Prop 2

[novapsyche]

Race Preferences Vote Splits Michigan

For the University of Michigan, the proposition would require broader changes than the Supreme Court did; it ruled in Ms. Gratz’s case and a companion case that while the consideration of race as part of the law school’s admissions policy was constitutional, a formula giving extra points to minority undergraduate applicants was not.

The president of the university, Mary Sue Coleman, an opponent of the proposition, said its reach could extend into K to 12 education.

“It would make it illegal to have our program targeting girls in junior high school, and having them come to campus to learn about science and engineering,” Ms. Coleman said. “I’m a woman scientist, and I know how fragile our gains are.”

[...] [One United Michigan] members said Proposition 2 would hamper employers’ efforts to diversify their work forces. They said it would also force some local governments to eliminate outreach and set-aside programs for minority contractors and would diminish the already-meager representation of black and Hispanic students at the flagship university here.

“It would be like slamming a door on progress,” Ms. Coleman said. “I will do everything that’s legal to help us attract minority students. But it’s already having a chilling effect.”

[...] Ms. Peterson and others at the [University of Michigan] emphasized that because there were so many white applicants and so few blacks, an end to affirmative action would not substantially increase white students’ odds of admission. In their book, “The Shape of the River,” Derek C. Bok and William G. Bowen estimated that if selective universities had race-blind admissions, the probability of white students’ admission would rise only slightly — to 26.5 percent from 25 percent — while black students’ admissions would decline by half. (emphasis mine)

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The Law and Race in the United States: An Outline for Understanding

Comments

[dionysus1999.livejournal.com]

I wonder how it would affect female-to-male ratios. There are lots of programs that recruit women into traditionally male disciplines.