In most of the debates over “diversity” at selective colleges too much attention is paid to the number of “admits,” those who are admitted, and too little to the “yield,” those who are admited and choose to attend.
In California, the passage of Proposition 209 is often blamed for the small percentage of black students in the state’s selective colleges. But a closer look at the numbers at UC San Diego suggests a more complex reality. Proposition 209 passed in 1996. In 1995, the last year before the passage of this allegedly draconian measure, black students made up 2% of the UCSD students. Last year, they were 1%. But this reduction was not due only to a reduction in the number of blacks who were admitted.
Mae W. Brown, the vice chancellor of admissions and registration, said that while many underrepresented students are accepted into the university, many are choosing to go elsewhere. This past year, for example, 353 black students were accepted at UCSD, but only 48 decided to enroll.
Undeterred by such facts, proponents of racial preferences argue, in the words of UCSD literature professor Jorge Mariscal, that “ultimately,” a large part of the reason so few blacks choose to attend “is due to the unwelcoming atmosphere in which students of color find themselves.”
In other words, the inability of UCSD to continue discriminating in favor of minorities has created “an unwelcoming atmosphere.” The clear implication is that many of those students who are admitted but do not attend find equality “unwelcoming.” They would prefer to go where they are still given racial entitlements.
How depressing. It almost reminds me of the Alabama of my youth. In those days merchants refused to hire black managers, sales clerks, etc., because they were afraid that their white customers would refuse to shop in stores that treated blacks equally. Now we are told by Prof. Mariscal and those of like mind that if your organization treats minorities equally, if it judges them by the same standards as everyone else, they will feel unwelcome and stay away in droves.
You notice that it is only at the most selective schools that people worry about the atmosphere for minorities. US News publishes a list of the least diverse schools in the US. Most of them are not very selective in admission. Yet, the groups that campaign for separate and unequal admission for blacks at Michigan or Harvard do not seem to get very excited about the University of Vermont.