comment in time for publication.&nbsp;Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/hannahkeller77" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@hannahkeller77</a>

The announcement from the college's president is the latest in a nationwide trend toward racially segregated spaces.

Macalester College offers 'weightlifting for women of color'

Students and alumni want a statue of former NFL quarterback Colin Kapernick installed at the University of Nevada-Reno.Kaepernick &mdash; who graduated in 2011 and led the school&rsquo;s football team to record victories &mdash; gained national notoriety after kneeling during the national anthem at a San Francisco 49ers football game.Today, Kaepernick focuses much of his efforts on racial activism work. As Campus Reform recently reported, Kaepernick&rsquo;s organization sponsored a series of essays about police reform and racism. One of the writings alleged that to &ldquo;reform the police&rdquo; is to &ldquo;reward the police&rdquo; while they &ldquo;brutalize and kill.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16138" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Colin Kaepernick endorsed Princeton prof: Police are &lsquo;inherently predatory and violent&#39;]</a>A Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/638601343411903" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">group</a> called UNR Alumni Campaign for Statue of Kaepernick Kneeling in Mackay Stadium &mdash; which launched following the death of George Floyd and which boasted 1,500 members as of the time of publication &mdash; said that creating the statue &ldquo;would make a very powerful statement to future students, especially Black ones.&rdquo;&ldquo;The university states that it supports inclusion and diversity. Let&rsquo;s see. Does UNR want to be on the correct side of history, or not?&rdquo; reads the group&rsquo;s description.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16609" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Harvard hires Obama-connected firm for police review. The result is unsurprising.]</a>Corresponding with alumni, the Associated Students of the University of Nevada proposed a resolution to install a statue of Kaepernick.Listing Kaepernick&rsquo;s activism credentials, the <a href="http://de5u0yfu98nbk.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/15204535/88-117_S.Res_SupportKaepernickStatue.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">resolution</a> states that &ldquo;having a statute of Colin Kaepernick will be representing Black students at the University of Nevada, Reno as well as be representative of social justice movements in response to deep-rooted disenfranchisement of the Black community.&rdquo;UNR spokesperson Kerri Garcia Hendricks told Campus Reform that the president&rsquo;s office is currently reviewing the student government&rsquo;s resolution, which passed in December.&ldquo;We are proud of all of our alumni, Colin Kaepernick being one of the most recognizable,&rdquo; she explained. &ldquo;We have had students, faculty and alumni talk about how we could recognize the social justice conversation Colin started in this county by taking a knee.&rdquo;&quot;President Sandoval is considering the best way to recognize Colin, looking at the options that are available, such as many of the University&rsquo;s prestigious awards that may be appropriate, such as honorary degrees, Distinguished Nevadan awards and the President&rsquo;s Medal,&rdquo; she added.Campus Reform reached out to the University of Nevada-Reno for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/BenZeisloft" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@BenZeisloft</a>

The university has not yet addressed the recommendation, but left the door open to granting Kaepernick other forms of accolade.

Students and alumni want statue of Colin Kaepernick on campus

At the University of Michigan, a dean under fire for &quot;offensive characterization&quot; of Asians has issued an apology calling himself &ldquo;part of the problem.&rdquo;Michigan Law Dean <a href="https://www.law.umich.edu/dean/pages/default.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mark West</a> has published several books on Japanese culture, including Secrets, Sex and Spectacle: The Rules of Scandal in Japan and the United States and&nbsp;Lovesick Japan: Sex, Marriage, Romance, Law. After pushback over the book covers, the dean <a href="https://abovethelaw.com/2021/03/mich-dean-books/2/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">announced</a> in an email to students that the covers will be redesigned.Courtney Liss, a third-year University of Michigan law student, shared tweets on March 17 about the <a href="https://twitter.com/CourtneyLiss/status/1372291665294200835?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">book covers</a> and her March 16 email to the college&rsquo;s deans, calling on them to <a href="https://twitter.com/CourtneyLiss/status/1372291672822972418?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">release a statement</a> about &ldquo;anti-Asian xenophobia and racist attacks.&rdquo;&nbsp;Liss has been <a href="https://twitter.com/CourtneyLiss/status/1373449590259789825" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">rallying</a> for the book covers to changed for three years.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17135" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Prof claimed on class assignment that Trump supported Japanese internment camps, student alleges. Here&#39;s what he actually said.]</a>A <a href="https://twitter.com/CourtneyLiss/status/1372378200978898945?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">statement</a> released by West on March 17 discussed inequalities, the Atlanta shooting, calling on the community to &ldquo;eliminate anti-Asian sentiment and all aspects of racism.&rdquo;&nbsp;Days later, the dean shared with UM law students how his books on Japanese culture have &ldquo;contributed to a narrative that promotes a two-dimensional and offensive characterization of people, and especially women.&rdquo; The <a href="https://abovethelaw.com/2021/03/mich-dean-books/2/?rf=1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">email</a>, published by Above The Law, states that the dean initially saw the covers as &ldquo;edgy,&rdquo; but began changing the book covers in spring 2020.&nbsp;&ldquo;We as an institution have been grappling with the structural racism in American life and with our own role in addressing it...I have been reflecting on choices I have made that are, quite simply, part of the problem,&rdquo; Dean West said in the email.West shared that he found himself &ldquo;increasingly uncomfortable&rdquo; with the imagery and believed the books would have gone out of print sooner. The dean is now working with the publishers to completely change the covers on his books and on the publisher&rsquo;s website.<a href="https://campusreform.org/?id=16878" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Want more info on UMich China ties? That will cost you $1,200.]</a>&ldquo;I am glad to see Dean West is recognizing the racist and sexist stereotypes that his book covers portrayed and working to change the book covers,&rdquo; Liss told Campus Reform. &ldquo;This is a great step in creating a more equitable law school and I hope to see Dean West and the rest of the administration continue to confront these issues as they arise.&rdquo;Campus Reform reached out to West and the university for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.&nbsp;Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/SergeiKelley?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@SergeiKelley</a>

A UM law student has been campaigning for the college to release a statement on anti-Asian racism. 

'#StopAsianHate': UMich dean caves to left, changes book covers amid claims of racism

A University of Florida professor gave students a &quot;Diversity Bingo&quot; extra credit assignment, which called for students to find people of various ethnicities, religions, and sexual orientations.The course, titled Problem Solving with Computer Software, is a general requirement course for all business majors at the University of Florida. &quot;Diversity Bingo&quot; was offered to students in the class as an extra credit assignment.&nbsp;The assignment appears within a chapter dedicated to problem-solving specify, using groups and critical thinking strategies. Within this chapter students learned about Problem Definition, Idea Generation, and Decision making. The professor also included this assignment as being relevant to the material. <a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=16934" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Macalester College student gov approves &lsquo;care packages&#39; with &#39;priority&#39; for Black students]</a>Students were informed of the opportunity to complete the extra credit Diversity Bingo assignment in an online announcement, which read, &ldquo;we are talking about diversity and how a diverse team would be more effective when addressing the complexity and different challenges that are inherent to open-ended problems.&rdquo; Giving instructions for students to &ldquo;Look for other students who can fit into the description.&rdquo;Students were encouraged to find others who fit into categories, including &quot;a person who is gay, lesbian, or bisexual,&quot; &quot;a person with special needs,&quot; and &quot;has celebrated &#39;Ramadan.&#39;&quot;&nbsp;Students could also find others who fit into categories such as those who have had their &ldquo;last name mispronounced,&rdquo; &quot;is a first or second-generation immigrant to the U.S.,&quot; or &quot;has Black African Ancestry.&quot;&nbsp;<a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=16901" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Five top law schools partner with alumni to create &#39;Social Justice Legal Foundation&#39;]</a><a href="https://www.eng.ufl.edu/eed/faculty-staff/john-mendoza-garcia/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">John Mendoza-Garcia</a> is the professor who teaches the class. Within the syllabus of his computer class, students can see a picture of the Black Lives Matter logo. Mendoza-Garcia writes that he is aware of the &ldquo;systemic racism that have [sic] been present in our society.&quot;Mendoza-Garcia also mentions in his syllabus that he has become &ldquo;anti-racist&rdquo; and invites students &ldquo;to be anti-racist as well.&rdquo; Additionally, he mentions &ldquo;if you are Black and you are reading this syllabus, please remember that you matter, and your success in this class matters to me.&rdquo;&nbsp;UF student Zachary Forbes told Campus Reform he thinks the assignment &ldquo;teaches the wrong message about problem-solving.Forbes believes that students &ldquo;should look for people with the experience and expertise for the problem at hand,&quot; that the physical characteristics or background &ldquo;shouldn&rsquo;t determine whether you reach out to them or not.&rdquo; Students should be taught to &ldquo;stand out within their field based on their work and devotion to the subject,&quot; Forbes said.&nbsp;Forbes identifies as being from a Portuguese family that moved to Massachusetts, but he would &ldquo;want to be hired as a manager or accountant based on the fact that I&rsquo;m damn good at it, not based on the fact that I look more brown than my peers.&rdquo;Campus Reform reached out to the professor for comment, who informed this correspondent &quot;it is best if you do not write a story about an assignment in the CGS2531 class while you are one of the students in that class,&quot; adding &quot;I can consider writing a note again after the class is over.&quot;Asked to clarify that statement, the professor elaborated that &quot;it is because you are a student in my class, and there is a conflict because of that asymmetric relationship.&quot;&quot;Any comment you or any student has regarding an assignment in my course or any UF course should be provided to the instructor through teaching evaluations. Such evaluations are only accessible to instructors after we have submitted final grades to the registrar. This post-course access to students&rsquo; comments about the class is because of the asymmetric relationship students and instructors have,&quot; Mendoza-Garcia said.&nbsp;Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ajmunguia23" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@ajmunguia23</a>

A University of Florida professor offered his students a "Diversity Bingo" extra credit assignment.

EXCLUSIVE: 'Anti-racist' prof with BLM syllabus offers 'Diversity Bingo' extra credit

An anonymous Instagram account claimed that Black students at Adelphi University received lynching threats. Although the university sent two warnings to the student body, local police found no evidence of hate crime threats.Black at AU &mdash; an account that seeks to &ldquo;discuss the institutional racism at Adelphi university&rdquo; &mdash; sounded the alarm that students had been targeted with racially motivated threats.&ldquo;ALERT!! Students are threatening to lynch Black students in retaliation to this page,&rdquo; read the post. &ldquo;Students addresses have been posted. Be safe.&rdquo;The students tagged NPR, CNN, and racial activist Shaun King in the post.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17040" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: &#39;The endpoint of critical race theory&#39;: Columbia University faces backlash for segregated graduations]</a>In response to the anonymous post &mdash; which included no corroborating evidence &mdash; the school sent a statement to the student body.&ldquo;There have been recent incidents of students using racial slurs, hateful comments, and reported threats of violence and retaliation on social media &mdash; and sadly, this is not the first time these issues have occurred,&rdquo;<a href="https://www.adelphi.edu/news/a-joint-statement-from-faculty-and-administration/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;said</a> Adelphi President Christine Riordan. &ldquo;To those among us who have been targeted, directly and indirectly, we hate that this has happened to you, and we hate that we have not yet found a way to stop it.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17031" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: &#39;Woke&#39; books authored by &#39;anti-racist&#39; profs infiltrate US Navy reading list]</a>&ldquo;Ignorance, racism, hate and violence hold no place in the Adelphi community, yet those things keep happening here,&rdquo; continued the communication. &ldquo;We know there is no place at Adelphi for inexcusable messages of white supremacy and anti-Blackness, but such racist attacks are a stark reminder of the work we need to do to combat systemic inequality and ongoing racism in our very own community.&rdquo;Adelphi University Strategic Communications Director Todd Wilson directed Campus Reform toward another statement published the following day.The second statement admitted that public safety and local police officers &ldquo;have continued to ask for direct evidence of threats from those who have received them firsthand and none have been submitted for investigation.&rdquo;&nbsp;Nevertheless, the university enlisted &ldquo;an external cyber/digital forensic firm to add to the police investigations.&rdquo;&quot;After an investigation this week by public safety and the Garden City police, we do not currently have any substantiated claims or specific examples of threats of racially motivated violence or harm to our community members. We do not have any names of people perpetuating these crimes,&quot; the university said in a statement.&nbsp;Follow the author of this article on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/BenZeisloft" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@BenZeisloft</a>

The university sent two communications to the student body, even though local police found no evidence of hate crime threats.

