Editorial
Amend I-200, affirm affirmative action

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The Washington Legislature should amend Initiative 200 to permit colleges and universities to consider race as a factor in admission. Not because it will make a major difference in practice, but because the current policy is embarrassing and shortsighted.

Passed by voters in 1998, I-200 prohibits preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in public employment, public education or public contracting.

At the time, university officials promised they would continue to strive for a racially diverse student body because of its value to the educational experience and its reflection of the real world. Although admissions of minority students dropped initially, the proportion of minority students to the whole student body is about what it was in 1998 at several schools.

But Initiative 200 remains an embarrassment and was mentioned by observers as a troublesome issue in the recent search for a new University of Washington president.

Companion measures in the House and Senate would amend I-200 to permit consideration of race as a factor in university admissions. That would be consistent with a recent U.S. Supreme Court case dealing with the University of Michigan. The court ruled that consideration of race was constitutional but reversed the university's system of awarding points for minority status.

The I-200 amendment, which will not affect public employment or contracting, is supported by the governor and by lawmakers of both parties.

The U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged the value of a diverse student body in its ruling. The Washington Legislature should affirm that value by amending I-200.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company