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Racial Equality: ?People Are Realizing It?s Not The End Of The World?

To the stated surprise of many diversiphiles, the sky hasn?t fallen on Nebraska, despite the fact that a substantial majority of its citizens passed a constitutional amendment barring the state and its agencies from continuing to practice racial favoritism.

The Women?s Center hasn?t closed its doors.

A scholarship recognizing contributions to Native heritage remains available.

And an on-campus summit focused on empowering black men will go on as planned next month.

Two and a half weeks after a judge upheld a new state law banning race- and gender-based affirmative action at public institutions, University of Nebraska-Lincoln leaders are finding the worst-case outcomes they once feared haven?t come to fruition.

University of Nebraska leaders had predicted that forcing them to treat everyone without regard to race would destroy ?diversity,? but now ?they say they?re confident they?ll be able to meet that goal.?

?The biggest challenge now is to find those proxies for diversity that are independent of race,? said Craig Munier, UNL director of scholarships and financial aid. ?That will be more difficult, more challenging, more time-consuming. But it?s still certainly doable ?

That is difficult, challenging, and time-consuming only if what you really mean by ?diversity? is pigmentary diversity. According to Susan Poser, associate to the chancellor, ?People are realizing that it?s not the end of the world.?

And now, of course, the attempted end runs begin.

Changes include two new essay questions ? both optional ? on UNL?s admissions application. One allows students to explain how they?ve contributed to diversity, and the other invites students to write about obstacles they?ve overcome.

The open-ended nature of the questions allows applicants to interpret ?diversity? as they wish, Munier said.

It will be interesting to see whether University of Nebraska admissions officers continue to define ?diversity? as they wish.

UPDATE

The Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative claims another victim: minority set-asides.

Omaha city leaders hope ? but can?t guarantee ? that minority-owned companies will get contracts to help build the new downtown ballpark this year.

That?s a marked change from a decade ago, when the Omaha City Council mandated that at least $5.7 million in contracts go to women and minorities during the construction of the Qwest Center Omaha. The difference: Nebraska?s new ban on affirmative action.

Hmm. Do you that ?at least $5.7 million? that was mandated for minority or women-owned firms was a goal or a quota?

Full post as published by Discriminations on February 08, 2009 (boomark / email).