University admin sounds alarm over anonymously reported hate crimes. There's just one problem.

The search is on for a new chief diversity officer at the University of Florida.&nbsp;The individual who previously held that position was paid $288,400 in 2019 alone, according to UF&#39;s campus newspaper <a href="https://www.alligator.org/article/2021/03/chief-diversity-officer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Alligator</a>. Asked how much the next CDO would make, UF spokesperson Hessy Fernandez told Campus Reform, &quot;The salary to be offered to our next CDO will be competitive and commensurate with education and experience.&quot; In 2017,<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=9428" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;Campus Reform reported</a> that the average salary of diversity officers at that time was a whopping $175,088.&nbsp;The University of Florida&#39;s Chief Diversity Officer position is charged with various duties, including oversight of &ldquo;<a href="https://news.ufl.edu/2020/07/racial-justice-research-fund-release/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">racial justice grants</a>.&quot; The position was <a href="https://www.alligator.org/article/2018/05/uf-hires-first-ever-chief-diversity-officer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">created</a> in 2018, with the seat first being filled by Antonio Farias who, in 2018, had stated after some controversial events at the university that they represent &ldquo;something systemic in the culture that needs to be addressed.&rdquo; Farias added that in the U.S. there is a &ldquo;very checkered history when it comes to questions of exclusion and inclusion.&rdquo;<a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=17044" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Students support boycotting Panda Express for &#39;cultural appropriation&#39;]</a>Farias also oversaw &ldquo;the foundation of an inclusive culture,&rdquo; where the university trained more than 300 faculty and staff in what they call &ldquo;Crucial Conversations.&rdquo;The chief diversity officer also<a href="https://news.ufl.edu/2020/07/racial-justice-research-fund-release/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;oversees&nbsp;</a>the &ldquo;Racial Justice Research Fund.&rdquo; The goal of this fund is to &ldquo;inform understanding of the Black experience, racial justice, diversity, equity and inclusion on campus and beyond.&rdquo;&nbsp;Grants distributed from this fund range from as low as $15,000 to as much as $75,000.&nbsp;For years, research has shown these diversity head positions do <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=11311" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">very little</a> in terms of racial equality. Universities over the years have spent more money on the problem, which has <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=13471" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">shown</a> to neither increase diversity amongst the staff, nor the <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=13290" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">student body</a>.&nbsp;<a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=17040" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: &#39;The endpoint of critical race theory&#39;: Columbia University faces backlash for segregated graduations]</a>While these programs have <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=11347" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">cost millions</a> of dollars, universities continue to accept billions in <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=14787" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">federal funds</a>.Zachary Forbes is a student at the University of Florida who told Campus Reform that &ldquo;universities are like mini versions of actual governments, they invent fake problems and then throw money at those fake problems in order to make it look like they&rsquo;re doing something productive.&rdquo;Forbes further stated that admission rates for each demographic are bound to change year to year and that &ldquo;UF thinks that&rsquo;s an excuse to pay someone $300,000 to complain about it.&quot;Forbes further pointed out that if the University would like to change admissions rates, it should &quot;remember that they chose to go completely online last year and still charged the same tuition to sit alone in our rooms behind a screen.&quot;&nbsp;Forbes added that the &quot;lower-income households don&rsquo;t want to throw away money for a useless year of college, so you see a bigger percentage of upper-middle-class students with stable family income.&quot;Forbes ultimately concluded that &quot;the COVID policies are at fault, but UF would never admit that cause they need to pander to COVID fear too.&quot;&nbsp;Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ajmunguia23" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@ajmunguia23</a>

However, despite the lucrative pay, studies have shown that initiatives led by people in such positions have done little to increase diversity.

UF 'Chief Diversity Officer' search continues, despite studies showing it's a waste

Campus officials and student activists within the University of California system voiced disapproval over California voters&#39; decision to reject Proposition 16, which would have overturned the ban on racial and sex consideration in public university admissions. Michael V. Drake, the president of the University of California system said in a <a href="https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/uc-continue-champion-diverse-student-body-despite-rejection-proposition-16" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">statement&nbsp;</a>that he was &quot;disappointed&quot; that the ballot measure failed, but expressed that he&#39;s still committed to &quot;attract and support&quot; a diverse student body. &ldquo;UC remains steadfast in its commitment to attract and support a student body that reflects California&rsquo;s dynamism and diversity, despite this setback,&rdquo; Drake said. &ldquo;We will continue our unwavering efforts to expand underrepresented groups&rsquo; access to a UC education.&rdquo; The measure, which was endorsed by the UC Board of Regents, was intended to overturn Proposition 209 which banned affirmative action in 1996.&nbsp; It failed by a margin of 57.1 to 42.9 percent. <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=16107" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: California fails to overturn ban on affirmative action in college admissions]</a> &ldquo;The University of California&rsquo;s efforts to address racial inequities were greatly hindered by Proposition 209,&rdquo; said UC Regents Chair John A. P&eacute;rez in the press release. &ldquo;The failure of Proposition 16 means barriers will remain in place to the detriment of many students, families and California at large. We will not accept inequality on our campuses and will continue addressing the inescapable effects of racial and gender inequity.&rdquo;&nbsp; The statement also said that the university system will continue to improve the diversity of the student body despite the decision. &ldquo;Despite the failure of Proposition 16, the University will continue to look for innovative and creative approaches to further improve the diversity of its student body through outreach to underserved groups, schools and communities; support for college preparation; and efforts to close equity gaps among students attaining a UC education,&quot; the press release stated.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=15321" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=15321" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: UT-Austin faces lawsuit for allegedly discriminating against white students]</a> The chancellor of the University of California-Los Angeles also weighed in, saying that the vote by residents of California has yielded a &quot;painful&quot; result to the UCLA community. &ldquo;We know this result is painful to many in our community,&rdquo; UCLA Chancellor Gene Block and Executive Vice Chancellor Emily Carter <a href="https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/ucla-s-unwavering-dedication-to-diversity-and-inclusion" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">wrote</a> in an email to students. &ldquo;As disheartening as this defeat is to many, we remain determined to do all we can within the confines of the law to bring together people from a diverse array of backgrounds to learn, live and work at our institution. On the admissions side, we&rsquo;ve seen success through the use of holistic application reviews, support for diversity programs, and partnerships with high schools and community groups serving underrepresented students. We will expand these and other efforts.&rdquo; &ldquo;Voters had a chance to end California&rsquo;s failed experiment in race-blindness and usher in a new era of opportunity for students and workers in this state,&rdquo; UC Student Association President Aidan Arasasingham <a href="https://ucsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/11.4.20-Presidential-Uncertainty-Prop.-16-Failure-Statement.pdf"></a><a href="https://ucsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/11.4.20-Presidential-Uncertainty-Prop.-16-Failure-Statement.pdf"></a><a href="https://ucsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/11.4.20-Presidential-Uncertainty-Prop.-16-Failure-Statement.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said</a><a href="https://ucsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/11.4.20-Presidential-Uncertainty-Prop.-16-Failure-Statement.pdf"></a><a href="https://ucsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/11.4.20-Presidential-Uncertainty-Prop.-16-Failure-Statement.pdf"></a> in a statement. &ldquo;Unfortunately, Californians did not live up to our ideals of equity and justice today.&rdquo; Arasasingham noted that only nine states don&rsquo;t allow affirmative action. A third student at UCLA who wishes to remain anonymous, however, told Campus Reform that he was &quot;very glad&quot; Proposition 16 was struck down by voters. &ldquo;I am very glad that Proposition 16 was rejected by Californians,&rdquo; a UCLA student told Campus Reform. &ldquo;The former Secretary of State under the George W. Bush Administration, Condoleeza Rice, famously described affirmative action as &#39;the soft bigotry of low expectations.&#39; Truly, all administrative decisions should be made with only the applicant&rsquo;s merit in mind. The United States has clearly moved into a post-Civil Rights Era where we should carry out, rather than denounce, Dr. Martin Luther King&rsquo;s Dream. I just hoped that the proposition had been rejected with a larger margin, however. Affirmative action policy proposals should be decisively defeated; the voters must send a message to those in power that discrimination on the basis of superficial characteristics should never be tolerated.&rdquo; Follow the author of this article on Twitter:<a href="http://twitter.com/Arik_Schneider" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> @Arik_Schneider</a>

One official said that the California voters delivered a "painful" result by rejecting affirmative action.

University of California expresses 'disappointment' that voters rejected affirmative action 

After the November 3 elections, California&rsquo;s ban on affirmative action appears to remain intact. California<a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Article_I,_California_Constitution#Section_31" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;approved</a> Proposition 209 in 1996, which declared that the state could not &ldquo;discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.&rdquo; Effectively, the measure banned the practice of affirmative action for the state and local governments, as well as school districts and the University of California system, among other entities.&nbsp;Proponents of Proposition 16 say the reversal would have helped boost college enrollment among Black and Latino students. Californian voters had the opportunity to vote on Proposition 16, which would have overturned Proposition 209, making affirmative action legal for governmental entities in California. However, with nearly 12 million votes cast, the ban on affirmative action seems to remain intact, with over 56 percent of voters <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/03/us/elections/results-california-proposition-16-repeal-ban-on-affirmative-action.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">rejecting&nbsp;</a>Proposition 16. The campaign for the restoration of affirmative action was <a href="https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/11/03/election-2020-proposition-16-results-california-voters-weigh-affirmative-action/5987502002/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">well-funded</a>, with $31 million being raised for the effort. <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=15947" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Newsom&#39;s reparations task force MUST include one member from academia]</a> The University of California Board of Regents is heavily in <a href="https://legalinsurrection.com/2020/06/university-of-california-board-of-regents-votes-to-restore-affirmative-action/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">favor&nbsp;</a>of restoring affirmative action to its admissions.&nbsp;In the summer of 2020, the board unanimously voted to attempt to restore the practice. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/California-2020-ballot-measures-propositions-guide-15578295.php" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">supported</a> Proposition 16, alongside her Senate colleague Dianne Feinstein. California <a href="https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/us-states-with-the-largest-relative-asian-american-populations.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">boasts</a> the highest population of Asian-Americans in the United States, a demographic that some say face disproportionate discrimination as a result of affirmative action policies. &nbsp;As Campus Reform previously <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=15924" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reported</a>, the United States Department of Justice is currently suing Yale University for allegedly discriminating against White and Asian-American students in its admissions practices. <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=15924" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: DOJ sues Yale for discriminating against Whites, Asian Americans]</a> According to the Heritage Foundation, Asian-American students <a href="https://www.heritage.org/education/commentary/how-affirmative-action-hurts-asian-americans-college-admissions" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">must</a> score an average of 140 points higher on the SAT than White students, 270 points higher than Hispanic students, and 450 points higher than Black students to be admitted to elite schools.&nbsp;National Association of Scholars President Peter Wood responded to the failed effort in California, saying, &ldquo;The people of California have once again shown that they are nowhere near as biased and fanatical as their local leaders. Almost twenty-five years ago the people of California said &lsquo;no&rsquo; to discrimination and they&rsquo;ve said it again today.&rdquo;Follow the author of this article on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/BenZeisloft" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@BenZeisloft</a>

On November 3, California voters had a chance to overturn the state’s ban on affirmative action.

