The Supreme Court’s recent ruling on affirmative action in college admissions has given me a lot to think about. I like the idea behind affirmative action; a way to remedy the effects of long-standing discrimination against women and minority groups.
However, affirmative action has been challenged since its beginning in 1961 and now, as of June 2023, race may not be used as a deciding factor in college admissions. In the court’s majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts said, “The student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual — not on the basis of race.” Universities can consider how race may affect a student’s life experiences though.
So, how do we maintain the idea behind affirmative action and continue to mitigate discrimination? The New York Times published a collection of articles that shared a variety of ways to change college admissions. Richard D. Kahlenberg believes we should focus on economic inequality by considering family wealth or net worth since those who have low levels of family wealth tend to live in high poverty neighborhoods with more violence and fewer opportunities. Considering students’ socioeconomic status would help anyone with fewer advantages regardless of race or other minority status.
Another view set out by Natasha Warikoo is to shift the focus from a merit-based system to one that considers what potential impact the student may have after graduation. Colleges would then consider a broader range of skills, interests, and abilities instead of just looking at past academic performance, which doesn’t necessarily predict future holistic capabilities.
Demond Drummer and Darrick Hamilton argue that we should invest more in historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Past policies such as the GI Bill and those set by the Federal Housing Administration excluded Blacks from accessing the benefits available for whites such as grants for education, starting businesses, and purchasing homes. HBCUs emerged as a way for Blacks to have access to college, but these schools still do not receive as much funding or other resources as white-serving institutions.
Roland Fryer believes elite schools such as Harvard and Yale should deepen their applicant pool by founding and funding feeder middle and high schools to educate disadvantaged students.
Olufemi Ogundele, the associate vice chancellor of enrollment and the dean of undergraduate admissions at the University of California, Berkeley, discusses the effects of California’s 1996 Proposition 209, which banned consideration of race, ethnicity, and sex in college admissions.
Initially, enrollment of underrepresented students dropped by more than 50% at Berkeley. California colleges have had to find new ways to recruit students and they need a broader understanding of students’ experiences to make the admission process more equitable.
Ogundele believes these efforts are just Band-Aids and we really need to focus on making our K-12 education system equitable. Research shows that elementary and secondary schools are still segregated, which means Black and Latino students are more likely to be in schools that have “fewer resources, weaker curriculums, and less affirming environments.” Ogundele goes on to assert that “creating equity of access in K-12 means providing all students with the privileged schooling environment offered by better-resourced schools. Doing so exposes these students to worlds beyond their own, which strengthens their (and their families’) agency when deciding what to do after high school.”
All of these ideas have merit, but Ogundele’s focus on educational equity resonates with me the most. As a college teacher, I see a variety of abilities in my students, many of which seem to be connected to the educational opportunities they’ve had before college. One thing I think we could do here in Indiana is to spend less taxpayer money on private school vouchers and put that money toward our public schools instead. The vast majority of students in Indiana attend public schools, so investing in improving them benefits the most students. If we work on making K-12 education more equitable, we eventually may not need programs like affirmative action!
In the meantime, let’s implement some of the other solutions to provide collegiate educational opportunities for more underrepresented students.
Susan Cox is one of The Republic’s community columnists, and all opinions expressed are those of the writer. She is an avid reader, an outdoor enthusiast, a mother, a grandmother, and an adjunct instructor of English at IUPUC. She can be reached at [email protected].
