Diversity advocates at UO call justices' decision a victory.

Byline: Greg Bolt The Register-Guard

Diversity advocates at the University of Oregon applauded the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling upholding affirmative action in college admissions even though they believe that an adverse ruling would not have affected the university.

Race is considered in UO admissions decisions only for borderline students who don't quite meet the university's grade-point and core-course requirements for automatic admission. And then it's only one factor among many taken into account as part of a comprehensive "whole file" review, a process university officials believe would have remained acceptable had the court ruled against affirmative action.

Nevertheless, UO President Dave Frohnmayer said he's pleased that the justices ruled that the benefit of a diverse student body justifies the limited use of race as a factor in making admissions decisions.

"I think it's good news," Frohnmayer said. "It brings greater clarity to the issue, and it says that having a diverse and broadly represented student body is an objective that is compelling and that is important."

Jasmin Thana, a UO student and member of Oregon Students of Color Coalition, called the ruling a win for students and for universities. She said it's still not clear what effect, if any, the ruling will have on Oregon but said it could open the door to new opportunities for minority students.

"This decision is definitely a victory for affirmative action and for students," she said. "A diverse campus benefits us all. We believe the decision reaffirms the commitment to affirmative action."

While the court broadly upheld affirmative action, it tossed out the University of Michigan's numerical scoring system that granted minority students an automatic 20 points on a 150-point index. Justices found that the point system did not meet the requirement of being narrowly tailored to meet the goal of diversity.

That made the court's overall decision more acceptable to those who advocate a color-blind process that treats all applicants equally. Bret Jacobson, publisher of the conservative journal Oregon Commentator at the UO, called the ruling a move in the right direction but questioned the idea of racial diversity as a compelling interest.

"It's definitely a step forward for color-blind policy in the United States," he said. "It's good the court decided race and ethnicity shouldn't be a crucial, deciding factor and that merit remains first and foremost. I don't think race and ethnicity should be a blatant goal for universities to seek."

Others were disappointed that the court struck down the point system. Retired UO English professor Ed Coleman, a diversity activist, said the ruling leaves plenty of room for opponents of affirmative action to challenge race-conscious decisions and fears the slim 5-4 majority may not survive the next vacancy on the high court.

"It was a good decision on the one hand, but it obviously wasn't what so many of us would like to have seen," he said. "It's a decision one can live with, but the battle is not won. We're always going to be fighting the battle."

The number of UO students who identify themselves as minorities has been rising for the past 10 years, increasing by 32 percent to 2,545 by fall 2002. But the percentage of minority students in the student body as a whole has remained relatively flat, 11.3 percent in 1993 compared to 12.7 percent in 2002, because of rising enrollment.

"I feel that we could always be doing better," student body president Maddy Melton said of the UO's efforts on diversity. "When it comes to affirmative action and creating an environment that creates parity or parallels the environment our students will be working in once they leave the university ... we could always be doing better."

The UO admits all state residents with a 3.25 grade-point average and at least 16 total credits in science, social science, math, English and foreign language. Those who come close still can win admission based on a review that takes into account a wide variety of social, economic and academic factors, including race.

"We want the university to reflect the background and challenges in the world the students will enter," Frohnmayer said. "We're trying to get a student body that is broadly representative, one that gives opportunity to people who are first-generation seekers after college education, to people who have demonstrated a motivation to succeed, to people who will bring something of importance to campus and to their fellow students. It's a constellation of things that creates, we hope, an atmosphere of excellence."