Return-Path: <nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id h3U5dxU22168; Wed, 30 Apr 2003 01:39:59 -0400 (EDT) Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2003 01:39:59 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <007b01c30ec5$c5d0fda0$5e051ad8@MCORLEY> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Mary Ann Corley" <macorley1@earthlink.net> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-POVRACELIT:1115] Education secretary stresses race-neutral options X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1106 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; Status: O Content-Length: 3035 Lines: 72 To List Subscribers: The following article is from today's Miami Herald. * * * * * * * * * Posted on Tue, Apr. 29, 2003 Education secretary stresses race-neutral options BY MATTHEW I. PINZUR mpinzur@herald.com Regardless of how the U.S. Supreme Court rules on a high-profile case that could determine the future of affirmative action in college admissions, the Bush administration will pursue race-neutral alternatives, U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige said Monday in Miami. Paige, in town to open a national conference on the subject, called it a ''touchy problem'' that the nation needs to solve. ''It isn't a question of whether or not we should have diversity,'' said Paige, the country's first black education chief. ``The question is how do we attain this.'' ALTERNATIVES Florida eliminated race-based preferences with Gov. Jeb Bush's One Florida Plan, replacing them with alternatives led by the Talented 20 program, which guarantees state university admission to students in the top 20 percent of every public high-school's graduating class. The high court is expected to rule by June on a pair of cases that challenge the University of Michigan's policy of giving minority applicants an advantage over similarly qualified white students. The case has generated a flurry of debate, and the Bush administration wrote a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the argument that Michigan's policy is unconstitutional. ''How do you fight discrimination with discrimination?'' he said. Supporters of the Michigan plan have said such policies are necessary to compensate for centuries of institutionalized racism. Paige has also been President Bush's top lieutenant for implementing the No Child Left Behind Act, the landmark education reform package that has been one of the cornerstone's of Bush's domestic policy. After his afternoon speech to open the conference at Doral Resort, Paige answered questions from The Herald: Q: With the position of the administration that race not be a factor in admissions, is that a statement that America has reached a stage where -- economics being equal -- black, white and Hispanic are on a level playing field coming into college? A: Barriers are steeper for some than for others, so it's not a level playing field. There are those who need a helping hand. But the whole point is that we want to make sure that the assistance that we offer does not come at the expense of another American. Q: What are your thoughts on the most effective [race-neutral] techniques that are legal and fair and also effective. A: We don't know all the things that are going on, and we hope we can collect a lot of those ideas. We have to fall back on our own experience, and that's the Texas experience. The Hopwood [v. University of Texas] case in Texas denied the opportunity to use race as a part of the admissions process, so they came up with other innovative ideas. The idea was called the 10 Percent Plan. The information we're getting back is very promising about how it's working.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Thu Mar 11 2004 - 12:18:06 EST