Drastic Racial “Underrepresentation” At University Of California

[NOTE: This post has been UPDATED]

Insofar as administrators at the University of California think UC should be a mirror of the state’s demographics, they are failing miserably.

As of 2008, non-Hispanic whites were 42.3% of California’s population, but they will be only 26.2% of the incoming freshman class. Asians, by contrast, are 12.5% of the population but 40.7% of the freshman class.

The trouble, as UC administrators are quick to tell you, is that if you have to treat applicants without regard to their race you get too many smart kids from certain groups (or in this case, group) and not enough from others.

UPDATE [15 July]

Regarding other “underrepresented minorities” in the University of California system, Joe Hicks and David Lehrer report in the Los Angeles Times that their numbers have increased since Prop. 209 went into effect.

The number of minority admissions to the University of California for this fall — without the benefit of preferences — exceeds that of 1996, in absolute numbers and, more important, as a percentage of all “admits.” The numbers are, in almost every category, quite staggering.

Latino students have gone from 15.4% (5,744 students) of freshman undergraduate admissions in 1996 to 23% (14,081) in 2010 (a 145% increase). Asian students have gone from 29.8% (11,085) of the freshman admits to 37.47% (22,877). Native American admits have declined slightly, from 0.9% to 0.8%, but their absolute number increased, from 360 to 531. African American admits have gone from 4% (1,628) to 4.2% (2,624), a modest gain in percentage but a 61% increase in numbers of freshmen admitted.

One underrepresented minority group, however, has declined since Prop. 209 went into effect.

The only major category that declined in percentage terms was whites, who went from 44% (16,465) of the freshmen admits to 34% (20,807).

Say What? (2)

  1. […] whites have become a seriously underrepresented minority in the University of California system. In 1996 whites were 44% of the freshman admits; by 2010 their percentage of freshman admits had drop… […]

  2. […] Many people continue to believe, mistakenly, that ending racial preferences benefits whites — and “progressives” like AALDEF even argue that opposition to  preferences is rooted in racism. In fact, whites have become a seriously underrepresented minority in the University of California system. In 1996 whites were 44% of the freshman admits; by 2010 their percentage of freshman admits had drop…. […]

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