Racial and Ethnic Politics in America

Racial and Ethnic Politics in America

Readings Focus Questions: Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education

Nathan Glazer, "The Hard Questions."

	When campuses say that they want to be diverse, what kind of diversity are they talking about? Is racial and ethnic diversity uniquely worth of pursuit?
	What should be done about the "over-representation" of certain groups on college campuses: liberals, Jews, Asian Americans, business majors, and the quantitatively illiterate? What kind of "underrepresentation" counts? What doesn't? Do you see any problem with this?

Nathan Glazer and Abigail Thenrstrom, The End of Meritocracy."

What is the "strivers" score, and why does it have that name? What is the "race-blind" model of the SAT?

What racial and ethnic categories will become relevant in certain versions of the SAT and the ACT scoring?

Will the "strivers" score be as effective in achieving racial diversity as simply taking race into account in admissions? What advantages or disadvantages can you see in this approach?

On the second page of this article, Glazer suggests that the advent of a "strivers" score reflects the dogged commitment of academic institutions to admit a higher number of of black and Hispanic students than their "academic promise" would alone warrant. What is academic promise? What percentage of students in the country are admitted solely on the basis of their academic promise?

Is finishing in the top 4 percent of your high school (California) or top 20 percent (Texas) alone evidence of sufficient academic promise to warrant admission to top-tier state institutions? If not, whose fault is it that students falling into these categories do not have sufficient "academic promise"?

Glazer is an opponent of affirmative action, so why does he "defend" the use of the striver score?

Thernstrom rejects the use of class or race in the use of SAT scores or to evaluate who should be admitted to competitive colleges. Is taking class into consideration just "adding to the victimology index"?

What information could Thernstrom provide to make her argument stronger?

Nicholas D. Kristof, "A Boy and His Benefits"

Should George Bush have been admitted to Andover (If he would not have attended Andover, he would have never been admitted to Yale)? Why was he admitted?

Who should decide who Andover admits to its academic community?: Andover or standardized tests?

Oral Arguments from Gratz v. Bollinger

	How did Michigan's affirmative action program decide which race someone belongs to? In what sense is the procedure subjective?
	Are plaintiffs arguing against affirmative action in state universities or all institutions of higher education? On what grounds could the ruling in this case be applied to private universities? How could Congress shape the scope of the ruling's application?
	What is the difference between the minority admissions program Michigan used before 1999 and the one it has used since? Is one more a of "quota" system than the other?
	The Michigan system gives 20 points on its 120 point admissions point grid to university athletes and students from certain impoverished schools, under-represented counties, and for being a Michigan resident. Why do plaintiffs have a problem with race being used in this mix?
	Why should the University of Michigan be able to give scholarships and admission on the basis of athletic talent--a quality unrelated to academic promise in the narrow sense--but not on the basis of diversity?
	The University of Michigan argues that large numbers of African American students must be allowed entrance to decrease isolation? What type of integration occurs on its university campus?

Oral Arguments from Grutter v. Bollinger

	The plaintiffs are arguing that race cannot be used as a factor among others in the admissions process. Where has the court already ruled that race can be used?
	This case revolves around the rights of individuals to attend law school and what criteria should be applied, what right do law schools have to determine who should belong to their community? Is the University of Michigan advancing the strongest argument of compelling state interest by choosing to defend their affirmative action program on the basis of "diversity."
	What about the tax payers who pay for state universities and law schools? Is there any argument to be made that law schools should reflect the underlying racial and ethnic diversity of the society that pays for these institutions?
	What about the clients who use lawyers? Our society restricts many interactions with the government to petitions made by licensed lawyers. Is there any argument to be made that law schools are distributing a public good that must reflect the diversity of our society?
	Justice Breyer makes the argument in his questioning that America needs diverse leaders of the type produced by law schools. Can this argument be restricted to only law schools, or does it equally apply to undergraduate institutions?

	What is the "strivers" score, and why does it have that name? What is the "race-blind" model of the SAT?
	What racial and ethnic categories will become relevant in certain versions of the SAT and the ACT scoring?
	Will the "strivers" score be as effective in achieving racial diversity as simply taking race into account in admissions? What advantages or disadvantages can you see in this approach?
	On the second page of this article, Glazer suggests that the advent of a "strivers" score reflects the dogged commitment of academic institutions to admit a higher number of of black and Hispanic students than their "academic promise" would alone warrant. What is academic promise? What percentage of students in the country are admitted solely on the basis of their academic promise?
	Is finishing in the top 4 percent of your high school (California) or top 20 percent (Texas) alone evidence of sufficient academic promise to warrant admission to top-tier state institutions? If not, whose fault is it that students falling into these categories do not have sufficient "academic promise"?
	Glazer is an opponent of affirmative action, so why does he "defend" the use of the striver score?
	Thernstrom rejects the use of class or race in the use of SAT scores or to evaluate who should be admitted to competitive colleges. Is taking class into consideration just "adding to the victimology index"?
	What information could Thernstrom provide to make her argument stronger?

	Should George Bush have been admitted to Andover (If he would not have attended Andover, he would have never been admitted to Yale)? Why was he admitted?
	Who should decide who Andover admits to its academic community?: Andover or standardized tests?