California fails to overturn ban on affirmative action in college admissions

The Penn State Faculty Senate<a href="https://senate.psu.edu/senators/agendas-records/april-28-2020-agenda/appendix-n/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">&nbsp;proposed revisions</a> to its faculty hiring policy at its last meeting for the academic school year. If the resolution is passed by the university&rsquo;s president, the Affirmative Action Office will have significant influence over the protocol for hiring employees.&nbsp;The AC-13, which details the procedures for hiring new staff, has been unchanged for more than 20 years, but the faculty senate says that the AC-13 is no longer representative of Penn State&rsquo;s initiative &ldquo;to conduct faculty searches that attend to issues of <a href="https://news.psu.edu/story/618979/2020/05/06/senate-updates-faculty-hiring-policy-support-diversity-equity-and-inclusion" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">diversity, equity, and inclusion</a>.&quot; Efforts to change these policies have been increasingly advocated for in the past several years with the creation of new programs meant to increase workplace diversity at the university.&nbsp;In January the Senate had held a <a href="https://news.psu.edu/story/606308/2020/01/30/academics/senate-discusses-report-status-african-american-professors-penn" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">meeting</a> to &nbsp;discuss ways to improve &ldquo;recruitment and retention of people of color.&quot; At that meeting, Nick Jones, the Executive Vice President of Penn State, said the university has implemented changes to promote diversity, but they still need to &ldquo;address some of the systemic challenges that are ingrained in parts of the institution.&quot;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=14975" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Students call for laxed grading for black students. University goes along with it.]</a>Suzanne Adair, the associate vice president for Affirmative action, and Kathleen Bieschke, vice provost for faculty affairs, along with several senate committees and university officials, formed the proposal. According to Adair, these changes are necessary &ldquo;to ensure that we form search committees that represent a sufficiently diverse group of individuals...to effectively recruit and retain a more diverse faculty population.&quot;In the new policy, it is proposed that Penn State must apply its affirmative action plan when recruiting workers. Part of the responsibility of the appointing authority is referencing &ldquo;affirmative action plan data to determine areas of underutilization.&quot; More specifically, the plan points out that this applies most directly to groups that have &ldquo;historically had significant underrepresentation,&quot; &nbsp;and that Penn State should make efforts to promote minority employees.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=13424" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: As cost of college soars, schools spend MILLIONS on diversity salaries]</a>The plan states that the search committees must look for employees who are qualified for the job and fulfill diversity requirements. Workers should also keep records describing actions taken and methods used to recruit diverse applicants.&nbsp;While the hirees should look to employ &ldquo;underrepresented groups,&quot; the search committees must also be consistent with a diverse group of people. When the committees are not diverse enough, they must seek out new members from other similar groups. Otherwise, the committee must provide &ldquo;documentation explaining the lack of representation...available for review&rdquo;.Even as the proposal awaits the Penn State president&rsquo;s approval, it has gained the support of the university&rsquo;s high-positioned staff.&nbsp;Jones praised the revisions for &ldquo;advancing inclusion, equity and diversity,&quot; claiming them to be a &ldquo;moral imperative&hellip; critical to Penn State&rsquo;s long-term success.&quot;&nbsp;Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/KestecherLacey" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@KestecherLacey</a>

Penn State Faculty Senate proposes changes to hiring policy to increase workplace “diversity, equity, and inclusion."

Penn State faculty supports affirmative action...for hiring COMMITTEES

In a long-anticipated ruling, a federal judge sided Tuesday with Harvard University in a lawsuit challenging the Ivy League&#39;s admissions policy.A 2014 complaint alleged that Harvard University intentionally raised the bar for Asian American applicants in an attempt to achieve a more diverse student body.&nbsp;&quot;Notwithstanding the fact that Harvard&rsquo;s admissions program survives strict scrutiny, it is not perfect,&quot; U.S. District Court Judge Allison Burroughs wrote in her decision. &quot;The process would likely benefit from conducting implicit bias trainings for admissions officers, maintaining clear guidelines on the use of race in the admissions process, which were developed during this litigation, and monitoring and making admissions officers aware of any significant race-related statistical disparities in the rating process.&quot;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=6546" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Complaint: Harvard discriminates against Asian-American applicants]</a>&quot;That being said,&quot; Burroughs added, &quot;the Court will not dismantle a very fine admissions program that passes constitutional muster, solely because it could do better. There is always the specter of perfection, but strict scrutiny does not require it and a few identified imperfections, after years of litigating and sifting through applications and metrics, do not alone require a finding that Harvard&rsquo;s admissions program is not narrowly tailored.&quot;Burroughs cited &quot;valuable data&quot; that the university &quot;has at its disposal,&quot; though she cautioned against an admissions process that is &quot;overly data-driven.&quot;&quot;Throughout this trial and after a careful review of all exhibits and written submissions, there is no evidence of any racial animus whatsoever or intentional discrimination on the part of Harvard beyond its use of a race conscious admissions policy, nor is there evidence that any particular admissions decision was negatively affected by Asian American identity,&quot; the decision states.Plaintiff Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) had claimed that while Asian American applicants bested those of other races in categories such as test scores and grades, the Ivy League institution <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2018/06/15/harvard-asian-americans-lawsuit/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ranked</a> Asian American applicants in areas like likability, &quot;widely respected,&quot; and &quot;positive personality.&quot;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=11038" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Harvard derides affirmative action lawsuit as &#39;ideological&#39;]</a>&quot;The University must continue to use this data to scrutinize the fairness of its admissions program; to assess whether changing demographics have undermined the need for a race-conscious policy; and to identify the effects, both positive and negative, of the affirmative-action measures it deems necessary. The Court&rsquo;s affirmance of the University&rsquo;s admissions policy today does not necessarily mean the University may rely on that same policy without refinement. It is the University&rsquo;s ongoing obligation to engage in constant deliberation and continued reflection regarding its admissions policies,&quot; Burroughs added.&nbsp;SFFA President Edward Blum said that his group would appeal Burroughs&#39; decision to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/01/politics/harvard-affirmative-action/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">CNN</a>.&quot;We believe that the documents, emails, data analysis and depositions SFFA presented at trial compellingly revealed Harvard&#39;s systematic discrimination against Asian American applicants,&quot; he said.Follow the authors of this article on Facebook:&nbsp;<a href="http://facebook.com/JonStreetDC" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@JonStreetDC</a>&nbsp;and Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/JonStreet" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@JonStreet</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ShimshockAndAwe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@ShimshockAndAwe</a>

A federal judge has sided with Harvard University in a years-long affirmative action admissions policy lawsuit.

Federal judge recommends 'bias trainings' for Harvard admission officers in affirmative action ruling

In addition to helping children of celebrities cheat on their SAT, college consultant Rick Singer is accused of urging parents to falsify the ethnicities of students so that they would be more eligible to receive affirmative action in the college admission process.&nbsp;Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Rosen described one of Singer&rsquo;s ploys as &ldquo;lying about students&rsquo; ethnicities and other biographical information in an attempt to take advantage of perceived benefits from affirmative action and other programs,&rdquo; according to the <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/05/18/college-admissions-scam-mastermind-reportedly-told-clients-to-lie-about-ethnicity/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">New York Post</a>.Singer would allegedly advise students to lie about their race. He has pleaded guilty to racketeering, money laundering, tax evasion, and obstruction of justice, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2019/03/12/college-scam-rick-singer-william-singer-felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin/3142687002/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">USA Today reported</a>.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=11259" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">[RELATED: DOJ not buying Harvard&rsquo;s defense in affirmative action case]</a>For example, he would instruct rich white parents to list their children&rsquo;s race as black, Hispanic or Native American on college applications, reported <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7046991/amp/William-Singer-advised-clients-lie-ethnicity-college-admissions-scam.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">The Daily Mail</a>. He would tell his clients that if they did not list their children as racial minorities, the children would be at a &ldquo;competitive disadvantage.&rdquo;This allegation against Singer comes amid other news items pertaining to affirmative action.Harvard University is embroiled in a lawsuit in which plaintiffs claim that the school has discriminated against Asian American applicants.&nbsp;Additionally, the College Board, which operates the SAT exam, recently introduced an &ldquo;adversity score,&rdquo; which evaluates the crime rate of the student&rsquo;s neighborhood, whether they live in a single-parent household, and other factors. The score is only visible to the College Board and colleges to which students apply.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=12232" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">[RELATED: WSJ: SAT set to assign &lsquo;adversity scores&rsquo;]</a>Campus Reform spoke with Dion J. Pierre, a research associate at the conservative nonprofit National Association of Scholars, about the allegation against Singer of urging others to falsify ethnicity.&nbsp;&ldquo;Mr. Singer&rsquo;s actions exemplified the pernicious effect of racial preferences on the college admissions process,&rdquo; Pierre said. &ldquo;That certain racial categories have an edge over white and Asian American students is an open secret in higher education. We shouldn&rsquo;t be surprised that unscrupulous characters like Mr. Singer encouraged the children of woke Hollywood actors and Wall Street fat cats to exploit the system.&rdquo;&nbsp;The NAS researcher claimed that each year, millions of dollars worth of grants, scholarships, and other items are awarded to applicants solely because of their skin color.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=12168" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">[RELATED: New report SLAMS Ivy League over &lsquo;neo-segregation&rsquo;]</a>&ldquo;Repairing the breach between the races in this century will largely depend on our ability to purge practices like these from American higher education and anywhere else they undermine our national unity by placing an undue value on race,&rdquo; Pierre told Campus Reform.The nationwide college admissions scandal has implicated high profile celebrities, including Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman.&nbsp;Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/conservative013" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">@conservative013</a>

Harvard lawsuit, SAT, Rick Singer...where will affirmative action strike next?

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that President Donald Trump&#39;s administration is mandating that Texas Tech University stop using race-based affirmative action.&nbsp;The newspaper <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-administration-to-require-texas-tech-to-end-use-of-race-in-admissions-decision-11554829163?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reported</a> Tuesday that Texas Tech&#39;s Health Sciences Center ended a 14-year investigation by the Education Department into the school&#39;s affirmative action practices by agreeing to stop using race as a criterion in admissions in February.The George W. Bush-era Education Department began investigating Texas Tech in 2005 after the Center for Equal Opportunity, a group which fights affirmative action, filed a civil rights-themed complaint against the school, according to the WSJ. Texas Tech halted its use of race-based affirmative action gradually, with its pharmacy school quitting the practice in 2008 and its undergraduate admissions office ending the procedure in 2013.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=11066" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: MIT hiring admin to expand &#39;affirmative action&#39; efforts]</a>But the medical school had held out, insisting that the race of candidates was a key factor in graduating doctors who could best meet the needs of Texas&#39; racially diverse neighborhoods.&ldquo;This shows the Trump administration is taking seriously its responsibility to enforce civil rights in a way that protects all Americans,&rdquo; Roger Clegg, general counsel of Center for Equal Opportunity, told WSJ. &ldquo;The more schools that don&rsquo;t use racial preferences, the harder it is for the remaining schools to justify their use of it.&rdquo;Trump&#39;s Education and Justice Departments <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2018/07/03/justice-education-departments-race-based-admission/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">rescinded</a> seven Obama-era race-based admission documents in July. Both this measure, as well as the Education Department&#39;s compulsion of Texas Tech to drop race-based admission, occurs amid Students for Fair Admission v. Harvard University, a lawsuit in which the Ivy League school stands accused of discriminating against Asian American applicants, routinely <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=11259" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">docking&nbsp;</a>them for their personality.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=11259" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: DOJ not buying Harvard&#39;s defense in affirmative action case]</a>&quot;We here at Texas Tech are very proud of our administration for listening to the White House and curtailing affirmative action,&quot; the Texas Tech College Republicans told Campus Reform. &quot;We believe that college admissions should be meritorious and therefore this is a step in the right direction.&quot;Texas Tech&#39;s Student Dems and the school itself did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication.Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ShimshockAndAwe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@ShimshockAndAwe</a>

