That New York Times article (which I discussed here) continues too have legs. It described the concern of Lani Guinier and like-minded preferentialists that Harvard and other elite schools were filling too many of their “diversity” quota spots (they, of course, don’t admit to any quotas) with foreign-born dark-skinned people, thus avoiding the true purpose of affirmative action, correcting past injustices. So much for the “diversity” rationale, but never mind; everyone except a majority of the Supreme Court has long known that rationale was mainly window dressing.
Roger Clegg sent an excellent letter to the NYT, which it predictably chose not to publish. But, thanks to the miracle of the blogosphere, you can, and should, read it here. Now comes Ruben Navarrette Jr., a syndicated columnist, to give it a few more shots. (Thanks to Dave Huber for the tip.)
“Some observers,” Navarrette observes, “of higher education think that Harvard and other elite schools may be trying to pull a fast one, admitting high-achieving foreign students as an easy way to meet diversity goals.”
Could be. When I was a Harvard undergraduate in the late 1980s, I could never shake the feeling that the institution was forever pretending to be more inclusive than it really was. It would carefully admit a sprinkling of African-American and Hispanic students.
Working in the admissions office
So admitting qualified students is “playing it safe”?