The University of Wisconsin takes race into account when admitting students.
[U-W Chancellor John] Wiley on Thursday defended the practice. He said high school grade-point averages, class rankings and ACT scores are deceptive and aren’t good predicators of whether a student will succeed in college. Admission officials must consider nonacademic factors as well, including leadership in extracurricular activities, essays, letters of recommendation — and race….
He said UW-Madison should reflect Wisconsin society and contended that minority students enrich the campus by providing different viewpoints.
I’m not sure which is the more remarkable falsehood here — that high school grades, class rank, and ACT scores are “deceptive” and not good predictors of success in college, or that race is a good predictor. Wiley neglected to say exactly what “viewpoints” are associated with black or brown skins.
But don’t worry about trying to measure these incredible assertions with your “did he really say that?” meter, since Wiley said something else even more incredible:
No applicant to UW-Madison has ever lost a slot to another because of race, Chancellor John Wiley says.
If two equally qualified candidates apply, both get in, Wiley told the Legislative Council’s Special Committee on Affirmative Action at a hearing Thursday.
“There has never, ever been a student admitted because of the color of their skin,” Wiley said. “It’s not the case where some student lost a seat to a lesser qualified applicant of any race.”
Of course, if this were true, if “taking race into account” did not result in the admission of some minority applicants who would not otherwise have been admitted, then barring the consideration of race in the admissions process would have no effect.
And to think that the UW-Madison is where I got my undergraduate degree… in philosophy and logic, no less!
Obviously, logic is not utlized throughout the University…..
[U-W Chancellor John] Wiley on Thursday defended the practice. He said high school grade-point averages, class rankings and ACT scores are deceptive and aren’t good predicators of whether a student will succeed in college.
I’m assuming that’s supposed to be “predictors,” not “predicators.” But it has to be asked of the chancellor: What are better predictors of college success than items like the SAT and GPA? Does he seriously want to argue that extracurricular activities and letters of recommendation are superior ??
I know it’s a lot to ask, especially given John’s money quote of the chancellor at post’s end …!
John,
that Wiley character is mighty Wily.
Several days ago, I blogged this comment carried from Wisconsin public radio:
UW Chancellor John Wiley and state Senate Glenn Grothman sparred over the role race in UW admissions, during a Capital hearing Thursday.
Grothmann, who chairs the legislature’s Special Committee on Affirmative Action, asked Wiley “to describe the role race plays in admissions at UW Madison.” Wiley said race is just one of the factors that the UW considers in admissions. He said for public accountability, the UW wants its students to reflect the complexion of the state; “what characteristics they have, where they’re from, what race they are, what gender they are.”
Grothmann suggested that UW officials should consider removing race from application forms. That suggestion from Grothman drew this response from Wiley. “Anyone who has lived at all in the 20th century, and not been a cave somewhere, couldn’t possibly say that race is irrelevant.”
Yes. That’s strawman followed by ad homimen (presumably the strawman is a caveman!).
Some people desparately need to be collecting unemployment…