Reprint from the Wisconsin State Journal, May 11, 2000What should we do when we see our own executive, legislative, and judicial branches ignore violations of the law by public, state-supported institutions?
This question arises because at its April meeting, the Board of Regents received a UW System request to expand the scope and generosity of Ben R. Lawton Minority Undergraduate Grants. These grants are “targeted” for racial and ethnic minority students. Non-minority students are simply not eligible.
Why should the UW System be allowed to continue to discriminate on the basis of race and ethnicity when it provides state-funded grants to minority students? Shouldn’t these need-based grants be awarded according to academic merit and likely academic success rather than to skin color or ethnic origin?
The UW System defends its use of race and ethnicity on two grounds. One is to support its quest for greater diversity. This means that larger numbers of minority students must be enrolled to enrich the educational experience of non-minority students. The other is its desire to meet the demands of employers who threaten to curtail their recruiting of UW graduates unless the student body displays greater diversity.
Arguments for using race and ethnicity carry little weight. The UW System has never documented exactly how enrolling more or fewer minorities affects the educational experience of non-minority students. Nor has it presented evidence that employers, if their criticisms are serious, have reduced their recruitment of UW graduates.
Providing grants to students based on minority status is illegal according to Wisconsin Statutes governing the University of Wisconsin System. Ch. 36.12 states that “no student may be denied admission to, participation in or the benefits of, or be discriminated against in any service, program, course . . . because of the student’s race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, . . .”
Ch. 36.34, titled “Minority students programs,” makes it clear that the “Ben R. Lawton Minority Undergraduate Grant Program” is a “program.” And, because eligibility for these grants is restricted to Black Americans, American Indians, Hispanics, and SE Asians, the program discriminates on the basis of race and ethnicity.
The inescapable conclusion — the Lawton Minority Grant Program is clearly illegal.
That the UW System is requesting additional state funds for this program comes as no surprise. UW leaders desperately want their new diversity initiative, called Plan 2008, to succeed. They can only hope to do this by obtaining more public funds.
The Board of Regents should reject this request because the program discriminates illegally on the basis of race and ethnicity. Not only does the program violate Wisconsin Statutes 36.12, but it also violates the Board’s own Policy Statement 91-4 on implementing Wisconsin Statutes 36.12.
If the Board approves this request for the next biennial budget, it will give the UW System a green light to break the law. Going along could be the Board’s way of “celebrating diversity.” But, such action would demonstrate the Board’s complicity in condoning the discrimination it is charged to prevent.
Rejecting this request will be difficult for Board members. Some may worry about adverse publicity for themselves. Others may worry about adverse publicity for the university. Some may even be concerned about student demonstrations, similar to those occurring when the University of California Board of Regents abolished preferential admissions. Counterbalancing these concerns, Board action to end discrimination based on race and ethnicity will be hailed by the many citizens who recognize that discrimination is wrong, particularly at a place like UW-Madison.
Both the UW System and the Board of Regents must know, and certainly their lawyers must have warned them, that discrimination on the basis of race and ethnicity is illegal. Whether they will face up to this warning is another story. Over the past four years I have attempted to bring to public attention the well-documented evidence of race and ethnic-based discrimination in UW-Madison admissions. These efforts have been greeted by a stonewall of silence, by UW-Madison, by UW System, and most strangely by the Board of Regents.
Serving as a Regent carries with it grave responsibilities for doing what is right and legal rather than what is expedient. The question is whether Governor Thompson’s appointees to the Board of Regents have the courage to tackle this issue.
On Lawton Minority Undergraduate Grants
Reprint from the Wisconsin State Journal, May 11, 2000What should we do when we see our own executive, legislative, and judicial branches ignore violations of the law by public, state-supported institutions?
This question arises because at its April meeting, the Board of Regents received a UW System request to expand the scope and generosity of Ben R. Lawton Minority Undergraduate Grants. These grants are “targeted” for racial and ethnic minority students. Non-minority students are simply not eligible.
Why should the UW System be allowed to continue to discriminate on the basis of race and ethnicity when it provides state-funded grants to minority students? Shouldn’t these need-based grants be awarded according to academic merit and likely academic success rather than to skin color or ethnic origin?
The UW System defends its use of race and ethnicity on two grounds. One is to support its quest for greater diversity. This means that larger numbers of minority students must be enrolled to enrich the educational experience of non-minority students. The other is its desire to meet the demands of employers who threaten to curtail their recruiting of UW graduates unless the student body displays greater diversity.
Arguments for using race and ethnicity carry little weight. The UW System has never documented exactly how enrolling more or fewer minorities affects the educational experience of non-minority students. Nor has it presented evidence that employers, if their criticisms are serious, have reduced their recruitment of UW graduates.
Providing grants to students based on minority status is illegal according to Wisconsin Statutes governing the University of Wisconsin System. Ch. 36.12 states that “no student may be denied admission to, participation in or the benefits of, or be discriminated against in any service, program, course . . . because of the student’s race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, . . .”
Ch. 36.34, titled “Minority students programs,” makes it clear that the “Ben R. Lawton Minority Undergraduate Grant Program” is a “program.” And, because eligibility for these grants is restricted to Black Americans, American Indians, Hispanics, and SE Asians, the program discriminates on the basis of race and ethnicity.
The inescapable conclusion — the Lawton Minority Grant Program is clearly illegal.
That the UW System is requesting additional state funds for this program comes as no surprise. UW leaders desperately want their new diversity initiative, called Plan 2008, to succeed. They can only hope to do this by obtaining more public funds.
The Board of Regents should reject this request because the program discriminates illegally on the basis of race and ethnicity. Not only does the program violate Wisconsin Statutes 36.12, but it also violates the Board’s own Policy Statement 91-4 on implementing Wisconsin Statutes 36.12.
If the Board approves this request for the next biennial budget, it will give the UW System a green light to break the law. Going along could be the Board’s way of “celebrating diversity.” But, such action would demonstrate the Board’s complicity in condoning the discrimination it is charged to prevent.
Rejecting this request will be difficult for Board members. Some may worry about adverse publicity for themselves. Others may worry about adverse publicity for the university. Some may even be concerned about student demonstrations, similar to those occurring when the University of California Board of Regents abolished preferential admissions. Counterbalancing these concerns, Board action to end discrimination based on race and ethnicity will be hailed by the many citizens who recognize that discrimination is wrong, particularly at a place like UW-Madison.
Both the UW System and the Board of Regents must know, and certainly their lawyers must have warned them, that discrimination on the basis of race and ethnicity is illegal. Whether they will face up to this warning is another story. Over the past four years I have attempted to bring to public attention the well-documented evidence of race and ethnic-based discrimination in UW-Madison admissions. These efforts have been greeted by a stonewall of silence, by UW-Madison, by UW System, and most strangely by the Board of Regents.
Serving as a Regent carries with it grave responsibilities for doing what is right and legal rather than what is expedient. The question is whether Governor Thompson’s appointees to the Board of Regents have the courage to tackle this issue.