WSJ: Trump admin pulls the plug on affirmative action at Texas Tech

The Department of Justice has officially weighed in against Harvard University in a lawsuit accusing the school of discriminating against Asian Americans with its affirmative action efforts.The DOJ filed an amicus brief Thursday arguing that the case should go to trial and expressing support for the plaintiff, Students for Fair Admissions. The case,&nbsp;Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College,&nbsp;is set to go on trail on October 15, 2018.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=11038" style="text-decoration:none;">[RELATED: Harvard derides affirmative action lawsuit as &lsquo;ideological&rsquo;]</a>The DOJ contends that Harvard has not adequately proven that it does not illegally discriminate by race in its admissions process, and urges the court to reject Harvard&rsquo;s motion to dismiss the case.&ldquo;No American should be denied admission to school because of their race. As a recipient of taxpayer dollars, Harvard has a responsibility to conduct its admissions policy without racial discrimination by using meaningful admissions criteria that meet lawful requirements,&rdquo; Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-files-statement-interest-harvard-discrimination-case-defending-claim-0" style="text-decoration:none;">press release</a>.&nbsp;&ldquo;The Department of Justice has the responsibility to protect the civil rights of the American people,&rdquo; Sessions continued. &ldquo;This case is significant because the admissions policies at our colleges and universities are important and must be conducted lawfully.&rdquo;Notably, the DOJ opened a Title VI investigation against Harvard in 2017 after more than 60 Asian-American organizations filed a complaint alleging discriminatory admissions practices.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=9926" style="text-decoration:none;">[RELATED: Justice Department confirms Harvard affirmative action probe]</a>While Harvard freely admits that it uses race as a factor in its admissions decisions, the school insists that it complies with Supreme Court precedent regarding acceptable approaches to affirmative action.The DOJ, however, contends that certain aspects of Harvard&rsquo;s admissions process appear to run afoul of those guidelines.&ldquo;While Harvard admits to using race in its admissions process, it has failed to provide any meaningful criteria to explain how it weighs race against other factors in a candidate&rsquo;s application (e.g., test scores and extracurricular activities), and how it limits its use of race to ensure that no illegal discrimination occurs,&rdquo; the DOJ press release explains. &ldquo;Supreme Court precedent requires Harvard to provide such an explanation, which it has failed to do in this case.&rdquo;In addition, the DOJ says there is evidence that the &ldquo;personal rating&rdquo; of applicants may be biased against Asian Americans, who receive lower scores than applicants of other races on qualities such as &ldquo;likability&rdquo; and being a &ldquo;good person&rdquo; with &ldquo;human qualities.&rdquo;&ldquo;Substantial evidence also demonstrates that Harvard admissions officers and committees consistently monitor and manipulate the racial makeup of incoming classes, which has resulted in stable racial demographics in Harvard&rsquo;s admitted classes from year to year,&rdquo; the press release adds. &ldquo;The Supreme Court has called such attempts to &lsquo;racially balance&rsquo; the makeup of a student body &lsquo;patently unconstitutional.&rsquo;&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=11205" style="text-decoration:none;">[RELATED: AAUP, Ivy League defend Harvard&rsquo;s affirmative action policies]</a>A spokesperson for Harvard&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2018/8/30/doj-harvard-unlawful/" style="text-decoration:none;">responded</a> to the DOJ statement by saying &ldquo;we are deeply disappointed that the Department of Justice has taken the side of Edward Blum and Students for Fair Admissions, recycling the same misleading and hollow arguments that prove nothing more than the emptiness of the case against Harvard.&rdquo;Harvard student and&nbsp;Campus Reform Campus Correspondent Kelley Babphavong, on the other hand, said she supports the DOJ&rsquo;s position.&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m extremely happy that the DOJ isn&rsquo;t allowing Harvard to sweep this under the rug and dismiss it. Harvard should be able to prove that it&rsquo;s admissions processes do NOT negatively impact Asian-Americans across the board as it&rsquo;s 2013 internal report showed,&rdquo; she declared. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s time for race-based admissions to end&mdash;they have not and will not work.&rdquo;Harvard student Grace Bannister went a step further, questioning the use of race in admissions at all.&ldquo;I believe the DOJ stands with many who think it&rsquo;s appalling that Harvard would abuse its race-conscious admissions policy to disadvantage any racial group,&rdquo; she told&nbsp;Campus Reform. &ldquo;I understand the desire to have a diverse class; however, I just don&rsquo;t understand how you can justify the racial balancing of admissions while also telling students that no one was admitted to fulfill a quota.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=10223" style="text-decoration:none;">[RELATED: Harvard prof calls for racial &lsquo;quota system&rsquo; in higher ed]</a>Some civil rights advocates and scholars, on the other hand, support the use of affirmative action in support of promoting a culture of diversity on college campuses, and are defending Harvard in the wake of the DOJ amicus brief.Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human rights, went so far as to describe the DOJ&rsquo;s intervention as part of a coordinated effort to undermine &ldquo;efforts to build a more inclusive, just society.&rdquo;&ldquo;The Sessions Justice Department&rsquo;s intervention in this case opposes constitutionally sound strategies that colleges and universities are using to expand educational opportunity for students of all backgrounds,&rdquo; she asserted in&nbsp;an&nbsp;<a href="https://civilrights.org/justice-department-files-amicus-brief-opposing-diversity/" style="text-decoration:none;">official statement</a>.&nbsp;&ldquo;This is one more example of the administration&rsquo;s contempt for efforts to build a more inclusive, just society,&rdquo; she continued. &ldquo;It is now backing Edward Blum&rsquo;s longstanding political agenda to undermine diversity in education and opportunity for millions of young people. In filing this brief, the Sessions Justice Department has once again abdicated its responsibility to enforce the law and protect the civil rights of all people in America.&rdquo;Follow Campus Reform on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.twitter.com/campusreform" style="text-decoration:none;">@CampusReform</a>

DOJ not buying Harvard's defense in affirmative action case

The American Association of University Professors and the entire Ivy League have sided with Harvard University as it faces a lawsuit challenging its affirmative action policies.A non-profit group called Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) recently put the public spotlight on Harvard University, alleging that the school discriminates against Asian Americans in its admission process. Harvard has dismissed the validity of this lawsuit as &ldquo;ideological,&rdquo; arguing that it is legally entitled to use race as a factor in its admissions decisions as a means of achieving racial diversity.According to SFFA, Asian Americans have &ldquo;significantly&rdquo; stronger academic qualifications than do applicants from other groups, and &ldquo;would comprise 50% of the admitted class&rdquo; if Harvard evaluated students solely on their academic merits, rather than their current 18.7 percent share of the student body.One reason for this discrepancy, SFFA alleges, is that the Admissions Office consistently gives Asian Americans low ratings for personality, even though alumni interviewers tend to score them highly in that category.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=11038" style="text-decoration:none;">[RELATED: Harvard derides affirmative action lawsuit as &lsquo;ideological&rsquo;]</a>Last week the AAUP, along with the American Council on Education and 35 other higher education associations, filed <a href="https://www.aaup.org/sites/default/files/Amicus-Brief-Harvard-v-Students-Fair-Admissions.pdf" style="text-decoration:none;">an amicus brief</a> opposing the public challenge to Harvard&rsquo;s race-based admission tactics. &nbsp;&ldquo;The case, Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. Harvard, asks the court to prevent Harvard and other colleges and universities from using race as part of their admission criteria for students,&rdquo; the AAUP <a href="https://www.aaup.org/news/aaup-supports-affirmative-action#.W2kdCf5KjBJ" style="text-decoration:none;">explains</a> in a page on its website titled &quot;AAUP Supports Affirmative Action.&quot;&nbsp;&ldquo;The plaintiff is an organization created by anti-affirmative action activist Edward Blum,&rdquo; the statement adds, noting that the suit &ldquo;alleges that Harvard&rsquo;s admissions process holds Asian-American applicants to a higher standard and argues that Harvard engages in &lsquo;racial balancing&rsquo; when it could use race-neutral alternatives.&rdquo;The amicus brief, conversely, argues that &ldquo;a diverse student body is essential to educational objectives of colleges and universities, and that each institution should be able to exercise its academic judgment to determine within broad limits the diversity that will advance its own particular mission.&quot;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=7753" style="text-decoration:none;">[RELATED: Affirmative action &lsquo;a compelling government interest,&rsquo; academics say]</a>&ldquo;This lawsuit is nothing more than the first step in a backdoor attempt to achieve the sweeping relief sought&mdash;and denied&mdash;in&nbsp;Fisher vs. University of Texas...the end of the consideration of race in college admissions and the restriction of a university&rsquo;s ability to assemble a diverse student body,&rdquo; the amicus brief begins, contending that &ldquo;it is more than coincidence that this suit was filed against the very university that the Supreme Court has specifically cited approvingly...for its appropriate use of race as a part of individualized considerations in admissions.&rdquo;The document endorses Harvard&rsquo;s argument that it considers race &ldquo;flexibly&rdquo; as one factor among many, noting that the university has been unable to identify any &ldquo;workable race-neutral alternatives that would allow it to achieve its compelling interest in diversity while advancing its fundamental institutional objectives, including academic excellence.&rdquo;&ldquo;Although colleges and universities may not use racial quotas or engage in racial balancing, they are entitled to decide for themselves the characteristics of a class most conducive to the pursuit of their unique missions,&rdquo; the groups write, adding that &ldquo;Because universities protect the bedrock &lsquo;freedoms of speech and thought...courts have long refrained from second-guessing their educational judgments. That deference naturally extends to admissions criteria and decisions, which are paradigmatic academic judgments.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=10223" style="text-decoration:none;">[RELATED: Harvard prof calls for racial &lsquo;quota system&rsquo; in higher ed]</a>Brown University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, and Yale University, along with 10 other universities, filed a similar&nbsp;<a href="https://news.brown.edu/files/amicus_07-30-18_Brown.pdf" style="text-decoration:none;">brief</a> on the same day, arguing against &ldquo;facially race-neutral approaches to admissions&rdquo; and asserting that it would be an &ldquo;extraordinary intrusion&rdquo; to &ldquo;prohibit all consideration of race in the admissions process.&rdquo;Together, the schools argue that &ldquo;mechanistic admissions plans that rely solely on purportedly objective factors like college entrance test scores or GPA&rdquo; would not &ldquo;provide workable means of attaining a diverse student body.&rdquo;&ldquo;Such an approach would not just result in requiring the admission of far more students than [we] are able to serve, it would also be at odds with [our] educational missions,&rdquo; they add.Follow the author of this article on Twitter:<a href="http://www.twitter.com/celinedryan" style="text-decoration:none;">&nbsp;@celinedryan</a>

A national professors' union and the entire Ivy League are among those who have filed briefs supporting Harvard University's affirmative action policies, which allegedly discriminate against Asian American applicants.

