President Bush asserted Wednesday in a speech given at the White House that the University of Michigan’s admissions program “amounts to a quota system that unfairly rewards or penalizes prospective students solely on their race.”

The numbers say different. The law school at the U of M reports that the average offer of admission rate was 29% for Caucasian applicants over the last ten years. This offer rate is higher than that of African-American applicants (26%), Latino applicants (25%), and Asian-American applicants (22%). The only group that has a greater offer of admission rate is Native Americans with 35%.

Some would argue these percentages are irrelevant unless you have corresponding mean undergraduate GPA and LSAT scores to compare them; I will argue UGPA and LSAT scores are irrelevant. The business of Michigan’s law school is turning out good lawyers, not good test takers.

That being said, why is race a consideration in the admission process? Race is a consideration because it ensures a student will be exposed to people with experiences and perspectives. Students are being denied admission not because they are white; they are being denied admission because they are redundant. The students denied admission either do not have unique experiences and characteristics or they have failed to prove they do.

Pat Lamoreux

Senior

Sociology