Arguably the biggest of the cases coming before the Supreme Court in its coming term involves the legality of the racial preferences used by Harvard and the University of North Carolina in admitting students. The Civil Rights Act outlaws discrimination by educational institutions that receive federal funds, which both schools do.
North Carolina’s governor, Roy Cooper, has submitted an amicus brief in the UNC case, and he wants the Court to allow the university to continue its preferential policy. In today’s Martin Center article, Kenny Xu responds to that brief.
He writes, “Gov. Cooper, however, has now made his own feelings clear that race is an important factor in college admissions, a view that ignores and abets its discriminatory consequences, especially against Asian Americans. In his amicus brief, Gov. Cooper argues that a race-conscious admissions process is essential to maintaining a diverse group of leaders and is a ‘critical tool’ to solve oppressive histories and clear obstacles for minorities in the United States.”
Discrimination against Asian applicants does nothing to right historical wrongs or to clear away any obstacles today. But those words sound nice, so advocates of racial preferences keep uttering them.
Cooper also trots out the old canard that a state needs “diverse” leadership and therefore must admit quotas of students. Xu writes, “Gov. Cooper further justifies his support for race-based admissions by stating that effective state government ‘requires leadership that is broadly representative of the state’s population’ and that “diverse colleges and universities build public confidence in state government.” But how can anyone trust a government or a program that prioritizes race over objective merit?”
Right, and I’d add that people can become “leaders” without going to a flagship university.
Xu closes by contrasting Cooper’s blather with the brilliant brief submitted by Virginia’s lieutenant governor Winsome Sears, a black woman who believes in evaluating students (and everyone else) on the basis of their accomplishments.
Savor the contrast.