THE FORCES of diversity, in a flawed attempt to correct all of the racial evils in the world, have scored another victory. The Fairfax County School Board recently voted to change the admissions standards at the prestigious Thomas Jefferson High School so that more minority students are admitted.
As a graduate of TJ, I can definitively say that TJ is diverse. It is diverse in ideas, politics, opinions, styles of learning and views on life. The student body represents a vast spectrum of people with many different interests, talents and abilities. But this sort of diversity, apparently, is not good enough for the school board. The sort of diversity that the school board looks to create with these new admissions guidelines does not lie in enhancing the learning experience at TJ, but instead lies in achieving diversity of skin color -- a superficial factor as ridiculous in this day and age as demanding diversity of hair color or foot size.
The old admissions process to TJ was a two-step process. A standardized test was combined 80/20 with a student's GPA to narrow the pool of applicants to 800. From the 800, a panel of experts selected, without regard to skin color, the final class of about 425. Under the new process, the first cut is no longer set at 800 applicants and is instead based upon a sliding scale of GPA and test scores. The final cut will be made on the standard essays and recommendations as well as "other factors, including race, ethnicity, poverty and cultural experiences." Last time I checked, my skin color did not have an effect on my ability to achieve academic excellence.
Throughout this debate, various school board members have been quoted as suggesting that TJ should have the same racial makeup as Fairfax County. The irony of this statement is that in order to achieve such a goal, the number of white students would have to increase. Currently, there is a disproportionately large percentage of Asian students compared to the demographics of the county. The school board has no right to determine that one racial group is better suited for the magnet school than another.
The problem stems from the appointment of Elizabeth Lodal as the principal of the high school. Since her formal appointment, she has made it her personal mission to shape TJ into her fundamentally flawed vision of a racial utopia. An independent study was published by a GMU professor last year which showed the old admissions process gave preference to minority students. The administration worked to discredit this study with one hand while working to give a bias to minority applicants with the other.
A number of arguments have been made for lowering the admissions standard for various racial groups. Some claim that due to historic discrimination against racial groups, they are not afforded the same opportunities to prepare for the admissions process.
Giving preference to a group based on their skin color, however, is an absurd way to solve a much more deeply rooted problem. If a certain racial group is having trouble gaining acceptance, then an outreach effort at the elementary and middle school levels to help prepare these students might be in order. Such a program would not have to focus on a single racial group, but all students who might not have been afforded the opportunities to prepare for the admissions process. The inherently racist premise that much of this affirmative action is based on is that everyone in a given minority group is at a disadvantage because of their skin color.
In this case, like in all cases of affirmative action, the process can actually hinder the development of racial groups after acceptance. If the administration lowers the standards for one group, then there is a risk that group will carry with them the stigma of being "not as qualified" for the duration of their time at such an institution. While this may or may not be the case, it does serve to deepen the artificial boundaries of skin color.
Thomas Jefferson remains one of the best high schools in the country. Hopefully, time will show that this cheapening of the admissions process will not weaken the academic excellence of the school. Hopefully, instead of counting skin colors, the administration will focus their efforts on maintaining the unique privileges and academic opportunities afforded to the students.
Daniel Bagley is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. He can be reached at dbagley@cavalierdaily.com.
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