HOME / recycled: Previously published Slate articles made new.

Stealth Affirmative Action

Posted Monday, Jan. 20, 2003, at 3:42 PM ET

Last week, when President Bush denounced direct preferences for racial minorities in state university admissions, he recommended programs such as the one in Texas—which guarantees acceptance to students who graduate in the top 10 percent of each high-school class. In 1999, Bruce Gottlieb argued that it's deceptive to pretend that such programs are anything other than affirmative action. They only work because America's high schools are still severely segregated, and their purpose is "explicitly racial."

Print This ArticlePRINTEmail to a FriendE-MAILShare This ArticleRECOMMEND...Get Slate RSS FeedsRSS
What did you think of this article?
Join The Fray: Our Reader Discussion Forum
POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES
TODAY'S PICTURES
TODAY'S CARTOONS
DOONESBURY FLASHBACK
TODAY'S VIDEO
Giving thanks.73/TP1.jpg
Cartoonists' take on Thanksgiving.69/091125_TC.jpg
The lighting of the bulb.52/DoonesburyPlaceholder.jpg