California governor proposes plan to up diversity

The Democrat announced the proposal at his inauguration Monday in a clear break with his predecessor Pete Wilson, a Republican who backed Proposition 209. The voter-approved measure dismantled racial and ethnic preferences in UC admissions.

Currently, UC, with 129,000 students at eight undergraduate campuses, admits the top 12.5 percent of all high school graduates statewide, an applicant pool that tends to be filled with students from affluent, top-performing schools.

The proposal to take 4 percent from every school could be boon to blacks and Latino/as at inner-city and rural schools that send few students to college.

The new proposal also would change the way graduates are ranked by putting less emphasis on standardized verbal and math exams and more weight on SAT2 scores, which tests students' knowledge in three subjects of their choice.

"We believe that it will result in a student body that is more representative of the state's diverse population without sacrificing academic excellence," said Charles McFadden, spokesperson for the UC system.

The proposal is meant as a way around Proposition 209. Undergraduate enrollment of blacks, Latino/as and American Indians has dropped 9.5 percent since the measure took effect.

"We will seek to ensure diversity and fair play by guaranteeing to those students who truly excel by graduating in the top 4 percent of their high school - whether it's in West Los Angeles or East Palo Alto," Davis said. "Those kids who excel will automatically be admitted to the University of California."

The proposal is subject to approval by California's 26-member Board of Regents, though the first Democratic governor in 16 years will have considerable influence.

Not only does Davis preside over the board, but three fellow Democrats also sit on the board, and he can appoint 10 members during the next four years. A vote by the regents is scheduled for March.

Ward Connerly, a black regent who was appointed by Wilson and led the campaign to end affirmative action, said that he has yet to make up his mind about the 4 percent proposal but that he is considering supporting it because it might motivate low-income students.

"There is very little culture of achievement in low-income neighborhoods, especially a culture of academic achievement," he said. "This could put a prize out there."

At the same time, he said that unless the state also provided more financial aid, the proposal would probably be of more benefit to white rural students than inner-city blacks and Latino/as. And he said he fears a dumbing-down of UC.

"If you admit the top 4 percent at every high school, while that sounds good politically, the effect is that without a doubt it does amount to a relaxing of the statewide standards," Connerly said.

After a federal appeals court struck down affirmative action in admissions at the University of Texas law school, the UT system began accepting the top 10 percent of each high school last fall. Officials there said yesterday that it's too soon to say whether this has lowered the quality of the student body.

At UC, there were 4,161 blacks, Hispanics and American Indian enrolled as undergraduates last fall.

McFadden acknowledged the proposal would probably increase minority enrollment by only 1 percent. And students wouldn't necessarily get the UC school of their choice. UCLA, Berkeley and Davis would probably remain the state's most elite public universities.

Still, Kevin Fisher, who teaches drama, German and French at an inner-city school in San Bernardino, said he thinks the guarantee might be just the thing to inspire his students.

Only a few of the mostly poor, black students at Pacific High School make it into the UC system, and teachers have to work hard just to keep youngsters from dropping out.

"It gives them a special chance. They're just not left out in the cold," Fisher said. "They could see something, a light at the end of the tunnel."

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