applicants employing Malone-like tactics could easily scramble a college’s critical-mass numbers. (And, presumably,Toms Shoes Outlet Store Sale, the educational “benefits” of diversity would then be lost — racial stereotypes would abound, cultural ignorance would prevail, graduates would be unable to function outside the Ann Arbor market, and minority students would be suddenly struck mute). But again, the more pressing issue is not about rampant racial fraud, but about numbers. For if we are to take seriously the diversity argument — that the mere presence of preferred minorities in certain numbers is intrinsically beneficial to the educational experience — then the question necessarily arises: Who does a college consider to be black, Hispanic, or Native American? Is an applicant of Moroccan descent an African American entitled to a plus — or is he an Arab American, who gets none? Does an ethnic German applicant recently emigrated from Peru get a Hispanic plus? Does a white applicant with a black great-grandfather get an African-American plus? And why doesn’t a native Hawaiian get a Native-American plus, as do Alaskan natives? Admissions officers will be pleased to know that plenty of guidance is available to answer some of these questions. (The 1910 Louisiana case of State v. Treadaway,cheap toms, 126 La. 300, 52 So. 500, is a handy guide.) There are scores of court decisions interpreting state laws regarding racial identity and school admissions. Prior to the 1950s, most states had statutes defining “blacks,” “Negroes,” “mulattos,” and “coloreds.” Those designated as such were excluded from white schools. Some states employed the “one drop” rule — any black ancestor, however remote, rendered one black. Alabama held that anyone at least 1/32 black — i.e., who had at least one black great-great-great-grandparent — was to be excluded from white schools. North Carolina, on the other hand, only went back four generations. The most common racial-identity statute considered anyone with at least one black great grandparent to be black. (Unfortunately for admissions officers, the law provides scant guidance as to who is a Native American or Hispanic, although a recent case in Seattle suggests that anyone with at least one Native-American great-great-grandparent qualifies as Native American.) But what about Michigan? An old Michigan constitutional provision pertaining to “colored” school admissions provides little guidance. However, an 1880s Michigan marriage statute defines a “colored” person as anyone who is “wholly or in part of African descent.” (Some anthropologists would point out that we’re all, in part, of African descent. Arguably, then, everyone’s entitled to a plus.) How would the University of Michigan determine whether someone is “wholly or in part of African descent”,cheap toms shoes? The court that heard the Malone brothers’ wrongful discharge claim helpfully instructs that racial identity must be determined by one of three criteria: (i) visual observation of the claimant’s features (they all, you know, pretty much look alike); (ii) documentary evidence (shades of antebellum race passbooks); or (iii) reputation in the community (according to Critical Race theorists, “inauthentic” blacks — you know who they are — don’t count). All of which raises the delightful prospect of an earnest college-admissions officer in the next racial-preferences court case explaining to the jury how he determined that Tiger Woods is not entitled to a plus because Tiger’s black ancestry is cancelled out by his Asian genes. Everyone knows we’ll never see this vignette play out. But if student-body diversity is indeed a compelling state interest — on the level of national security — then colleges can’t play fast and loose with the plus factor. They can’t simply rely on the serendipity of racial self-identification to meet the all-important critical-mass threshold. Racial identity must be confirmed; otherwise, a college can never be certain it’s reached its critical mass, and the diversity rationale would b Related articles:

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