Many schools tell students they are committed to having a diverse student body, made up of people from different backgrounds and ethnicities. But some colleges and universities are taking things a step further.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case from an applicant to the University of Michigan Law School who says she was denied admission because she is white.
To achieve a more diverse student body, Michigan, along with many other higher education institutions, has policies that take an applicant’s race into account when reviewing applications, with points being awarded to people on the basis of race.
Officials said there is no such system in place at the University, with all applicants being evaluated on the basis of academic and personal achievements.
Michele Forbes, director of admissions and student affairs for the LSU Law Center, said race and ethnic background are not “a sole factor” when reviewing applicants to the law school.
“Everything gets considered for every applicant,” said Forbes. “We don’t have a point system like Michigan.”
Forbes said a variety of factors are taken into account when reviewing applications, including writing ability, letters of recommendation, undergraduate study, outside activities, grade trends and work experience.
“By the natural process itself, you become more diversified,” Forbes said. “We do aim to have 10 percent of the freshman class African American, and that has happened naturally.”
According to statistics from the Law Center’s Office of Admissions and Student Records, there were 662 first-year students in the school last semester. Out of these, 83 percent were white, while 17 percent were of another racial background.
When it comes to undergraduates, the numbers are more balanced.
Last semester, there were 26,672 undergraduate students enrolled at the University. Of these students, 80 percent were white, while 20 percent were of another race.
Despite white students being in the majority, Associate Director of Recruiting Services Andy Benoit said the University is committed to recruiting minorities.
“We’re very conscious of an effort to make our university diverse,” Benoit said. “That means diverse in students from all ethnic backgrounds, all religious backgrounds, everything.”
With that in mind, Benoit said the University has implemented more aggressive recruitment across the board to attract students of all races.
“An average student that we would recruit would get anywhere from three to 12 instances of correspondence in a particular time period during a year. We’ve increased that this year to include varieties of mail-outs, postcards, notes from our admissions officers, a variety of things,” Benoit said.
To make the University more attractive to minorities, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions has implemented a program called “Cultural Connection” to give extra attention to minorities.
This new program is designed to answer specific questions and concerns minority students may have about the University.
“They can come together and get more information about the University,” Benoit said.
Benoit said regardless of race, those who meet the University’s admissions standards will be accepted.
“We will admit students to the University, with the general requirement being a 20 on the ACT, a 2.8 grade point average, 17.5 core units. If they have those things, they’re going to be admitted,” he said.
In the Graduate School, there are many more minority students. Out of 4,910 students enrolled last semester, 61 percent were white, while 39 percent were of another ethnic background.
Renee Renegar, director of graduate admissions, said she could not explain the higher number of minority students in the school.
“We don’t even consider race at all,” Renegar said. “We admit people solely on the basis of academic credentials.”
Renegar said making the graduate school more diverse is not a primary focus of the admissions process.
“It’s really not something that’s put forth as a goal,” Renegar said.
Students said they disagreed with the concept of a system like Michigan’s that rewarded applicants for being a different race.
“I honestly don’t think it’s fair,” said Ashley Hemm, an English sophomore.
Hemm suggested schools offer scholarships to minority students instead of taking race into account when evaluating admissions.
However, Zamora James, a premedical technology junior, said a point system at the University would increase minority enrollment.
“It would attract minorities, because most people want to be accepted,” she said.
James said she knows of several minorities who do not apply to the University because they see it as a “white school.”
Matt Kelly, a political science senior, said the point system was a step backward for all races.
“It’s holding back progress toward racial equality,” he said. “It is racism because it singles out an individual based on race.”