College Defends Right to Consider Applicants' Race

Author: Daniel Phillips

On Friday, Feb. 14, a brief was submitted to the Supreme Court on behalf of Middlebury College and 28 other highly selective, small residential colleges and universities from across the country.
The brief, organized by Tom Garity, president of Amherst College, responded to the Supreme Court's decision to hear affirmative action cases involving the University of Michigan. Charles S. Sims of Proskauer Rose, LLP, crafted the amici curiae, or "friends of the court" brief. The brief, he said, urges the court to affirm current practices used in admissions decisions.
Here at Middlebury, the administration believes the amici curiae brief makes clear that the admissions process has to actively seek a truly diverse student body.
In the brief Sims explained that the alternative to "admitting a percentage of each high school class or economic circumstance without looking at racial background could not work at small, highly selective schools, if the objective is to enroll a class that is both academically excellent and diverse."
The brief mentions that, in connection to the case, President George W. Bush has expressed strong support for diversity of all kinds, including racial diversity in higher education. But Bush is not in favor of race-based admissions practices.
Sims wrote, "Deliberately seeking out diversity in race-conscious ways, and not merely hoping it magically arrives, has long been the rule in the judicial appointment process in state and federal courts over the past two decades."
Sims said that it is important for the University of Michigan to win the case, as all colleges and universities could be affected.
The issue can be narrowly looked at through the Supreme Court brief, which defends affirmative action. Middlebury College administrators are considering the matter of the affirmative action brief both as it pertains to the specific Supreme Court case and as it pertains, in a broader sense, to society.
Provost and Executive Vice President of Middlebury College Ron Liebowitz believes that diversity plays as essential role in higher education.
He seconded President John McCardell's statment that diversity is "consistent with our own policies and faithful to our history."
Liebowitz elaborated that Middlebury students possess a variety of interests and talents that enhance the educational experience for all. The administration is trying to preserve this diverse experience. Liebowitz explained that Middlebury is "preparing students to lead in the world, and after they leave the College, the world is diverse."
Director of Public Affairs Phil Beniot said, "It is important for us to be a part of that operation -- we all do things similarly in admitting students to these institutions."
The issue at Middlebury thus becomes whether or not the school will have the option to continue to do that freely. Benoit said that "prohibiting race would damage the ability for the institution to provide the experience we offer."
"We value diversity at Middlebury," stated Benoit. The College, which has a large number of international students, has been diverse in a broad sense for many years.
With 40 percent of its students on financial aid, Middlebury is also committed to diversity in socio-economic terms. Sims' brief asserts, "Dialogue and classroom discussion and learning is best done with people other than ourselves with ideas other than our own."
"Diversity is important because of the educational atmosphere it creates," said Benoit.
This atmosphere is what attracts some prospective students to the College, and Benoit agreed that a diverse atmosphere is not easily created in communities around Middlebury.
Middlebury has a long-standing tradition of diversity, having gone co-ed more than a hundred years ago, whereas co-education is a more recent development at other schools such as Williams, Amherst, Colgate and Dartmouth. "Diversity has enriched us in many ways," said Benoit, noting that the first African-American to graduate from any academic institution was Alexander Twilight, who graduated from Middlebury in 1823.
Benoit concluded by saying that diversity is an institutional tradition."It is a part of our history and a part of our tradition, and it remains important for us today."