Last March, U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman ruled that race-based admissions to the University of Michigan Law School were unconstitutional.
Last week, the Washington D.C.-based Center for Equal Opportunity released a study alleging that MSU’s College of Human Medicine, along with four other public medical schools in New York, Georgia, Oklahoma and Washington, are using similar race-based criteria in their admissions.
But will any of these universities see lawsuits like the suit that plagued U-M’s law school for more than three years?
“There’s always potential,” said Robert McCormick, an MSU-Detroit College of Law professor. “It’s a classic tension. On the one hand, people have the right to be free of decisions based on race or sex or religion, but on the other hand, (schools) have the right to shape their admissions for the educational experience they want to provide.”
The issue of race in education has been brewing since Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka declared racial discrimination in public schools unconstitutional in 1954.
And McCormick said racial troubles in higher education aren’t finished yet.
“This is going to continue to percolate,” he said. “I think it’s highly likely this issue will end up back to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“They give preference to football players, so they may want to give preference to certain races for legitimate reasons, too. Individual applicants may not want race to be considered. That’s an equally legitimate right and interest.”
The center’s three-year study tracked Medical College Admission Test scores and grade-point averages of students who applied and students who were admitted to the medical schools.
It did not track other admissions criteria, such as experience, community service, leadership and writing ability. But even if center officials believe the colleges are using inappropriate practices for admissions, they can’t create a lawsuit against schools on their own.
“It would have to be a student, an applicant, suing the medical school,” said Roger Clegg, general counsel for the center. “The (center) would not have standing to bring such a lawsuit. We might help find a student or find a lawyer for a student, but we would not be actually suing. We’re not really a litigating organization.”
Although the center can’t seek legal action, Clegg said he hopes the medical schools won’t give preference to anyone because of his or her skin color.
The center’s study shows black and Hispanic students were admitted over white and Asian students with higher GPAs and test scores.
“You can use any criteria you want - just not race,” Clegg said. “It’s encouraging that (MSU’s) medical school at least implicitly recognizes that racial discrimination would be wrong.”
He said the arguments that a diverse set of doctors will better serve the different areas of the world while improving education are less important beyond undergraduate education.
“I think the claim that having diversity is important is going to be less compelling when you’re talking about dissecting frogs or cadavers as opposed to discussing sociology,” he said.
But first-year medical student Katie Varda disagrees.
Not only is the population of the college diverse now, but it needs to stay that way, she said.
“It’s part of our curriculum,” she said. “There’s more to being a doctor than numbers on paper.
“There’s a population out there that isn’t being served. If people are being admitted because they could serve that population, that’s fine.”
Dr. Glenn Davis, dean of the College of Human Medicine, said he would perform a more extensive review of the admissions criteria to assure the college is helping disadvantaged students - but not because of their race or ethnicity.
While he knows a lawsuit is possible, he said he doesn’t see any legal standing for one.
“We don’t discriminate, even if the center’s numbers are correct,” Davis said. “I would always want to talk with people before I had a lawsuit. I would want them to come to me immediately.
“But not bring a suit.”
Jamie Gumbrecht can be reached at gumbrec1@msu.edu.
