Posted on 12/04/2003 10:25:26 AM PST by .cnI redruM
COLLEGE STATION -- Citing his belief that individuals should be judged only by their merit, Texas A&M University President Robert Gates bucked the nation's higher education establishment Wednesday by announcing the school would not use race as a factor in admissions or scholarships.
The decision came as a surprise to many students because A&M has for many years been desperately trying to attract more minority students and shed its reputation as inhospitable to those groups because of its long history as an all-male military academy. This fall, 82 percent of A&M's undergraduates are white, 2 percent are black, 9 percent are Hispanic and 3 percent are Asian-American.
A&M administrators have said for years they have been hampered by the 1996 Hopwood court ruling barring Texas universities from using race preferences. The U.S. Supreme Court cleared up growing legal confusion over the matter this summer by saying race could be used as one of many factors in admissions and scholarships, prompting the University of Texas, Rice University and other Texas schools to implement such policies.
Gates, a former CIA director appointed to head the 45,000-student campus in 2002, said he will continue to make attracting minorities a top priority, but he intends to accomplish this through increased outreach efforts and scholarships targeting first-generation college students who come from lower-income families.
"My recommendations ... involve two objectives about which I feel quite strongly," Gates told the scores of students and faculty members who attended an open forum Wednesday evening. "The first objective, as I have stated before, is for Texas A&M to better serve all of the citizens of the state of Texas, and that includes a better record in attracting and enrolling minorities. The second objective is that students at Texas A&M should be admitted as individuals, on personal merit -- and no other basis."
"We will establish no numerical quotas or targets as we seek to increase the diversity of students who enroll," Gates added. "We only know that where we are is unacceptable, and that the future of Texas A&M depends on being more successful in attracting more minority students to join the Aggie family."
The Texas A&M System regents are scheduled to vote on Gates' proposal today. Under state law, any changes to the admissions process cannot go into effect for one year after they are approved, meaning they would apply to the Fall 2005 class. Gates said his outreach and scholarship proposals would be instituted immediately.
"I'm pleasantly surprised by Dr. Gates' proposal to not make race a factor," said Matt Maddox, an A&M senior from Tomball who is president of the student group Young Conservatives of Texas, which last month held a controversial "Affirmative Action Bake Sale" to protest racial preferences by selling cookies at different prices to different ethnic groups.
Ify Ukpong, a black junior from Tyler, said she was disappointed.
"In a perfect world, race should not be a factor," she said while waiting in line to see a movie on campus. "But this is not a perfect world. Even if black students get in on their merits, people will think they got in because of race. I think it's kind of sad."
Gates said future applicants will be required to complete two state essay questions which were previously optional. These are: "Describe a significant setback, challenge or opportunity in your life and the impact it has had on you," and, "Describe how you, as a student, are a good match with us as a learning community. How will your individual characteristics lead you to make a contribution to our campus?"
Maddox said he and others believe the essays are a veiled way to incorporate race into the admissions process, because university officials would be able to determine an applicant's chances based on race.
Gates, who also created the position of vice chancellor for diversity to attract more minorities, denied the theory, saying he wants to evaluate "more students on the basis of the whole person."
"Based on my past experience, a substantial number of white kids get into the university because of leadership potential," Gates said after his presentation.
The president said the university will significantly beef up its outreach efforts in large urban areas with large minority populations such as Houston, Dallas and San Antonio, as well as predominantly Hispanic Rio Grande Valley.
He said he will create a "Regents Scholarships" that would automatically provide $5,000 a year to first-generation college students whose families earn $40,000 or less per year. He said 575 freshmen would have been eligible for such scholarships last year.
Ken Poenisch, A&M's acting director of admissions, said the scholarships will greatly help attract minorities because they would comprise a high proportion of the eligible students. He said contrary to what is commonly believed, race preferences in admissions before the Hopwood did not significantly help A&M enroll minorities. He said A&M was able to entice more minorities before Hopwood because it was able to offer race-based scholarships.
Gates received the loudest ovation when he said he did not intend to apologize for an e-mail he sent last week calling for more civility on discussions of race, stating that there have been recent incidents of racial slurs by unnamed "individuals." Tuesday, the YCT organization demanded Gates apologize, claiming he falsely implied YCT members uttered the racial slurs during the bake sale.
"I spent most of my life in the service of my country, protecting my Constitution, especially the right to free speech," Gates said intensely and deliberately. "When I'm accused of lying, I think a line has been crossed, and I think I'm the one owed an apology."
??? That statement makes me think she got in because of race...
Strange. By that statement, Gates seems to think that his past service to his country places him above any accountabilty for lying and does so to such an extent that anybody who even dares to call him on a lie should apologize for doing so!
I'm happy that they're not gonna install Affirmative Action, but Gates is still a problem.
It would be nice and convenient to send them just a few miles to UT though. However, since UT hates Whitey, than feelings are mutual. Sorry if I offend any of you UT grads, but a spade is a spade.
So shed your reputation as a place with high academic standards...instead...
Priorities I guess....
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