Derek Bok, former president of Harvard and co-author of The Shape of the River, which defended racial preferences (and was thoroughly and lengthily criticized by Stephan and Abigail Thernstrom in the June 1999 UCLA Law Review), had an OpEd in the Boston Globe(fee required; find it on Nexis if you have access) on Dec. 11. Not surprisingly, it says diversity is a Good Thing, and that “race-sensitive admissions are essential” to achieve it. (Thanks to reader David Harrison for sending reference.)
The same issue of the BG has a news article, “On Campuses, Diversity Plans At Risk.” Most interesting is its discussion of “race sensitive” admissions at UMass Amherst, whose preferentially admitted freshmen are called “yellows” — their bonus for being a minority has pushed them from the “red” rejects to the “green” admittees. There are about 600 “yellows” in each class of around 3500.
At UMass, roughly 18 percent of undergraduates are minorities almost every year – a “critical mass” that student protesters have demanded, but that UMass officials say is the result of “enrollment management” rather than quotas.
