Virginia Tech... depressing news for us

Yahoo News ^

[cyborg]

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Virginia Tech reinstated its affirmative action policy Sunday, despite assertions from the attorney general's office that some of its diversity programs are unconstitutional

[cyborg]

Two steps back.

[Verginius Rufus]

They are upset that the percentage of black students at Virginia Tech is lower than the percentage in the population of the state of Virginia, ignoring the fact that Virginia Tech is located in a part of Virginia which historically has had very few black people. Public universities (at least apart from a state's flagship university) tend to draw a disproportionate number of their students from the surrounding part of the state.

[cyborg]

Thanks for the info because I don't live there to know what's what. I don't need to live in VA to know that racial preferences are wrong. It seems to me that the school leadership is clearly not listening the state at all. I'm all for state's rights and since it's a state-run school, shouldn't they listen? Does everything have to be by the numbers?

I think there should be a campaign to stop racial identifiers on college applications. Race has nothing to do with college. Correct me if I am wrong but after California passed #209 the minority enrollments dipped but came right back up to the SAME affirmative action levels?

[Windcatcher]

Liberal elitists in our colleges...par for the course.

If you think that's bad, in one school I attended (in which you could count us Conservatives on one hand--literally) they put up a condom tree to mock Christmas. Seriously.

I'm reluctant to name the school, as I majored in something unpopular there, and there are so few people that major in it that lefties would have little trouble figuring out who I am :)

[cyborg]

Condom tree... laugh now, cry later when they're itching from their tenth herpes outbreak.

[wardaddy]

VPI...where are you?

[Koblenz]

Public universities (at least apart from a state's flagship university) tend to draw a disproportionate number of their students from the surrounding part of the state.

Not Virginia Tech. Va Tech is a fairly decent engineering school, and has a big draw over the entire state. I grew up in Northern Virginia, about 250 miles from VT, and VT was one of the most popular colleges for my senior class. (It was my safety school). VT has a very good reputation in the entire state. Maybe not as good as UVA, but still quite good.

[cyborg]

What does VPI stand for? More FReeper code things I have to learn...

[wardaddy]

VT was formerly Virginia Polytechnic Institute and had a "corps" like Texas A&M ....they were big rivals to VMI.

My dad played ball against them in the early 50s....alas VPI won more often then not but which was the better military institute was never in doubt.

Of course VMI has now seen better days....the social engineers never rest.

[cyborg]

What is going on with VMI anyway? The last thing I remember was that girl who was trying to get in. She didn't look in shape though.

[Corin Stormhands]

It seems to me that the school leadership is clearly not listening the state at all.

They're not listening to the Republican (and next great governor) Attorney General. They're listening to the RAT Governor.

Guess who has input into their state funding?

[Corin Stormhands]

VT was formerly Virginia Polytechnic Institute and had a "corps" like Texas A&M ....they were big rivals to VMI.

They still have a cadet corps. It's just no longer mandatory.

[Gopher Broke]

Story from our local leftist news source......ROANOKE TIMES

Monday, April 07, 2003
Board of Visitors votes 7-5 to reinstate policy, plus protections for gays, lesbians on campus
Tech board reverses decision on affirmative action

Gov. Mark Warner, whose administration played a key role in the proposals put forth Sunday, praised the board's decision.

By KEVIN MILLER
THE ROANOKE TIMES



BLACKSBURG - Under pressure from students and administrators, Virginia Tech's governing board reinstated affirmative action policies at the university and restored discrimination protections for gays and lesbians on campus during a spirited public meeting Sunday.

In a scene more reminiscent of a Tech sporting event than a Board of Visitors' meeting, 200-plus spectators attending Sunday's special meeting leapt to their feet and cheered when board Rector John Rocovich announced the 7-5 vote to once again allow the consideration of race and gender during admissions, hiring and financial aid.

"Thrilled. Absolutely thrilled," Brandy Faulkner, a graduate student and outspoken critic of the board, said moments after the vote.

Board members also approved the creation of a new committee to help draft "narrowly tailored" race-conscious policies that do not violate state or federal law and a plan guaranteeing members more time to review future proposals.

"We needed to listen to all of the people involved, and we did," board member John Lawson said, explaining his and other members' change of heart. "We are not too big to say we made a mistake and that we're willing to reconsider a decision we made."

