Fact - race is a factor. Period. But quotas are not the way. She did not support quotas.
A purely "race-neutral" approach would not consider race at all. That would be fine if the colleges did not already factor in things like "applicant is a child of an alumnus." So - one could argue that only academic test scores should be used. Or academic test scores plus grades. But what about high school athletics? Club participation? How well the kid writes their essay? Maybe they have superlative musical skills? Etcetera. In the latter context, where all those other things are already being considered, then yes, ethnic background (not skin color) can reasonably be considered as "a factor". With NO QUOTAS being applied. And if it is dealt with like that, no constitutional issues apply.
Rice and Powell are wrong.
All those things you mentioned, as bad as they are, are race nuetral. And those factors are never considered as a means to the end of diversifying a student body anyway.
Maybe Rice didn't suggest diversfication would be the goal by considering race to be a factor, but it would be impossible let someone in because of race without denying someone else just because they aren;t the right color.
To tell someone just because they are the wrong ethnic background or wrong color that they are not allowed to attend then you are making an unconstitutional arguement.
Maybe Rice and Powell would like to speak to a group of white high school kids, in person, and tell them they might have to accept being denied admission to college because of their skin color or ethnic background.
DO THEY HAVE THE GUTS FOR THIS???