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Chan, Jimmy and Erik Eyster. “Does Banning Affirmative Action Lower College Student
Quality?” The American Economic Review 93.3 (2007): 858-72. JSTOR. Iowa State U. Lib., 7
Sept. 2007. http://www.lib.iastate.edu.
Chan and Eyster, professors at Johns Hopkins and Oxford Universities, analyze the
possible effect that a ban on affirmative action has on student quality. They argue that
without the explicit license to admit students at least partially on the basis of racial
groups, colleges will resort to using overall lower standards for admitting students. The
colleges will also use a random selection process that may end up admitting lower-
qualified applicants while rejecting higher-qualified applicants. By using these new
standards for application, Chan and Eyster argue that in order to maintain the same level
of diversity that is available in affirmative action, colleges will have to sacrifice the
quality of their incoming classes. While their study is similar to that of Mark Long, Chan
and Eyster go one step further in assessing the quality of the students admitted, not just
the numbers of minorities admitted. Chan and Eyster believe that colleges will have the
most diverse environment if legislators maintain current affirmative action programs and
are trying to alert legislators to this. Their work is an effort to make known the
downsides of banning affirmative action, especially if the colleges still intend to maintain
a diversified campus.
Holzer, Harry and David Neumark. “Assessing Affirmative Action.” Journal of Economic
Literature. 37 (2000): 483-568. JSTOR. Iowa State U. Lib., 7 Sept 2007.
http://www.lib.iastate.edu.
Holzer and Neumark, professors at Georgetown and Michigan State Universities,
investigate whether or not affirmative action causes a decrease in efficiency in the
market, as well as in other places such as universities. They focus mainly on the market
effect of affirmative action, but they do touch on the other aspects of affirmative action.
They report that affirmative action can be instituted without a great loss in efficiency, as
long as the program is set up correctly and is properly overseen. They believe that
affirmative action is good because it redistributes admissions from white males to women
and minorities to some extent. Affirmative action programs also provide positive
externalities for the economy, as long as it is properly implemented as earlier stated.
Like Long and Chan and Eyster, Holzer and Neumark are advocates for affirmative
action and believe that it can benefit society. Holzer and Neumark are trying to capture
the attention of legislators. They are writing this paper in an effort to give policymakers
a comprehensive assessment of affirmative action to date in order to assist them in
making correct policy decisions.
Lewin, Tamar. “Michigan Rejects Affirmative Action, and Backers Sue.” The New York Times,
11 Nov. 2006, late ed.: 16. Access World News. NewsBank. Iowa State U. Lib., Ames,
IA. 15 Sept. 2007. http://www.lib.iastate.edu.
Lewin reports on the approval of Proposition 2 in Michigan, which eliminates all
affirmative action programs in the state. He also reports that backers of affirmative
action file a lawsuit the day following the proposition’s approval. The measure is an
amendment to the state constitution in response to a Supreme Court ruling that didn’t
uphold affirmative action in undergraduate admissions processes. He states that the
Derek Grygiel
Eng 250H
A. Rao
20 September 2007
president of the university won’t enforce the proposition because she believes that it is
vague and doesn’t clearly state how it will affect the university’s admissions program.
Unlike Long’s report, Lewin’s is a basic report of the facts of the case, especially since he
writes it the day after the proposition is passed. In writing this article, Lewin is trying to
reach the general public with this information.
Long, Mark C. “Race and College Admissions: An Alternative to Affirmative Action?” The
Review of Economics and Statistics. 86.4 (2004): 1020-33. JSTOR. Iowa State U. Lib., 7 Sept.
2007. http://www.lib.iastate.edu.
Long, a professor at the University of Washington, reports on the efficacy of instituting
an x% program in place of an affirmative action program. He looks at the programs that
California, Texas, and Florida have instituted in the wake of the affirmative action bans.
Their belief is that automatically accepting in-state students who graduate in the top x%
of their high school class reestablishes the diversity equilibrium that is disrupted when
affirmative action is banned. Long agrees that such a program works if all high schools
are perfectly segregated because then the percentages of admissions will reflect the racial
makeup of the state’s population. However, high schools are not perfectly segregated, so
there is a disparity between the college and state ratios. Long also states that minority
students who are in the top x% of their class don’t benefit from the program because they
are usually accepted anyway. Long’s report is similar to Chan and Eyster’s in its support
of affirmative action. He too is trying to reach policymakers with his report. He also
states that some states use a minority share to show that they are keeping up with
diversity. However, in states like Texas, the minority share is increasing, so a constant
share in college enrollment is actually a decrease in diversity.
Smith, Lauren. “Michigan Commission Reports on Proposal 2.” Chronicle of Higher Education
53.28 (2007): A29. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Iowa State U. Lib., 7 Sept. 2007.
http://www.lib.iastate.edu.
Smith reports on a commission that was assigned to study the effects of Proposal 2 on
admissions, contract hiring, and job opportunities in Michigan. According to the
commission, the proposal will make it very difficult for minorities to achieve all of these
things. The commission also believes that the proposal violates Title IX and Title VI of
the Education and Civil Rights Acts. Like Lewin, Smith is reporting basic facts to the
general public. The commission also fears that race and gender-specific scholarships that
are administered through the university will violate the proposal because the funds come
from the state budget.