A fair chance for all

To mandate affirmative action is to adhere to reality. Our racially diversified society is represented in elementary and secondary education and in real life. Higher education should not be an exception.

A study by William G. Bowen, former president of Princeton University, and Derek Bok, former president of Harvard University, examined the lives of thousands of black students who enrolled in 28 selective universities in 1976.

Half of the black students involved in the study would not have been accepted if colleges had not had a race-selective regime. White students had better test scores and better grades. Yet blacks, lower test scores and all, were accepted amidst tough academic competition. How did they fare?

Forty percent went on to earn PhDs or professional degrees in medicine, law and business and their average salaries today run at $85,000. This is 82 percent more than what the average black male with a bachelor's would earn.

If schools only use scores for admissions requirements, the notion of a segregated society will persist. Diversity is a foundation of this society, and we need affirmative action to ensure students graduate with knowledge of these principles. In addition, minorities need opportunities to be prepared to be candidates for highest-level positions in government, business, medicine, law and the other professions.