EOTO #4

In the case Regents of the University of California vs Bakke, he was suing based on racial descrimination for being white claiming that there was a disadvantage being white applying to the medical school. Yes it is indeed true that the University of California has used racial quotas in certain circumstances but in the case of Allan Bakke it is more complex than a racial quota or even the use of affirmative action. When I say this I am not meaning to be rude but maybe the case was more simple than this, maybe he just didn't have the chops for medical school or he was scored lower in his interview compared to other applicants.

The University of California has a very intense procedure when it comes to new enrollments in the program. The application board at the school consists of 6 members that review all applications and attend interviews. The board scores students based on what is known as a “benchmark score” ; it's a combined total of all different aspects of an applicant. In 1974 there was an entering freshman class of 100 students, all went through the exact same selection process. First GPA scoring, students whose GPA fell under or sometimes even with a 2.5 on a 4.0 scale, were most of the time rejected on the spot. Next were interviews, one of every six applicants was given an in person interview. Allan Bakke was given multiple interviews actually, he first met with a student interviewer then with the board. Following the interviewing process students were evaluated by each board member on a scale of 1 to 100. Each were judged by total Grade Point Average then by total science Grade Point Average, extra curriculars, recommendation letters, and testing scores. Out of the application class Allan Bakke applied for 56 students accepted were African American students and 44 were white students. At the time this could be seen as Affirmative Action but even yet, 44 students accepted were white students. Maybe it just came down to the fact that Mr. Bakke just wasn't apt enough for our program.

On the other hand, Bakke claimed that he was suffering from “reverse discrimination” because of the color of his skin. The University uses what is known as Affirmative Action, we are trying to increase and help students who are coming from low income communities that show major potential in the classroom. No I'm not saying that we are making the process easier for these students, we judge students all the same… There is no question about that, however we help those who might not have even thought to apply because they wouldn't be able to afford it.

The university gives equal opportunities to all students and this included Allan Bakke. Sometimes the student is good enough and has the grades but other students do too, and it just wasn't meant to be. To clarify one more time, 44 students accepted were white, it's not like we pushed Allan aside, we gave him equal and fair evaluations.