Race-based admissions bills fail this session

Kayla Webley
2005-04-13
The Daily

The UW is faced for the second time with a failed attempt by the state Legislature to pass a bill that would allow race to be considered in college admissions.

Senate Bill 5575, which the University outwardly supported, failed to meet the deadline to get out of committee and onto the floor for a vote. The Senate bill's companion, House Bill 1586, also failed to advance.

The bill would have made university admissions processes comprehensive, where each application would be reviewed, contrary to the current system where half of applicants are automatically accepted based on their GPA and test scores. In the comprehensive review, the admissions board would be able to factor in race, without using quotas or points, among all other factors considered in the process.

Washington, California and Florida are the only states where race cannot be used in college admissions.

The UW has a standing commitment to diversity, said UW President Mark Emmert, who wrote in favor of the bill in a guest column in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer last quarter.

Emmert said he was disappointed with the bill's demise.

"It does serve as a set back simply as a move that leaves us with a status quo," he said. "That doesn't allow us to move forward in the direction that I would like."

Effect on admissions

Enrollment of minority students this year returned to the levels they were at in 1998, the year Initiative 200 passed, which made it illegal for Washington colleges and universities to use race in admissions.

"The shape of the freshman class is at least as reflective [of diversity] as before I-200," said Enrique Morales, associate vice president of the Office of Minority Affairs. "But that's not to say we were in great shape then."

Without using race as a factor, admissions has managed to shape the freshman class to reflect diverse voices, looking at many factors including first-generation college students and applicant's economic background.

Even with improvements, Tim Washburn, assistant vice president for enrollment services, is not optimistic about further increases.

"We aren't going to be able to change to improve diversity much more than we have already without being able to consider race in admissions," said Washburn.

The use of race would only help the admissions process, he added.

"The admissions process would have been a more complete and thorough process if race could have been considered," Washburn said.

The legislative logistics

Author and prime sponsor of the bill, Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, said there was insufficient support for getting the bill voted on by the full Senate.

"Some people would have supported it if it had a referendum clause," said Kohl-Welles. "[The referendum clause] would require the bill be placed on the ballot for voter approval."

Kohl-Welles said she hopes to change the public's perception of the measure before the next legislative session.

"There has to be more public understanding ... that we would not have been changing one word of the I-200 statute," said Kohl-Welles.

Anthony Rose, president of the Black Student Union, agreed.

"There is a general misconception and a lot of misinformation put out by the opposition," said Rose. "I don't think a piece of paper not being passed sets us back. It's the mindset."

College Republican President Nick Dayton said passing the bill would have been a step backwards.

"This bill would have just moved us further away from being a truly color-blind society," he said. "It is wrong to treat people differently based on qualities such as race. We should judge not by the color of skin, but by the content of character."

Moving forward

"[Diversity] is an every year issue," said Precious Aure, ASUW director of diversity efforts. "Just because it died doesn't mean the topic won't come back up and bring everyone back together. It's not like we're going to stop, it just means we will have to work harder to get the admissions process fixed."

Morales said the bill's failure should not stop the UW from moving forward with its goals.

"We still have much work ahead of us," said Morales. "This should not deter us from making the types of decisions that allow the University to move forward and continue to build on the diversity we have."