| Here's an ethnic joke for you. The Dean of Admissions at Harvard University has only one slot left in his next class of freshmen new to the Institution. The Dean has two male students before him; one of the students is Black and the other is White. The Dean says to them, "I will give you a test. The first one to pass the test gets the slot." He looks to the White student first and asks, "How many people died in the Civil War?" The White kid responds, "787, 221." The Dean smiles and says, "You are most certainly correct." He looks at the Black student and says, "Now, it is your turn." He then asks, "What were their names?" While I am one who generally loathes ethnic jokes, I have often told this one in speeches I have given on campus and around the country. With this joke, you can substitute Latinos, Southeast Asians, American Indians, poor Whites who are first generation in college, veterans, and probably even White women for slots in the physical sciences for the Black guy; scholarship athletes and legacy (children of alumni) applicants are not eligible for substitution. Over the past few weeks, there has been much debate, consternation, and obfuscation about UW System Administration's efforts to move toward a "holistic" admissions policy. Simply said, what the UW System is moving toward, is what UW-Madison has been doing for many, many years; and doing so quite successfully. The UW System is just coming around to appreciate what UW-Madison has known for a long time -- that the UW is a public institution. As such, it has a mandate to provide access and opportunity for a cross section of ALL of the populations of the State of Wisconsin who pay state and federal taxes to support the UW institutions. The UW System is wise to state that they are updating, adding to and not taking away from existing policies: that they want the student body at all UW System institutions to mirror the population of the State. In so doing, they are being very clear that the core criteria will continue to be grades, class rank, and standardized test scores. If they end up following the UW-Madison model, then all of the other UW institutions would add, for further consideration, whether or not a student is low-income, first generation in college, from a rural or inner city school district, an athlete, artist or musician and yes, has a racial background and is from a targeted (underrepresented) group. What could be so wrong with that? The Wisconsin Policy Research Institute did a loaded survey which has added to the confusion and obfuscation when they asked the question to 600 Wisconsinites in the following manner: "The UW System ;is moving away from the current system that uses grades, class rankings, and test scores to a holistic approach that favors subjective, non-quantifiable factors. Would you favor or oppose these new UW admissions standards?" This is a total corruption of what is actually being proposed. It is pretty clear why the survey got the response (65% opposed to the use of race) that it received. It is apparent that Governor Doyle, gubernatorial candidate Mark Green, and a whole host of others have also misunderstood what is actually happening here. It is also true that the UW System could have done a better job in rolling this out more clearly. What then is the question? Over my 17-plus years at UW-Madison, I have debated the race and admissions criteria issue on many different occasions. I have had debates and point, counterpoint statements to the media with now retired Professors Ted Hammerow and Lee Hansen. Their fundamental argument is that this great University should be about quality and recruiting only the best of the best students. I have responded that the mission of a great public University is to provide access and opportunity for qualified students who represent a cross section of all of the wonderful types of people in this great State. I have also argued that research for the Michigan (Bollinger vs Grutter) case has documented that student learning is enhanced when students attend class and interact with students from different backgrounds. One of the truisms that I have learned from my 35-plus years in higher education is the fact that quantitative factors like standardized test scores (a la my Harvard example) have been used more than any other single factor to deny students of color and women access to higher education as well as to the scholarships and fellowships funds needed to support them while they are in school. Just what are we talking about when we make reference to "quality" Most will not argue with the fact that one of the best measures of quality is outcomes, i.e., who finishes their education the quickest and with the best grades. Which institutions have the fastest completion rates? For the most part, it is the elitist institutions that have the highest tuition -- institutions like Michigan, Harvard, Stanford, and Duke --; to name a few. There is a very strong positive correlation between higher levels of income and better graduation rates. Do we want the UW to raise the income criteria so that only wealthy students can attend so that we can improve the quality by raising the graduation rates? think not. When you look at who graduates the fastest at UW Madison, it is non-resident White female students. Do we want UW Madison to only admit non-resident White female students? Some yes, but not exclusively! Those who argue against the use of race as one of many variables for broadening the criteria for admissions don't like to acknowledge the fact that there are far more White students who will gain access to the University than targeted students of color. Studies have actually been done at UW-Madison that determined that when you add up all of the numbers for students who were given extra consideration in the Admissions process, i.e., legacies, first generation in college, from rural or inner city school districts, athletes, artists and musicians and from targeted racial backgrounds, a significantly larger number of White students have profited vs. those from targeted groups. As a large, first rate public University System, the UW is right to take steps to make the admissions process more democratic to provide access to ALL of the students in the great State of Wisconsin. ********************************* On the passing of Mike McKinney Madison lost one of its best when Mike McKinney passed away this past Sunday. I met Mike shortly after he arrived in Madison in 1997 and we have been friends ever since. Aside from watching him charm the Madison community with that powerful baritone and infectious smile while doing the news, investigative reporting and commercials, I got to know Mike mostly from the volunteer work that he did that has positively impacted so many in Madison and surrounding communities. Mike is best known for the tremendous amount of time and support that he gave to the AIDS Ride and for raising funds for meals for the Second Harvest and other charities. I got to work closely with Mike through our membership with One Hundred Black Men of Madison, Inc. Mike brought positive publicity and energy to a number of our events -- The Black History Challenge Bowl, where he served as moderator and judge, the Back to School Picnic where he helped stuff backpacks, flip burgers, and cook hot dogs. / Mike also spent a lot of time helping our young people on the UW Madison campus. He was a regular contributor to the Pre-College Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence or PEOPLE Program. Mike spent a lot of time talking to the PEOPLE students using the lessons learned from his own experiences growing up to teach, inspire the students and point them in the right direction. He also inspired the parents, teachers and guests as a featured speaker during the opening and closing banquets for the Program. On a personal level, I, like many others, was inspired and awed as I watched Mike struggle with his illness. Mike somehow never managed to let his health problems get him down. He always seemed to bounce back with vigor. On the last few fairly recent occasions that I had an opportunity to interact with him, Mike reassured me that he was doing OK and was, in fact, more worried about me and how I was doing. That's Mike. When you look at what Mike has had to deal with, and how he dealt with it with such graciousness and dignity, it really puts life into perspective. It helps you get a sense of what is, and what is not that important. One of the most fitting tributes was given by one of the Brothers of the One Hundred Black Men who said: "I want to be like Mike!" This community has been blessed and enriched for what Mike McKinney has brought here to each and every one of us. |
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