AAUP, Ivy League defend Harvard’s affirmative action policies

Several major universities are pledging to continue using race as a factor in hiring and admissions after the Trump administration reversed the federal endorsement of affirmative action.In the wake of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-jeff-sessions-rescinds-24-guidance-documents" style="text-decoration:none;">Attorney General Jeff Sessions&rsquo; move to rescind government guidance on affirmative action</a>, universities across the country, including many Ivy League schools, are coming forward with statements asserting their intent to maintain the policy.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/index.cfm?ID=11066" style="text-decoration:none;">[RELATED: MIT hiring admin to expand &lsquo;affirmative action&rsquo; efforts]</a>&ldquo;Affirmative action is a proven method of promoting diversity on our campus and is supported by decades of American case law,&rdquo; Dartmouth College announced in&nbsp;<a href="http://www.dartmouth.edu/press-releases/statement-affirmative-action-guidelines.html" style="text-decoration:none;">a press release</a> last week. &ldquo;Dartmouth remains firmly committed to exercising that right to affirmative action in hiring and admissions.&rdquo;Yale University has also come forward to declare that it has no intention of changing its admissions policies or standards.&ldquo;Yale seeks to create a vibrant and varied academic community where our students interact with people of different backgrounds and points of view,&rdquo; Yale spokesman Tom Conroy&nbsp;<a href="https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2018/07/05/yale-to-continue-using-race-in-admissions-defying-trump-administration/" style="text-decoration:none;">told&nbsp;The Yale Daily News</a>. &ldquo;Our admissions policies and practices reflect and support this goal.&rdquo;Conroy also told the publication that Yale&rsquo;s procedures and policies related to admissions have and will continue to reflect the Supreme Court&rsquo;s interpretation of the relevant laws.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=9926" style="text-decoration:none;">[RELATED: Justice Department confirms Harvard affirmative action probe]</a>Likewise, Harvard University sent out an email to the student body reaffirming its decision not to change the current policy in light of Session&rsquo;s announcement.&ldquo;Harvard will continue to vigorously defend its right, and that of all colleges and universities, to consider race as one factor among many in college admissions, which has been upheld by the Supreme Court for more than 40 years,&rdquo; spokesperson Melodie L. Jackson wrote in the email, as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2018/7/5/trump-admissions-guidelines/" style="text-decoration:none;">reported by&nbsp;The Harvard Crimson</a>.Notably, Harvard is currently engaged in a legal battle to defend its affirmative action policies against accusations that they discriminate against Asian American applicants.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=11038" style="text-decoration:none;">[RELATED: Harvard derides affirmative action lawsuit as &#39;ideological&#39;]</a>In a July 3&nbsp;<a href="https://news.utexas.edu/2018/07/03/statement-on-admissions-policies" style="text-decoration:none;">statement</a>, University of Texas President Gregory L. Fenves took a similar position, referencing the 2016 Supreme Court case&nbsp;<a href="http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/fisher-v-university-of-texas-at-austin-2/" style="text-decoration:none;">Fisher v University of Texas at Austin</a>, in which the school was accused of racial discrimination against a white woman.&quot;The U.S. Supreme Court in 2016 affirmed The University of Texas&rsquo; efforts to enroll a diverse student body that provides educational benefits for all students,&rdquo; Fenves said.&ldquo;That decision upheld our holistic admissions policies, which remain central to our constitutional mandate to serve the state of Texas, and our mission to prepare graduates to thrive in society,&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;The University of Texas seeks to provide the highest quality education for our students, and diversity is essential to those efforts.&quot;<a href="https://dailynorthwestern.com/2018/07/08/campus/northwestern-says-it-wont-make-changes-to-admissions-after-trump-administration-rescinds-obama-era-guidance/" style="text-decoration:none;">According to&nbsp;The Daily Northwestern</a>, Northwestern University spokesman Storer Rowley also released a statement asserting that the school had &ldquo;reviewed the current administration&rsquo;s guidance on this matter, just as it has done with guidance from previous administrations,&rdquo; and that administrators are &ldquo;confident that our admissions practices comply with the law.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=8019" style="text-decoration:none;">[RELATED: Prof: Affirmative action &lsquo;not necessary or desirable&rsquo;]</a>Similarly, Wesleyan University President Michael S. Roth penned a passionate response to the federal government&rsquo;s announcement in a blog post on the school&rsquo;s website titled &ldquo;<a href="http://roth.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2018/07/06/defend-affirmative-action/#.Wz-tWhSwosM.twitter" style="text-decoration:none;">Defend Affirmative Action</a>.&rdquo;&ldquo;Creating a diverse campus is in the interest of all students, and it offers those from racial minorities opportunities that have historically been denied them,&rdquo; Roth writes. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s why governing boards and admissions deans have crafted policies to find students from underrepresented groups for whom a strong education will have a transformative, even liberating effect.&rdquo;&ldquo;Many citizens, but particularly citizens from racial and ethnic minorities, have turned to the federal government to ensure access to political and economic opportunity,&rdquo; Roth claims. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s why it&rsquo;s particularly appalling to see the Trump administration attempting to push higher education away from affirmative action.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=10952" style="text-decoration:none;">[RELATED: Leaked memo reveals racial hiring quota for Clemson faculty]</a>Roth went on to blast Trump&rsquo;s suggestion to implement a &ldquo;merit-based&rdquo; immigration system, urging the university to &ldquo;resist&rdquo; efforts to eliminate affirmative action.&nbsp;&ldquo;This latest threat to higher education?like recent decisions undermining voting rights and plans for a &lsquo;merit-based&rsquo; immigration system?is at its core another attempt by elites to hold on to their privileges by limiting access to political participation, social mobility and economic opportunity,&rdquo; Roth argues.&ldquo;A retreat from affirmative action will just return us to the orchestrated parochialism of the past,&rdquo; he concludes. &ldquo;We must resist it.&rdquo;Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.twitter.com/Grace_Gotcha" style="text-decoration:none;">@Grace_Gotcha</a>

Universities pledge to maintain affirmative action policies

MIT is recruiting an expert to expand its &ldquo;affirmative action&rdquo; efforts, despite a lawsuit claiming that a similar program at Harvard University harms Asian American students.The new &ldquo;Manager of Staff Diversity and Inclusion&rdquo; will work in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) office of Human Resources, and will be responsible for &ldquo;leadership for MIT&rsquo;s diversity, inclusion, and equity strategy for MIT staff,&rdquo; all of which aligns with the school&rsquo;s &ldquo;vision for diversity.&rdquo;&nbsp;The new administrator will&nbsp;work in tandem with other diversity staffers to &ldquo;effectively implement the Institute&rsquo;s Affirmative Action and diversity recruitment efforts,&rdquo; participate in developing &ldquo;strategic diversity plans,&rdquo; and much more.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=8019" style="text-decoration:none;">[RELATED: Prof: Affirmative action &lsquo;not necessary or desirable&rsquo;]</a>The plan to expand MIT&rsquo;s affirmative action program comes in the wake of a lawsuit alleging that a similar initiative at Harvard is attempting to &ldquo;limit the number of Asian Americans that attend the college.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/15/us/harvard-asian-enrollment-applicants.html" style="text-decoration:none;">According to&nbsp;The New York Times</a>, Harvard&rsquo;s newly unsealed admissions records reveal that admissions officers systematically ranked Asian American applicants lower scores on &ldquo;personality&rdquo; traits such as &ldquo;kindness&rdquo; and being &ldquo;widely respected.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href="https://studentsforfairadmissions.org/" style="text-decoration:none;">Students for Fair Admissions</a> (SFFA), the nonprofit that wrangled the admissions records from Harvard University through a lawsuit, contends that the personality rankings are one way that Harvard discriminates against Asian Americans in support of affirmative action.&nbsp;If Harvard admissions did not consider race, SFFA contends, Asian Americans would comprise nearly 50 percent of the student body.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=11038" style="text-decoration:none;">[RELATED: Harvard derides affirmative action lawsuit as &#39;ideological&#39;]</a>MIT&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href="http://hrweb.mit.edu/policy/2-2" style="text-decoration:none;">Affirmative Action Policy</a>, similarly, states that the school&rsquo;s recruitment efforts should prioritize women and minority candidates.&nbsp;&ldquo;Search plans must indicate the specific steps by which active efforts will be made to identify minority and women candidates,&rdquo; the policy explains, adding that whoever takes the lead on the hiring effort must go &ldquo;beyond&rdquo; traditional hiring procedures.&nbsp;&ldquo;In cases involving a search committee, and especially for faculty appointments, the head of the department should ensure that at least one member of the committee is assigned the specific responsibility to see that an active search for minorities and women candidates is carried out,&rdquo; the policy notes.&nbsp;MIT also requires that every minority and female finalist applicant who is ultimately not chosen for a position &ldquo;should be identified by name and resume with specific reasons for non selection&nbsp;[by the hiring committee].&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=10952" style="text-decoration:none;">[RELATED: Leaked memo reveals racial hiring quota for Clemson faculty]</a>MIT&rsquo;s affirmative action efforts&mdash;which appear to make race and gender a key focus of employment recruitment&mdash;apply to all ranks of hiring at MIT, including the new Manager of Staff Diversity and Inclusion position, which is designated as &ldquo;Admin: Management 4.&rdquo;The designation appears to correspond to the&nbsp;<a href="http://hrweb.mit.edu/compensation/salary-structure/administrative" style="text-decoration:none;">Level 4 administrative pay band</a>, which equates to a salary range between $68,870 and $154,920, but spokespersons for MIT did not respond to&nbsp;Campus Reform&rsquo;s efforts to confirm that information.School officials likewise did not respond to multiple inquiries asking whether similar affirmative action policies are employed by the admissions office.Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.twitter.com/Toni_Airaksinen" style="text-decoration:none;">@Toni_Airaksinen</a>

