Posted on 01/29/2003 8:55:33 AM PST by optimistically_conservative
If President Bush wanted to attack quotas in college admissions, he should have started with the U.S. Military Academy, which the federal government operates. Unlike the University of Michigan, West Point has an actual numerical goal for the number of black students admitted to its ranks.
And while they don't use numerical targets, the Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy also employ affirmative action policies in their admissions.
So why didn't Bush denounce the service academies instead of going after the University of Michigan, which doesn't use quotas? After all, the president is commander-in-chief, and the service academies fall under his authority.
Could it be that the president knew he would have run into opposition from military officers who defend affirmative action at the service academies?
According to The New York Times, a group of distinguished retired military officers is preparing a legal brief supporting Michigan's affirmative action policies.
The military officers have entered the fray because they understand that an adverse Supreme Court ruling in the Michigan case could also force the service academies to dismantle their affirmative action programs.
The service academies use the same logic to defend their use of affirmative action in admissions that other major colleges and universities use: They want a diverse student body that reflects the nation.
"We like to represent the society we come from. . . . " Col. Michael L. Jones, dean of admissions at West Point, told the Times. "We want people to understand the society they will defend."
Each year, West Point aims for a class that is 10 to 12 percent African-American but ends up, despite its affirmative action policies, with only 7 to 9 percent African-American representation, Jones said.
The service academies have an additional reason for supporting diversity in admissions: With enlisted military ranks disproportionately dependent on racial minorities -- from an Air Force whose enlisted personnel are 28 percent minority to an Army with 44 percent -- an all-white officer corps would hurt morale, military experts say.
President Bush and other conservatives often offer the U.S. military forces as an excellent example of integration in America, suggesting that diversity in the officer corps has come about through individual accomplishment alone. But that's just not true. Without affirmative action, the services academies would be quite white.
And Colin Powell would not have had the chance for the advancement that led to his eventual post as secretary of state.
At one point in the late 1970s, Powell had been overlooked for a promotion to brigadier general. Clifford Alexander, then secretary of the Army, held up the promotions list, ordering the General Officer Board to take a second look for black officers who were unfairly passed over.
The second time, the list included Powell's name, as well as other black colonels. Without Alexander's affirmative effort, Powell's career may have been stalled.
Even conservatives don't dare suggest the military is putting unqualified officers of color in command positions; Bush probably didn't intend to open a debate over affirmative action at the service academies. He just wanted to score some cheap and easy political points with his ultraconservative base.
But demagoguery on racial issues can come back to haunt you, as Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue has discovered. He lambasted the vote that exiled the old state flag with its prominent Confederate battle emblem because he needed the votes of the state's "fergit, hell" crowd.
Now, however, the flag controversy threatens to dog him throughout his term in office.
In similar fashion, the president may find that the debate over affirmative action in college admissions takes him places he didn't intend to go -- such as West Point.
Cynthia Tucker is the editorial page editor. Her column appears Wednesdays and Sundays.
A win against Michigan U. will change the policies at the Academies, which I see as a good thing.
Also, Tucker should look at the promotion policies in the services and how race/photographs are used (or not) during board selection and then afterward to check racial balance.
I'm amazed that she can fabricate a situation and comparison that has no basis in the reality of the situation bringing this administration into the race debate - and then claim Bush chose betweeen U. Michigan and the Academies.
Actually, Cynthia, he was having his Solicitor General submit a brief regarding a case before the Supreme Court - or would you have Ted Olson engage in the sublime idiocy of submitting a brief for a non-existent case?
At one point in the late 1970s, Powell had been overlooked for a promotion to brigadier general. Clifford Alexander, then secretary of the Army, held up the promotions list, ordering the General Officer Board to take a second look for black officers who were unfairly passed over.
Unfairly, Cynthia, unfairly, just as it is unfair to pass over more-qualified white or asian students by giving minorities twenty points just for skin color.
Tucker is a poster child for the pitfalls of affirmative action.
I would be willing to bet that photos are still used in promotion boards. Besides, they already know what race you are. All that stuff's in the file.
Affirmative Action.
No flames needed, this is merely a fact. It is also a fact that minorities tend to underachieve in these tests, and academically as well. Cultural problems I suspect, since I am a member of a minority group, but not part of the urban subculture, and I scored considerably higher than average in all my test scores...
I dont think we should be afraid to bring things up like this. Your post brings up some great points.
Cynthia Tucker Versus Byron York: Who Is Telling The Truth?
Her opinions are nothing but unsubstantiated fabrications.
Or are minorities over-represented in the military, and that's a bad thing, because it shows racism in our policies by putting them at greater risk fighting our wars to protect rich white kids?
Knowing Cynthia, she'd probably twist those two otherwise contradictory statements into a claim that Bush supports affirmative action if it leads to more blacks getting killed...
LAST REFUGE [John J. Miller] When the defenders of racial preferences find themselves on the ropes, they often point to the military--something many of them must hate to do--as an exemplar of affirmative action. That's what the New York Times does today in a story on how racial preferences affect admissions to the service academies: "Even as the Bush administration sides with opponents of affirmative action at the University of Michigan, officials of the nation's service academies say their own minority admissions programs are necessary to maintain both integrated student bodies and officer corps." What the articles doesn't supply are any actual numbers showing how much preference minority applicants receive. For that, it's necessary to read this report from the Center for Equal Opportunity, which shows that preferences do appear to play a role in admissions--but not nearly the role they play at the University of Michigan, whose admissions process is currently under Supreme Court review. At West Point, for instance, CEO found a 100-point gap between the SAT scores of whites and blacks admitted. At Michigan, that's the difference between whites and blacks on the verbal section alone. Posted at 05:39 AM
LAST REFUGE, PT. 2 [John J. Miller] Here's the jawdropping difference between admissions at West Point and Michigan, according to the CEO reports. If two students with equal test scores and grades applied to West Point, and the school had only one spot to award them, it would be almost twice as likely to choose a black applicant over a white one. At Michigan, however, the school would be almost 174 times more likely to choose the black applicant. The fact of the matter is that West Point and the other service academies employ racial preferences, but not nearly on the same scale as this country's top public universities. The defenders of Michigan's race-driven policies obscure the debate when they try to hide behind West Point. Posted at 05:49 AM
What the NewsBimbo ignores is that the military academies have a wierd blend of admissions - with applicants competing based on various different considerations - INCLUDING obtaining a Congressional Appointment.
A Congressional appointment can be "given" to 1 individual, and that person gets to go to the school if he/she meets the minimums for entry. Or the Senator/Congresscritter can nominate 10 - with the school choosing the most qualified appliant. And I strongly suspect that the difference is SAT scores between minorities chosen and whites/Asians selected is much smaller or non-existant as compared to Univ. Of Michigan.
The service academies might be considered to have thousands of highly qualified applicants - and if they choose to bypass a white with a combined SAT of 1350 in favor of a minority with a combined SAT of 1345 ... how can anyone complain about the choice. The problem is when (like at Univ. of Michagan), a student with a SAT of 1350 is turned away while a minority with a SAT of 1100 is admitted. That just plain sucks!!! And it is very harmful, because the graduation rates of minority admissions where the students don't meet standards is much worse ... and as Thomas Sowell points out - you do harm to individual minority student by setting them up for failure. A majority of minority students who get a "pass" on academics will often fail to complete college - ANYWHERE. Those students not given a "pass" might go to a lower tier school - AND THEY ARE SUCCESSFUL. Only a KKK-type (like a liberal Democrat) would intentionally set-up minorities for failure!!.
And the service academies try to pick for success ... and they DON'T coddle anyone!
Mike
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