"White parents from the right believe their children have a God-given right to everything."
African-American Affairs Dean M. Rick Turner expressed this sentiment last night at a panel discussion in Runk Dining Hall concerning the use of race as a factor in University admissions - a topic that has generated much controversy around Grounds this year.
The event, entitled "Beyond Black and White," was sponsored by Hereford College and the Women's Center. About 50 students attended.
Turner said there is a prevailing conservative spirit at prestigious universities.
"People from the right go to selective universities ... and do a lot of damage to the psychological well-being of students both black and white," he said. "Some people believe [black students] are supposed to be picking cotton or cutting sugarcane," he added.
Turner said the increase in graduation rates of black students at elite universities since the institution of affirmative action and the bias in standardized tests like the SAT suggest a need for the use of race as a factor in admissions.
History Prof. Emeritus Paul M. Gaston expressed similar sentiments. When evaluating applicants, the University must "use discrimination in the true meaning of the word: judgment, care and sensitivity," Gaston said.
Linda M. Miller, associate dean of undergraduate admissions, said the University already considers factors outside of grades and standardized tests in admitting undergraduate students. "No one is here solely on the basis of their SAT scores," Miller said. "Because somebody plays the tuba, we may give them a break on their SAT scores."
In September, Board of Visitors member Terence P. Ross incited a firestorm of controversy over the use of race as a factor in University admissions when he remarked to The Daily Progress that the University is "clearly reaching a little bit down our academic standards to recruit black students."
The recently-reported 25.3 percent drop in black applicants for admission to the University - as well as a 16 percent overall drop in applications - has renewed debate over the affirmative action issue.
Engineering Prof. James W. Lark III, who also serves as advisor to The Liberty Coalition, a student libertarian group at the University, offered the only perspective that did not explicity support current policies.
Lark challenged Turner's opinions, saying the negative response to Ross' remarks was "quite over the top."
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