MIT hiring admin to expand ‘affirmative action’ efforts

Both sides in a lawsuit alleging that Harvard University&rsquo;s affirmative action policies discriminate against Asian American applicants are asking the court to rule in their favor without a trial.Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), a non-profit membership group that advocates against racial preferences in college admissions, alleges that Harvard is discriminating against Asian Americans by trying to &ldquo;limit the number of Asian Americans that attend the college.&rdquo;The complaint was originally filed in 2014, and on June 15 SFFA <a href="https://int.nyt.com/data/documenthelper/43-sffa-memo-for-summary-judgement/1a7a4880cb6a662b3b51/optimized/full.pdf#page=1" style="text-decoration:none;">filed a motion</a> asking that the court grant summary judgement due to &ldquo;incontrovertible evidence&rdquo; that Harvard is intentionally discriminating against Asian Americans through &ldquo;racial balancing&rdquo;&mdash;maintaining specific percentages of ethnic groups for each graduating class.&ldquo;No rational factfinder could conclude that Harvard&rsquo;s admissions system complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act,&rdquo; the complaint argues. Title VI states that discrimination is prohibited &ldquo;on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance.&rdquo;The SFFA&rsquo;s primary complaint is that Harvard &ldquo;discriminates both in subjective scoring and selection for admission to limit the number of Asian Americans that attend the college,&rdquo; which it notes was determined not only by SFFA&rsquo;s own &ldquo;expert,&rdquo; but also through an &ldquo;internal investigation&rdquo; in 2013 by Harvard&rsquo;s Office of Institutional Research (OIR).Instead of addressing the problem, however, SFFA maintains that Harvard instead &ldquo;killed the investigation and buried the reports.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=9926" style="text-decoration:none;">[RELATED: Justice Department confirms Harvard affirmative action probe]</a>SFFA&rsquo;s expert, Duke University Professor Peter Arcidiacono, reportedly found that Asian Americans &ldquo;are significantly stronger than all other racial groups in academic performance,&rdquo; and that they also &ldquo;perform very well in non-academic categories and have higher extracurricular scores than any other racial group.&rdquo; Because of this, Asian Americans receive higher academic scores on Harvard&rsquo;s admissions rubric than do their peers.In personality evaluations, however, Asian Americans receive the &ldquo;lowest score of any racial group&rdquo; from the Admissions Office, even though their personality scores were &ldquo;on average, at the top with respect to personal ratings&mdash;comparable to white applicants and higher than African-American and Hispanic applicants,&rdquo; when reviewed by alumni interviewers.&nbsp;Alumni interviewers, the motion asserts, score Asian Americans fairly in comparison to applicants of other ethnicities, whereas the Admissions Office assigned Asian Americans the lowest scores of any racial group.Arcidiacono also found evidence of discrimination in the overall admissions scores, noting that Asian Americans &ldquo;receive overall scores similar to white applicants that are one academic decile lower.&rdquo;&ldquo;If Harvard admitted students based only on their academic index, Asian Americans would comprise over 50% of the admitted class,&rdquo; the SFFA contends.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=8019" style="text-decoration:none;">[RELATED: Prof: Affirmative action &lsquo;not necessary or desirable&rsquo;]</a>The SFFA filing goes on to assert that Harvard&rsquo;s OIR, using logistic regression models, likewise concluded that &ldquo;Harvard&rsquo;s admissions system is, in fact, biased against Asian Americans and that there is no neutral explanation for it.&rdquo;&nbsp;According to one model, Asian Americans would theoretically comprise 43.4 percent of the admitted class in academics, and even if their low personality ratings were accepted at face-value, that share would only fall to 26 percent. In reality, however, Asian Americans only constitute 18.7 percent of the student body.&nbsp;&ldquo;OIR&rsquo;s report had a section titled &lsquo;Conclusions.&rsquo; It was left blank. The report had a section titled &lsquo;Possible Explanations.&rsquo; It also was left blank,&rdquo; the SFFA document notes.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=9535" style="text-decoration:none;">[RELATED: DOJ: Affirmative action challenge focused on Asians, not whites]</a>Harvard, for its part, is also seeking summary judgment in the case, asking the court to dismiss the lawsuit in <a href="https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/diverse-education/files/harvardsummaryjudgment" style="text-decoration:none;">a motion</a> arguing that the SFFA does not have standing to sue because it is &ldquo;merely a vehicle to litigate the ideological preferences of its founder Edward Blum.&rdquo;Noting that it receives a high volume of applications from students with stellar academic qualifications, Harvard explains that it employs a &ldquo;whole-person&rdquo; approach to admissions that incorporates race as one of many factors.&ldquo;If an applicant chooses to identify his or her race or ethnicity&mdash;singular or plural&mdash;it is considered as one factor among many that may inform an applicant&rsquo;s life experience and the contributions the applicant may make to a class that is diverse on many dimensions,&rdquo; Harvard asserts, citing &ldquo;hardship, intellectual passions, artistic or athletic ability, public service, and much more&rdquo; as additional considerations.Arguing that it has long held diversity, especially racial diversity, to be &ldquo;essential to our pedagogical objectives and institutional mission,&rdquo; Harvard contends that it has tried repeatedly in recent years to devise an admissions process that could achieve racial diversity without considering race, but has concluded that no workable solution exists.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=7753" style="text-decoration:none;">[RELATED: Affirmative action &lsquo;a compelling government interest,&rsquo; academics say]</a>&ldquo;SFFA was created by activist Ed Blum for the specific purpose of suing Harvard and other universities to end the consideration of race in admissions,&rdquo; Harvard asserts in its motion, contending that the organization &ldquo;lacks standing&rdquo; in the case because its &ldquo;standing members&rdquo; cannot demonstrate a specific &ldquo;injury in fact&rdquo; that has been directly caused by Harvard&rsquo;s admissions policies and could be redressed by the requested relief.Noting that &ldquo;many of SFFA&rsquo;s members can claim only past wrongs (the denial of admission),&rdquo; while the lawsuit &ldquo;seeks only forward-looking relief,&rdquo; Harvard argues that changing its admissions policies would do nothing to help those plaintiffs.Reiterating that it has &ldquo;a compelling interest in a diverse student body,&rdquo; the university also maintains that its consideration of race in admissions policies is &ldquo;narrowly tailored&rdquo; as required by the Supreme Court, saying it &ldquo;considers the entirety of every applicant&rsquo;s file, subjects every applicant to the same rigorous review as all others, treats race or ethnicity as but one of many factors that might bear on the perspective the applicant might bring to Harvard, and employs no quotas.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=10223" style="text-decoration:none;">[RELATED: Harvard prof calls for racial &lsquo;quota system&rsquo; in higher ed]</a>Harvard also challenges the research conducted for SFFA by Dr. Arcidiacono, claiming that its own expert, Dr. David Card, determined that Arcidiacono&rsquo;s findings are not &ldquo;statistically meaningful.&rdquo;&ldquo;Even assuming race has a meaningful effect on the likelihood of admission for certain candidates, that does not mean that race is anything more than a permissible &lsquo;plus factor&rsquo; in the Harvard admissions process,&rdquo; the school contends, asserting that &ldquo;race is by no means the factor that influences the outcome more often, or in a more pronounced way, than many others.&rdquo;Harvard then goes on to dispute SFFA&rsquo;s claim that there are race-neutral alternatives that would achieve the diversity that administrators seek, citing the determination of an internal committee that met from 2017 until early 2018.While Harvard does have race-neutral practices designed to promote diversity, such as financial aid for low-income students and an &ldquo;Undergraduate Minority Recruitment Program,&rdquo; the document contends that even with those policies in place, eliminating the consideration of race would cause significant reductions in the percentage of &ldquo;African-American, Hispanic, or &lsquo;Other&rsquo;&rdquo; students.&ldquo;Months of extensive discovery failed to produce documentary or testimonial support for SFFA&rsquo;s accusation that Harvard systematically seeks to limit the number of Asian Americans or discriminates against them,&rdquo; the university declares. &ldquo;To the contrary, the evidence shows that Harvard values the diversity that Asian-American students bring to its campus&mdash;like students of all other races&mdash;and that Harvard&rsquo;s Admissions Office seeks, as part of its diversity initiatives, to recruit and enroll strong Asian-American students.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2018/5/26/admissions-trial-date-set/">According to The Harvard Crimson</a>, the case will go to trial on October 15 if neither side is granted summary judgment before then.Follow the author of this article on Facebook:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/cory.compton.927?ref=br_rs" style="text-decoration:none;">Cory Compton</a>

Harvard derides affirmative action lawsuit as 'ideological'

The Justice Department has formally launched an investigation into whether Harvard University uses discriminatory policies when admitting new students.
<a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/justice-department-investigating-harvards-affirmative-action-program/article/2636569">According to The Washington Examiner</a>, the investigation was confirmed in a recent letter to American Oversight, a nonprofit watchdog organization, in response to the group's Freedom of Information Act request.
<a href="../?ID=7727">[RELATED: Texas A&amp;M shows that affirmative action isn&rsquo;t necessary]</a>
<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4066778-DOJ-Response-Regarding-Affirmative-Action.html#document/p1/a380227">In its letter</a> to the watchdog group, the Justice Department explained that the government would not be able to release documents related to the ongoing investigation since they contain &ldquo;information compiled for law enforcement purposes,&rdquo; the release of which &ldquo;could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings.&rdquo;
The official confirmation of the probe comes in the wake of a <a>New York Times report</a> in August that outlined the Trump administration's intent to launch a probe into the allegedly racist school admissions policy.
At the time, the newspaper claimed to have an internal document announcing the Department&rsquo;s intent to hire lawyers to conduct &ldquo;investigations and possible litigation related to intentional race-based discrimination in college and university admissions.&rdquo;
Following the initial reports that the document alluded to &ldquo;policies deemed to discriminate against white applicants,&rdquo; the Trump administration maintained that the probe would be launched on behalf of Asian-Americans who <a href="http://www.chronicle.com/items/biz/pdf/Final%20Aisan%20Complaint%20Harvard%20Document%2020150515.pdf">penned a formal complaint</a> against the policy in 2015.
<a href="../?ID=9535">[RELATED: DOJ: Affirmative action challenge focused on Asians, not whites]</a>
&ldquo;This Complaint is filed on behalf of the constituents of the undersigned Asian-American&nbsp;Associations and Organizations including Asian Americans who, because of their race, have&nbsp;been unfairly rejected by Harvard College because of such unlawful use of race in the&nbsp;admissions process, and/or who seek the opportunity to apply for admission without being&nbsp;discriminated against because of their race,&rdquo; the 50-page document read.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Over the last two decades, Asian-American applicants to Harvard University and other Ivy&nbsp;League colleges have increasingly experienced discrimination in the admissions process,&rdquo; the complaint continued.
&ldquo;Many Asian-American students who have almost perfect SAT scores, top 1% GPAs, plus significant awards or leadership positions in&nbsp; various extracurricular activities have been rejected by Harvard University and other Ivy League Colleges while similarly situated applicants of other races have been admitted,&rdquo; it added.
<a href="../?ID=7273">[RELATED: Harvard med students demand diversity, but no more Asians please]</a>
American Oversight Executive Director Austin Evers, however, slammed the Trump administration for continuing &ldquo;to invoke civil rights only to further their own political agenda&rdquo; in a statement to the Examiner.
&ldquo;It speaks volumes that Jeff Sessions&rsquo; Justice Department is prioritizing attacking affirmative action at a time when white nationalists are marching openly in the streets,&rdquo; Evers added.
Follow this author on Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/vladimirovnikitav">Nikita Vladimirov</a>

Justice Department confirms Harvard affirmative action probe

A student at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst recently called for an end to affirmative action, arguing that &ldquo;students of color don&rsquo;t need special treatment.&rdquo;
In a <a href="http://dailycollegian.com/2017/09/06/affirmative-action-a-disservice-to-diversity/">column for The Daily Collegian</a> Wednesday, Bradley Polumbo argues that affirmative action does a &ldquo;disservice to diversity&rdquo; by &ldquo;differentiating along ethnic lines, rather than treating all students the same.&rdquo;
<a href="../?ID=8019">[RELATED: Prof: Affirmative action &lsquo;not necessary or desirable&rsquo;] </a>
&ldquo;With affirmative action and countless other diversity-based policies in place nationwide, why haven&rsquo;t college campuses made more progress?&rdquo; he asks, calling the answer &ldquo;simple&rdquo; because &ldquo;affirmative action, and policies like it, exacerbate racial division by differentiating along ethnic lines, rather than treating all students the same.&rdquo;
Further, Polumbo argues that affirmative action, despite its intention of addressing &ldquo;racial imbalances&rdquo; in society, only adds to the stereotyping of black students.
&ldquo;Proponents of affirmative action argue that we need to factor race into college admissions to address the racial imbalances that undoubtedly still exist in our society,&rdquo; Polumbo writes. &ldquo;These imbalances are unjust, but so is stereotyping people of color. Affirmative action does just that.&rdquo;
<a href="../?ID=8507">[RELATED: History course attributes GOP affirmative-action stance to racism] </a>
Polumbo, undoubtedly taking an unpopular approach to the issue, told Campus Reform that he was motivated to write his column after encountering many students who &ldquo;are too afraid of backlash from the leftist campus mainstream to speak out.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I write for them, and to challenge liberal students to engage with my ideas, even if only to make their understanding of their own position more complete,&rdquo; explained Polumbo, who has also written about issues of <a href="http://dailycollegian.com/2017/05/04/on-campus-the-liberal-assault-on-free-speech/">free speech</a> and <a href="http://dailycollegian.com/2017/04/18/united-airlines-and-our-culture-of-perpetual-outrage/">outrage culture</a> for the school newspaper.
He went on to explain that he believes affirmative action policies should be abolished because they &ldquo;set up students of color to be viewed as tokens of diversity, rather than as peers who got in on their own merit,&rdquo; when in reality, &ldquo;minority students are just as capable of getting into college under a race-blind system in 2017&rdquo; as anyone else.
<a href="../?ID=7820">[RELATED: Poll: even minorities oppose affirmative action]</a>
Notably, while Polumbo is opposed to race-based admissions, he would be open an affirmative action policy based on socioeconomic status, arguing that students&rsquo; achievements should be viewed in light of their resources.
&ldquo;Some students had access to SAT prep classes and elite private schools, while others worked full-time jobs to support their family,&rdquo; he elaborated. &ldquo;These things much more accurately contextualize a student&rsquo;s academic record than the pigmentation of their skin."
Although this might seem unfair, Polumbo believes that socioeconomic-based affirmative action is much different in spirit.
&ldquo;Making distinctions between students based on the resources they&rsquo;ve had available to them is a very different proposition from differentiating along the lines of race, gender, or sexual orientation,&rdquo; he asserted.
Despite the backlash he has faced on campus, Polumbo is determined to continue to speak up about the issues he cares about, saying &ldquo;I won&rsquo;t be silenced by the campus mob.&rdquo;
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/Toni_Airaksinen">@Toni_Airaksinen</a>

Student blasts affirmative action as 'disservice to diversity'

