Needed: Documentation of How Affirmative Action Benefits All Students

Abstract

These are tough times for supporters of diversity. As the courts, state legislatures, and the public vent their growing disaffection with affirmative action, racial preferences in college admissions and faculty hiring fall under increasing attack. California's Proposition 209, passed in 1996, amended the California Constitution by requiring that “the state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting [italics added].”