HI All,
 
Concerning the comments below, I am not sure the exact wording of 209.
Will have to go back and read it.  However, I do know that people are now
interpreting it (at least in their minds) extremely broadly, at least some
people. Some of the local radio shows have been advocating doing away with
senior citizen discounts, for example, as being discriminatory (and just
as I become eligible, too :-)
 
At any rate, regardless of the wording of 209, I would not be surprised to
find more propositions might appear so that ONLY academic records are
considered for higher education admission to public universities in CA.
In other words, totally blind, regardless of anything, including athletic
ability.
 
==================
On Thu, 11 Sep 1997, Stephen E Roth wrote:
>
>         First, these anti-affirmative action regulations are specific in
> saying that admission preferences cannot be extended to persons based
> on race (and sooner or later some court will extend that to gender as
> well). Hockey players and other athletes are not a protected class in
> that sense, so affirmative action is not really an issue.
=======================
 
About the below, what upsets people in this state (at least what I think
upsets them :-) .... is the use of ANY criterion other than academics.
This is because, at least at the big sports campuses like UCLA and Cal at
Berkeley, athletes, sometimes with low academic qualifications, are
admitted AT THE EXPENSE OF MORE ACADEMICALLY QUALIFIED NON-ATHLETES.  I
predict that eventually this will cause some consternation . Admittedly it
is only hundreds of spaces out of thousands, but I believe it will
eventually come up for discussion. If Prop 209 does not cover it, then I
predict someone in this state will write a new prop to attempt to :-)
 
==============
>         Beyond that, however, is a mis-assumption about the criteria
> colleges use to admit students.  Academic quality is obviously the
> premier qualification -- but most all schools also look for TALENT,
> and talent is a traditional and valid criterion for any educational
> institution.  Thus athletic talent can legitimately be used to make
> an admission decision.  Colleges also recruit students -- and provide
> scholarship dollars -- for their talents in art, music, writing,
> leadership and other endeavors.
>
>         Finding talented young people (especially hockey players!) is an
> integral part of higher education's mission, and is not likely to be
> blunted by Prop 209.
====================
 
To finish, I think talent is one thing, but letting people into a
university who are less academically qualified than others (thereby
rejecting them) is coming up for discussion here, regardless of whether we
like it or not.  At my university, many faculty are upset, even though it
is small potatoes, that for example, a physics major with 1200 SATs and
3.9 gpa will be turned down and football player/PE player with 900 SATs
and 2.5 gpa will get in, and if he is really good, might even get a free ride.
 
Regards to all, let's get this season going!
 
Tony Buffa
RPI '64, Univ of Illinois '66 and '69
 
Physics Dept
Calif Poly St Univ, SLO
 
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