The U.S. Department of Justice has confirmed that it plans to investigate potential discrimination in affirmative action policies, but says it is doing so on behalf of Asian students, not whites.
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/01/us/politics/trump-affirmative-action-universities.html">The New York Times reported</a> Tuesday that it had obtained a document revealing an internal announcement that the Department&rsquo;s civil rights division is seeking lawyers to work on &ldquo;investigations and possible litigation related to intentional race-based discrimination in college and university admissions.&rdquo;
The Times interpreted the document to be alluding to &ldquo;policies deemed to discriminate against white applicants,&rdquo; but the Justice Department quickly responded with a statement flatly denouncing the &ldquo;inaccurate&rdquo; claim.
According to the statement, the internal announcement was actually related to a complaint filed on behalf of Asian-American applicants, who claim they have been subjected to racial discrimination by the affirmative action admissions policies at an unnamed university.
<a href="../?ID=7727">[RELATED: Texas A&amp;M shows that affirmative action isn&rsquo;t necessary]</a>
Former civil rights division employees interviewed by the Times expressed skepticism that the department would go to such lengths over a single complaint, noting that the original document mentioned multiple &ldquo;investigations.&rdquo;
Kristen Clarke, president of the liberal advocacy group Lawyers&rsquo; Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, called the announcement &ldquo;deeply disturbing&rdquo; in an interview for the initial story, saying that looking for flaws in affirmative action policies is antithetical to the civil rights division&rsquo;s &ldquo;longstanding priorities&rdquo; of dealing with &ldquo;the unique problem of discrimination faced by our nation&rsquo;s most oppressed minority groups.&rdquo;
The Times notes that while the Justice Department&rsquo;s statement does not specify which university is targeted in the complaint that prompted its investigation, the details it has provided are consistent with a complaint filed against Harvard University by 64 Asian-American coalitions in 2015.
<a href="../?ID=7273">[RELATED: Harvard med students demand diversity, but no more Asians please]</a>
<a href="../?ID=7820">As Campus Reform has previously reported</a>, however, a public poll conducted by Gallup last year found that a majority of black respondents, and nearly half of Hispanics, opposed a Supreme Court decision upholding affirmative action at the University of Texas.
Indeed, a slim majority of black respondents even opined that merit, not race, should be the sole factor determining admission to a college or university.
<a href="../?ID=7820">[RELATED: Poll: Even minorities oppose affirmative action]</a>
Moreover, universities like Texas A&amp;M <a href="../?ID=7727">have demonstrated</a> that affirmative action is not the only way to promote diversity on campus, or even necessarily the best way.
Since eschewing affirmative action when the option became available to Texas universities in 2003, A&amp;M has more than doubled the share of black and Latino students&mdash;from 10.8 percent in 2003 to 23.1 percent in 2015&mdash;by focusing its efforts on low-income scholarships and minority recruitment programs.
UT, which enthusiastically embraced the affirmative action approach, saw a smaller impact over the same period, increasing its share of black and Hispanic students from 16.1 percent to 24.9 percent.
Follow the author of this article on twitter: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/spaduhhh">@spaduhhh</a>

DOJ: Affirmative action challenge focused on Asians, not whites

An American history course at Millersville University teaches that Republicans opposed affirmative action in the 1990&rsquo;s &ldquo;chiefly&rdquo;&nbsp;out of a desire to preserve white privilege.
A screenshot of an online assignment offered in the course, which was obtained by Campus Reform, prompts students to address the reasons why &ldquo;Republicans spoke out against affirmative action&rdquo; in the 1990s, listing four potential responses, including claims that &ldquo;the government should not engage in social engineering&rdquo; and that &ldquo;helping minorities was costing too much money.&rdquo;
<a href="../?ID=7820">[RELATED: POLL: Even minorities oppose affirmative action]</a>
Apparently, though, Republicans challenged affirmative action policies &ldquo;chiefly on the grounds that...it was discrimination against white people,&rdquo; according to a screenshot of the assignment.
<img src="../img/CROBlog/8507/ExamBias1.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="475" />
One anonymous student selected an alternative response, answering that the GOP opposed affirmative action primarily due to the party&rsquo;s philosophical opposition to &ldquo;social engineering,&rdquo; provoking the online quiz to declare that &ldquo;your answer is incorrect.&rdquo;
The <a href="http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=25848">1996 Republican Party Platform</a>, however, makes an explicitly philosophical case against any form of discrimination, rooting that stance in the party&rsquo;s fundamental belief in individual rights.
&ldquo;The sole source of equal opportunity for all is equality before the law...Because we believe rights inhere in individuals, not in groups, we will attain our nation's goal of equal rights without quotas or other forms of preferential treatment,&rdquo; the platform declares. &ldquo;We scorn Bill Clinton's notion that any person should be denied a job, promotion, contract or a chance at higher education because of their race or gender.&rdquo;
The <a href="http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=25847">1992 Platform</a>&nbsp;employs nearly identical language, saying they &ldquo;reject efforts to replace equal rights with quotas or other preferential treatment.&rdquo;
Students taking the quiz were allowed to utilize a &ldquo;challenge answer&rdquo; function, but the platform indicated that of the 51 students who had answered the question within the last month, none had exercised the option.
<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=8297" >[RELATED: Textbook claims American exceptionalism has racist overtones] </a>
The course, called &ldquo;Contours of U.S. History,&rdquo; is <a href="http://www.millersville.edu/history/undergraduate-programs.php" > required</a> for all history majors at the school and also fulfills the <a href="http://www.millersville.edu/advisement/curriculum%20sheets/index.php" > &ldquo;G3&rdquo; component</a> of Millersville&rsquo;s general education requirement.
Currently, &ldquo;Contours of U.S. History&rdquo; is taught by Professor Tracey Weis, who also teaches other courses on &ldquo;Afro-American History&rdquo; and &ldquo;Women in U.S. History,&rdquo; but she did not respond to Campus Reform&rsquo;s requests for comment.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/AGockowski" >@AGockowski</a>

History course attributes GOP affirmative action stance to racism

Liberal students at the University of Texas at Austin violently disrupted an &ldquo;affirmative action bake sale&rdquo; Wednesday, and now want to ban the conservative student group that hosted the event.
The school&rsquo;s Young Conservatives of Texas chapter organized the on-campus display in an effort to highlight the inequalities of affirmative action policies by charging people different prices based on their race and gender, but many of their classmates apparently failed to find the humor in the stunt, and reacted by tearing up the sign and stealing the baked goods.
The bake sale &ldquo;was designed to highlight the insanity of assigning our lives value based on our race and ethnicity, rather than our talents, work ethic, and intelligence,&rdquo; explained YCT Chairman Vidal Casta&ntilde;eda. &ldquo;It is insane that institutional racism, such as affirmative action, continues to allow for universities to judge me by the color of my skin rather than my actions.&rdquo;
<img src="../img/CROBlog/8312/BakeSaleMenu.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="315" />
YCT mimicked the standard affirmative action process of giving highly preferential treatment to minority groups simply because they are minorities, yet it was largely students belonging to those minority groups who became angered by the lower prices being offered to them on the basis of their race.
YCT manfully endeavored to continue its demonstration in the face of fierce opposition from the large crowd of apoplectic protesters, who vehemently chanted slogans such as &ldquo;hey hey, ho ho! These racist orgs have got to go!&rdquo; and &ldquo;racists go home!&rdquo;
<img src="../img/CROBlog/8312/BakeSaleProtest.jpg" alt="" width="636" height="300" />
The conservative students were ultimately overwhelmed, and not only was their bake sale menu stolen and publicly torn up by an outraged male student, individuals wearing black masks even made off with the actual baked goods.
<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/gYuh1T_KYJY" width="560" height="314" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Apparently unsatisfied with merely vandalizing the display, the club&rsquo;s antagonists followed up by starting <a href="http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/petition-to-suspend-young-conservatives-from-ut" >a petition to ban YCT from UT</a>, claiming that &ldquo;this type of behavior should not be tolerated on a campus where a significant populous does not identify as white,&rdquo; and that YCT should be stripped of its official status on the grounds of &ldquo;bigotry, encouraging systematic racism, and promoting oppression.&rdquo;
At press time, the petition had collected 709 signatures out of its goal of 1,000.
As a Hispanic conservative student and supporter of free speech, YCT member Al Uranga spots contradiction in the way his peers present their arguments, telling Campus Reform that he &ldquo;witnessed an angry mob complaining about the negative effects of institutional discrimination of minorities while simultaneously and wholeheartedly defending the expansion of institutional discrimination via affirmative action. Hypocrisy is what I witnessed.&rdquo;
At least one university administrator, however, resorted to victim-blaming, asserting that YCT bears full responsibility for the excesses of its assailants because, after all, there would have been no protest had there not been an affirmative action bake sale.
Vice President for Diversity and Community Engagement Dr. Gregory J. Vincent released <a href="http://diversity.utexas.edu/2016/10/26/statement-regarding-yct-affirmative-action-bake-sale/" >an official statement</a> in response to the incident, but rather than condemn the vandals, he chose instead to rebuke YCT for its &ldquo;inflammatory and demeaning&rdquo; methods.
Even while acknowledging that &ldquo;the West Mall is a place where free speech is exercised by all students&rdquo; and is &ldquo;meant to be a space where students exhibit respect for each other,&rdquo; Vincent still blamed YCT for the breakdown of civility, saying the group&rsquo;s actions &ldquo;create an environment of exclusion and disrespect among our students, faculty, and staff,&rdquo; and are &ldquo;counterproductive to true dialogue on our campus.&rdquo;
Vincent&rsquo;s <a href="http://diversity.utexas.edu/about-ddce/key-staff-profiles/" >deputy</a>, Helen Wormington, offered a somewhat different appraisal, telling Campus Reform that &ldquo;99 percent of [this bake sale event] was actual, respectful conversations&rdquo; and that &ldquo;these students came out and were able to explain their side of the story, regardless of how it started, and that&rsquo;s why free speech exists.&rdquo;
Despite the angry protest, online petition to ban YCT, and distinct lack of institutional support, Casta&ntilde;eda pledged that &ldquo;YCT-UT will not be deterred by liberal elites that would love nothing more than to silence conservative, common sense voices on campus.&rdquo;
Although conservative voices are the minority, he added, &ldquo;[YCT] will continue to speak out against policies that are harmful or give preferential treatment based on nothing more than immutable characteristics.&rdquo;
Follow&nbsp;Campus Reform&nbsp;on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/campusreform" >@campusreform</a>

UT students fly into rage over 'affirmative action bake sale'

A political science professor claims that &ldquo;it makes little sense to continue&rdquo; affirmative action and contends that the Supreme Court ruled incorrectly when it recently upheld the practice.
Kul B. Rai, professor emeritus of political science at Southern Connecticut State University, speculates in an <a href="http://www.rep-am.com/articles/2016/08/17/commentary/975336.txt" >op-ed for the Republican American</a> that if universities were to continue using racial preferences in admissions decisions, it &ldquo;clearly would be at the cost of deserving white students,&rdquo; because student diversity is already largely in line with the overall population.
&ldquo;The origin of affirmative action stems from the Civil Rights Act of 1964,&rdquo; he observes, noting that &ldquo;President Lyndon Johnson had advocated &lsquo;equality as a result,&rsquo; not just equality of opportunity.&rdquo;
Rai cites statistics pertaining to racial breakdowns of college students to prove that equality in higher education, as desired by Johnson, has already been achieved.
According to the U.S. Department of Education&rsquo;s National Center for Education Statistics, 16 percent of college students are Hispanic, 15 percent of college students are black, and 59 percent are white.
U.S. Census data, meanwhile, shows that Hispanics comprise 17 percent of the U.S. population, blacks constitute 12.3 percent, and whites make up 63 percent.
What this shows, says Rai, is that &ldquo;Hispanic enrollment in colleges is nearly proportional to the Hispanic population, blacks are over-represented, and whites are under-represented.&rdquo;
&ldquo;In view of such data, it makes little sense to continue racial preferences in college admissions,&rdquo; he contends. &ldquo;If racial preferences in college admissions continue as the Supreme Court has ruled, it clearly would be at the cost of deserving white students.&rdquo;
In addition to his claim that racial equality in higher education has already been achieved, Rai also argues that affirmative action measures cause unnecessary division amongst racial groups, as was the case with Abigail Fisher&rsquo;s lawsuit against the University of Texas at Austin, in which Fisher, a white woman, alleged that she was denied admission at UT while minorities with lower test scores and grades were granted admission.
<a href="../?ID=7744" >[RELATED: Supreme Court upholds affirmative action for college admissions]</a>
While teaching at a public institution for 40 years, Rai observed that his white students often strongly opposed affirmative action, while Hispanic students rarely expressed an opinion. His black students, on the other hand, were more likely to believe that such policies are necessary to pay for past injustices.
Rai&rsquo;s experience in the classroom generally reflects the views of the U.S. population overall. Most whites and Hispanics that have been surveyed believe college admission should be based solely on merit, while blacks are more divided on the issue.
<a href="../?ID=7820" >[RELATED: Poll: Even minorities oppose affirmative action]</a>
&ldquo;Affirmative action in college admissions and other areas, notably employment, has been divisive in the United States as well as in other countries that have introduced such programs,&rdquo; Rai asserts. &ldquo;According to a Gallup poll, two-thirds of Americans believe college admissions should be based solely on merit.&rdquo;
Rai is also the co-author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Affirmative-Action-University-Ethnicity-Employment/dp/0803239343" >Affirmative Action and the University</a>, a study exploring the extent to which affirmative action hiring policies create a &ldquo;two-tier employment system&rdquo; in which women and minorities languish in mid-level positions, rather than advancing to administrative positions.
&ldquo;Racial preferences in college admissions should end because they are neither necessary nor desirable,&rdquo; Rai concludes. &ldquo;Fortunately, opposition to racial preferences has been muted in the United States. However, it makes little sense to continue it.&rdquo;
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Prof. Kul B. Rai noted that diversity in higher education is already similar to national demographics.

