University of Diversity

The University of Washington is having trouble recruiting a new president, the Seattle Times reports. The University ascribes part of the blame to the state's anti-affirmative action measure I-200, which was approved by 58% of the voters in 1998.

"It's regrettable that the presence of that law would prompt good people to withdraw," said Ernest R. Morris, UW vice president for student affairs. "It is an understandable concern. It's one with which we are grappling."

Morris said the measure has hindered the university's efforts to ensure that the campus is reflective of the community. As of last fall, the number of incoming freshmen who are ethnic minorities remained below levels before 1998, when I-200 was approved by voters

The following table compares the representation of ethnic groups in the UW's 2002 freshman class (domestic admissions), with the representation of each ethnic group among the state's 18-19 year olds:

Group	% of UW freshman	% of WA 18-19 y.o.
Non-Hispanic White	56.5%	72.5%
Asian	27.9%	6.5%
African American	2.9%	3.7%
American Indian / Alaskan Native	1.3%	1.9%
Hawaiian /Pacific Islander	0.5%	0.6%
Hispanic	3.8%	10.7%*
Other, Mixed Race, Not reporting	7.1%	10.9%

(sources: University of Washington, US Census Bureau) The numbers in the right column do not add to 100% because there is overlap between Hispanic and the non-white groups.

Ernest Morris did not explain how the university is not "reflective of the community", and the Seattle Times reporter did not challenge him for a clarification. But the most glaring discrepancy between the ethnic composition of the university and the State of Washington is that White people are significantly "underrepresented" on campus while Asians are significantly "overrepresented". I don't see this as a problem, but perhaps others do. One can only hope the local press will challenge the university to explain exactly what they want to do to make the university more "reflective of the community". You can't increase the proportion of group X without decreasing the proportion of group Y, and white people are already "underrepresented" relative to the community at large. So if the plan is to dramatically reduce the number of Asians on campus, somebody should explicitly state this. If the university has a different plan for achieving "diversity", the taxpayers who help pay for the university deserve to hear what it is.

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at July 31, 2003 05:15 PM