Ever since their March 10 meeting, Tech's board has come under fire from students, faculty, Gov. Warner and numerous state and national organizations for eliminating affirmative action just months before the U.S. Supreme Court will render a decision on the issue.

Critics have also lambasted the board for deleting "sexual orientation" from the university's nondiscrimination clause. Adding to critics' ire, the March 10 decisions were made moments after a closed-door meeting and without advance notice or public discussion.

While no doubt pleasing to many of those gathered Sunday, the board's reversal appears to contradict legal advice from state Attorney General Jerry Kilgore's office, which has warned Virginia's public colleges about potential liability of race-conscious admissions programs. Board members have said they were only following Kilgore's advice when they eliminated affirmative action.

Deputy Attorney General David Johnson said there are "a substantial number" of policies at Tech that Kilgore's staff believe violate federal law, as laid out by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. Johnson said colleges could legally administer "narrowly tailored" race-conscious programs. But he nonetheless urged members to sustain the March 10 vote.

"Rescinding that resolution carries with it the distinct possibility of ratifying and reviving these unlawful programs," Johnson said. "That could expose Virginia Tech and possibly individual board members to liability."

In remarks before the vote Sunday, Tech President Charles Steger said the March 10 decision has caused "great disruption" at the university and "cast a shadow over Virginia Tech in the eyes of many universities across the country."

Roughly 6 percent of Tech's student body is black, compared to 20 percent of the state population.

"We really believe that if this situation is left unaltered, there will be lost opportunities to partner with other universities, there will be problems with faculty and enrollments," Steger said.

Throughout the meeting, audience members vigorously applauded remarks in support of affirmative action and protections for homosexuals but hissed comments supporting the attorney general and his legal counsel. Rocovich and board members largely tolerated the audience interjections, which are virtually unheard of during board meetings.

Warner, whose administration played a key role in the proposals put forth Sunday, praised the board's decision in a statement.

"I thank those board members who supported our efforts to ensure campus diversity while we await more definitive legal guidance from the U.S. Supreme Court this summer," Warner said.

Tim Murtaugh, spokesman for Kilgore, reiterated that his office was merely fulfilling its statutorial obligation to provide legal counsel to state agencies.

"From the very beginning, it's been about one thing - the law - and we hope that Tech adheres to the law," Murtaugh said. "The attorney general gives advice on what the law is. If they choose to ignore it, they do it at their own peril."

[Gopher Broke]

Click HERE to send an email to Virginia Tech.

[Hokie Bird]

Guess we'll have to end up in court. Great use of my donations to the university to pay these legal bills, eh?

[KriegerGeist]

Why should non-minorities continue now to strive for excellence in academics in order to achieve high S.A.T. scores. Why should they do all the extra-curricular activities and all the other work that goes into making you eligible to attend your desired college? They won't get in. Because, all you have to do now is be a minority and THAT is what makes you eligible to get into college whether you can even read or write?

The battle between good and evil is going on right here at home while we fight over there.

Poor Pvt. Jessica Lynch would not be eligible to attend Virginia Tech now.

[bert]

Incoming!!!

[bert]

They are also ignoring the "Tech" part.

[mtbopfuyn]

Yes, my bp rose when I saw that on the news yesterday. That's definitely taking steps backward and actually causing racial divide.

I lost out on a great job with the state (no money, but job/location great) because of poo like this. I had the job but then HQ jumped on the supervisor because that position had to be filled by a minority. Only problem was no minority had applied the previous two times it was posted and it remained unfilled for two years after that. HQ had to recend the token minority requirement when the other employees kept quitting because they had to take up the slack of the unfilled position.

[Verginius Rufus]

I don't doubt that Virginia Tech attracts students from all over the state, but they aren't all going to study engineering. I would imagine that a student wanting to major in history or English would be more likely to select Virginia Tech if he lived in Roanoke than if he lived in Virginia Beach.

The figure they should be looking at is not the overall percentage of African Americans in the state, but the proportion of black students among the high school seniors who have the grades, courses, and test scores to qualify for college.

As Ward Connerly and others have argued, it doesn't help the student to send him to a university where he doesn't meet the qualifications other students have had to meet--he is more likely to struggle there or to drop out, whereas he might have done quite well at a less selective university. The administrators are just trying to come up with numbers to make themselves look good. I recall once reading how the University of Iowa had a target of 8% black students, while the population of the state was 2% black.