Prof: affirmative action 'not necessary or desirable' 

A new survey shows that even most minorities don&rsquo;t support affirmative action in the college admissions process despite the Supreme Court&rsquo;s recent ruling on the matter.
Gallup administered a <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/193508/oppose-colleges-considering-race-admissions.aspx" >public poll</a> following the June 23 Supreme Court ruling in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, which upheld the use of race as a factor in university admissions policies, and concludes that the general public decisively disagrees with the Supreme Court and college administrators on the matter.
<a href="../?ID=7744" >[RELATED: Supreme Court upholds affirmative actions for college admissions] </a>
According to the poll, 7-in-10 Americans think merit should be the only basis for college admissions, and 65 percent disagree with the Supreme Court decision upholding the ability of colleges to use race as a factor in admissions.
In fact, 57.1 percent of black people, 66.6 percent of white people, and 47.3 percent of Hispanics agreed that race should not be a factor at all.
Overall, the results showed strong support for the consideration of grades and standardized test scores alone in the college admissions process, and correspondingly weak support for the consideration of race, ethnicity, or gender in any sense.
Similarly, 31 percent of those surveyed supported the use of economic status as an admissions factor, while only 9 percent supported the use of race or ethnicity.
<a href="../?ID=7753" >[RELATED: Affirmative action a &lsquo;compelling government interest,&rsquo; academic groups say]</a>
According to the Gallup results, many of those who oppose the consideration of race and ethnicity also favor &ldquo;pure academic standards&rdquo; that focus on grades and test scores alone.
Many affirmative action supporters, however, argue that the practice is widely misunderstood&mdash;notably Michele S. Moses, Associate Dean for Graduate Studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder School of Education.
&ldquo;There is misleading information about affirmative action often present in the public discussion of the issue; this, of course, affects how people perceive the policy and what it means for college admissions,&rdquo; Moses told Campus Reform.
According to Moses, race is only one of the many factors considered by colleges when making admissions decisions, and to base acceptance exclusively on race would not be &ldquo;proper admissions practice.&rdquo;
Among the other factors that colleges consider, Moses suggested that socioeconomic status may be among the most significant.
&ldquo;I believe that both socioeconomic status and race are relevant factors to consider in college admissions processes and the holistic review of applicants,&rdquo; she explained. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t need to make a choice between the two.&rdquo;
She noted that students who attend high schools with students from more affluent communities have more educational opportunities, and receive higher standardized tests scores and grades than students from more disadvantaged communities.
She also claimed that most people don&rsquo;t understand the advantages of wealth largely enjoyed by white students in the admissions process.
<a href="http://campusreform.org/?ID=7727" >[RELATED: Texas A&amp;M shows that affirmative actions isn&rsquo;t necessary] </a>
Roger Clegg, President and general counsel at the Center for Equal Opportunity, disagreed with Moses&rsquo; characterization, however, pointing out to <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/07/08/poll-finds-public-opposition-considering-race-and-ethnicity-college-admissions">Inside Higher Ed</a> that &ldquo;Americans have been brought up to believe that it&rsquo;s a bad thing to treat people differently because of their skin color or where their ancestors came from.&rdquo;
Clegg also said that while favoring athletes or children of alumni isn&rsquo;t the &ldquo;noblest&rdquo; of all admissions practices, he agrees with the general public that it&rsquo;s better to consider such factors over race.
"Discriminating against people on the basis of skin color is uniquely ugly, and I am not surprised and not bothered by the fact that more Americans should be offended by that than because applicants can throw a football well,&rdquo; he opined.
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Poll: Even minorities oppose affirmative action

Several academic associations representing thousands of top private and public colleges are enthusiastically endorsing Thursday&rsquo;s Supreme Court ruling upholding affirmative action.
While the Supreme Court was closely divided in its 4-3 decision, the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) has made up its mind that discriminating on the basis of race during the admissions process is constitutional.
In fact, affirmative action is not only &ldquo;democratic,&rdquo; but &ldquo;essential,&rdquo; AACU President Carol Schneider declared in <a href="https://www.aacu.org/about/statements/2016/ut-fisher" >a statement</a> released shortly after the ruling.
&ldquo;Because of these longstanding commitments, AACU was eager and proud to support several amicus briefs submitted in support of the University of Texas as the university defended its admissions practices in the lawsuit brought by Abigail Fisher and ruled on today,&rdquo;she wrote. &ldquo;In this context, we are thrilled today by the Supreme Court&rsquo;s decision to reaffirm that compelling national interest.&rdquo;
<a href="http://campusreform.org/?ID=7744" >[RELATED: Supreme Court upholds affirmative action for college admissions]</a>
At least three other scholarly associations have followed suit, praising the Supreme Court ruling as &ldquo;good for higher education.&rdquo;
&ldquo;The Supreme Court&rsquo;s decision in Fisher v. University of Texas is good for higher education and good for the country,&rdquo; Association of American Universities (AAU) President Mary Sue Coleman <a >remarked</a>. &ldquo;We are delighted by the Court&rsquo;s reaffirmation that colleges and universities may judiciously use race as one factor among many in admissions processes designed to achieve their educational goals.&rdquo;
<a href="http://campusreform.org/?ID=6909" >[RELATED: Southern Cal student gov may ask for $100 million to help impose racial quotas]</a>
In a <a href="http://www.aascu.org/MAP/Statement/Race-Conscious-Policy/" >brief statement</a> released Thursday, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) joined its fellow scholars in commending the Supreme Court&rsquo;s decision.
&ldquo;We are pleased that the Supreme Court has once again reaffirmed the constitutionality of higher education institutions&rsquo; efforts to promote diversity through admissions practices that consider race and ethnicity as factors,&rdquo; AASCU President Muriel Howard commented.
<a href="http://campusreform.org/?ID=7727" >[RELATED: Texas A&amp;M shows that affirmative action isn&rsquo;t necessary]</a>
The American Council on Education (ACE) expressed similar sentiments, saying it was &ldquo;extremely gratified&rdquo; by the ruling in what was described as <a href="http://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Pages/ACE-President-Molly-Corbett-Broad-Statement-on-Fisher-v-University-of-Texas-at-Austin-Ruling.aspx" >a &ldquo;broad statement&rdquo; from the council&rsquo;s president</a>.
&ldquo;We are extremely gratified that the United States Supreme Court has reaffirmed that the educational benefit of a diverse student body is a compelling government interest that allows for narrowly tailored consideration of race and ethnicity as one factor in a holistic admissions review,&rdquo; ACE President Molly Corbett said.
<a href="../?ID=7291" >[RELATED: Univ. of California selectively recruits Latino and black students]</a>
Notably, ACE rounded up 40 other academic associations back in 2012 to sign on to an <a href="http://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Pages/Amicus-Brief-Supreme-Court-Fisher-v-UT.aspx" >amicus brief</a> when the Fisher case was first being considered by the Supreme Court. The 33-page brief, which the AACU, AAU, and AASCU all signed in support, advanced the argument that &ldquo;a diverse student body is essential to the educational objectives of colleges and universities.&rdquo;
As some of the nation&rsquo;s largest and most prominent academic associations, <a href="http://secure.aacu.org/iMIS/AACU/AACU/Membership/MemberListAACU.aspx" >AACU</a>, <a href="http://www.acenet.edu/membership/Pages/default.aspx" >ACE</a>, <a >AAU</a>, and <a href="http://www.aascu.org/members/" >AASCU</a> together represent over 3,000 of America&rsquo;s top public and private colleges and universities.
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Affirmative action 'a compelling government interest,' academic groups say

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of allowing the University of Texas, Austin to consider an applicant&rsquo;s race during the admissions process in a 4-3 decision Thursday.
Justices Anthony Kennedy,Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor found that UT Austin&rsquo;s use of race as a factor in admissions is applied narrowly enough to be considered constitutional, thus rendering a victory for advocates of affirmative action.
&ldquo;[A]lthough admissions officers can consider race as a positive feature of a minority student&rsquo;s application, there is no dispute that race is but a &lsquo;factor of a factor&rsquo; in the holistic-review calculus,&rdquo; Justice Kennedy wrote in the <a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/15pdf/14-981_4g15.pdf" >majority opinion</a>.
<a href="../?ID=6909" >[RELATED: Southern Cal student gov may ask for $100 million to help impose racial quotas]</a>
Abigail Fisher, a white woman at the center of the case, sued UT Austin for violating the Equal Protection Clause after the school denied her application in 2008, arguing that since the school considered race as a factor in admissions, she was disadvantaged in her application because she is white.
Notably, UT Austin is required to admit the top 10 percent of graduates from in-state public high schools, while the remaining slots (about 25 percent of the freshman class) are awarded based on various other factors, including race, socioeconomic status, and academic performance.
While Fisher was not in the top 10 percent of her class, she did record a <a href="http://www.utexas.edu/vp/irla/Documents/Joint%20Appendix.pdf" >3.59 GPA</a> in high school, yet because of the university&rsquo;s admissions policies, students with worse academic records were admitted in her place simply because of the color of their skin.
The Supreme Court first heard the case back in 2012, but found that the Court of Appeals did not apply the correct standard of scrutiny when deciding the case, punting it back down to the lower courts to be reconsidered. The Court of Appeals, though, again determined that UT Austin&rsquo;s policies do not violate the Equal Protection Clause, and now the Supreme Court has affirmed the decision.
<a href="../?ID=6159" >[RELATED: UT profs say kindergarteners should be taught racial tolerance with picture books]</a>
Justices Samuel Alito, John Roberts, and Clarence Thomas, however, could not find any reason why factoring race into the admissions process would help UT Austin&rsquo;s diversity efforts more effectively than a standard application process.
<a href="../?ID=7727" >[RELATED: Texas A&amp;M shows that affirmative action isn&rsquo;t necessary]</a>
&ldquo;The university has still not identified with any degree of specificity the interests that its use of race and ethnicity is supposed to serve,&rdquo; Justice Alito wrote in the dissenting opinion. &ldquo;[I]f UT is truly seeking to expose its students to a diversity of ideas and perspectives, its policy is poorly tailored to serve that end.&rdquo;
<a href="../?ID=5549" >[RELATED: University: too many white people on campus a &lsquo;failure,&rsquo; exploring how to have fewer]</a>
Although the majority affirmed the constitutionality of UT Austin&rsquo;s admissions practices, it did so cautiously, saying the school should consider refining its application policies in the future.
&ldquo;The Court&rsquo;s affirmance of the university&rsquo;s admissions policy today does not necessarily mean the University may rely on that same policy without refinement,&rdquo; Justice Kennedy stated in the majority opinion. &ldquo;It is the university&rsquo;s ongoing obligation to engage in constant deliberation and continued reflection regarding its admissions policies.&rdquo;
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The Supreme Court ruled in favor of allowing the University of Texas, Austin to consider an applicant’s race during the admissions process in a 4-3 decision Thursday.