… benefit whites. Those of you who have been reading DISCRIMINATIONS loyally will have encountered this argument before, but it is nice to see someone with a reputation making a point that I’ve been emphasizing. The perceptive academic is Amitai Etzioni of George Washington University, in a National Law Journal OpEd, “‘Diversity’ Argument Fails the Smile Test.” (link via Howard Bashman):
On April Fools’ Day, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments as to whether it is acceptable for the University of Michigan to specifically deny admission to some fully qualified white students in order for those whites who are admitted to enjoy a “diverse educational environment.”
[….]
This new argument assumes that it is ethically appropriate to deny some fully qualified students admission in order to somewhat enrich the environment for white students. (African-American students do not gain diversity from admitting more African-American students.)
Nor, he might have added (as I always did), that the preferentially admitted minorities do not receive any diversity benefit (they may receive others) that they would not have received at a less selective institution.
