Argues that the current re-evaluation of racial preferences is unlikely to make a complete victory for either side of the affirmative action debate. Many types of compromise are possible, six of which are described. Suggests the courts should limit themselves to principled decision making in cases involving racial preference. (SLD)

Examines reasons given for affirmative action quotas for minorities and asserts that such justifications as reparation and mitigation of poverty do not apply to women as a group. Thus argues that women should be treated fairly as individuals but that quotas make no sense. (GC)

Reviews Cole and Barber's "Increasing Faculty Diversity: The Occupational Choices of High-Achieving Minority Students," which has aroused controversy because its findings bear directly on the University of Michigan's affirmative action cases. Cole and Barber surveyed minority and white students in Ivy League, elite, and historically…

Examines the following theories proposed by social psychologists to explain popular resistance to affirmative action strategies: (1) the naivete explanation; (2) the symbolic racism theory; and (3) the "realistic" group-conflict theory. Argues that social psychology ignores the public's perception of Blacks as members of a social underclass. (FMW)

Discusses the basic concepts and legal rationale of affirmative action; measures in some general terms the magnitude and severity of the problem that was intended to be solved or ameliorated by affirmative action programs; considers the actual results achieved and general trends set in motion by such programs; and weighs the implications of…

A random sample of 600 New York City residents were interviewed by telephone in 1977 to determine the extent to which Blacks and Whites are divided over the issues of preferential treatment, racial quotas, and busing for the purpose of achieving school desegregation. (Author/MC)

Uses the experience of the University of California in abandoning affirmative action admissions policies to explore the real consequences of the removal of minority preferences in law and medical schools. Although numbers of racial minorities are reduced in the short run, it is argued that the change will benefit students with solid…

The 1996 presidential elections will be, in part, a referendum on affirmative action, with partisan battle lines drawn. When the issue is framed for the voter as a choice between group equality or individual merit, affirmative action loses. Recent history suggests that a majority of Americans reject explicit group preferences. (SLD)

Discusses a controversial benchmark study by the U.S. Department of Commerce in 1998 that supported a form of affirmative action for minority-owned small businesses, focusing on some of its questionable methodology and conclusions. Examines program specifics, the benchmark study, data collection and evaluation problems, and who is doing the…

Argues that, as a matter of social ethics, the government should undertake policies to mitigate the economic marginality of those languishing in the ghettos of America and that affirmative-action policies are necessary and justified. Presents a new model for affirmative action and explores various moral and political considerations. (GR)

The author of "Choosing a College" (Harper & Row, 1989) discusses the difference between teachers and researchers, matching schools with students, and the failure of reforms to improve the quality of teaching in institutions of higher learning. Attributes the recent renewal of overt campus racism to misguided preferential quota programs. (FMW)

Uses the book, "The Bell Curve," to illustrate the problem of "dangerous knowledge" and its power to harm. The article examines what the book is saying about intelligence, its meaning to society, and the book's possible effect on radicalizing political thought. (GR)

W. Bowen and D. Bok analyze new data from the Mellon Foundation on the question of racial preferences in college admissions. Bowen and Bok assert that the institutions should decide admissions policy, that the autonomy of the college is one of the virtues of U.S. higher education. (SLD)

Draws attention to some of the unexamined assumptions on which W. Bowen and D. Bok base their analysis and considers some of the unintended, and often undesired, consequences of racial preferences in college admissions. (SLD)

Explores issues related to race and college admissions, focusing on the problem of how much weight university admissions officials should give to diversity. What constitutes special considerations, what might be outright preference, and how the goal of ethnic diversity can be balanced against other factors are discussed. (SLD)