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UNC targeted for race in admissions by Project on Fair Representation

Many universities have been in limbo after a controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding the use of race in admissions policies, but UNC has now come under fire for its practices by a nonprofit legal association.

UNC was one of three universities targeted by the Project on Fair Representation Monday, calling into question the role of race in the University’s admissions policies. The three websites at the center of the campaign suggest UNC, along with Harvard University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison , rejected applicants because of their race.

“For UNC to continue using (racial) preferences is unfair, unconstitutional and is harming all students, regardless of race,” said Edward Blum, director of the Project on Fair Representation, in an email.

The group represented Abigail Fisher in a Supreme Court case against the University of Texas at Austin in which Fisher, a white woman, claimed she was denied admission to the school as a result of affirmative action policies that granted acceptance to less-qualified minority students.

The case ended ambiguously in June when the Court decided to send the case back down to the lower courts, creating confusion surrounding affirmative action policies.

“The justices wrote that schools must try to achieve diversity by a ‘race-neutral means’ before using preferences,” Blum said. “All three schools have not followed this principle.”

Steve Farmer, vice provost of enrollment and undergraduate admissions at UNC, said race is one of many factors considered when evaluating an applicant to UNC and one that is used sparingly.

“We consider the ways in which each candidate can contribute to the academic environment here and also how each candidate can contribute to the diversity,” he said.

UNC law professor Charles Daye said the Fisher decision established that a reviewing court must determine if race-conscious admissions policies are necessary to achieving diversity.

“The reviewing court must ultimately be satisfied that no workable race-neutral alternatives would produce the educational benefits of diversity,” he said.

Farmer said universities have been searching for adequate race-neutral alternatives for a long time.

“The results of those schools haven’t been too good or too encouraging,” Farmer said.

Recent UNC graduate Jasmin Howard said she thought race-neutral admission methods overlooked the inequality of society.

“The problem with race-neutral admissions is that it kind of ignores that our society is not race-neutral,” she said.

Howard said society has not yet become equal and that admissions policies should reflect that.

“You can’t just say, at this point in 2014, we’re going to ignore all these oppressive forces against minorities,” she said. “That does nothing to level the playing field.”

UNC filed an amicus brief in the Fisher case that argued the importance of diversity on a college campus and denounced the benefits a specific race-neutral method called the Texas Top Ten Percent Plan, which guaranteed students in the top 10 percent of their class admission to public Texas universities.

The examination of the Ten Percent Plan detailed in the brief has become a point of contention for the potential lawsuit against the University.

Blum said UNC’s brief admitted that a race-neutral method would produce greater minority enrollment.

“It is clear to us that UNC must suspend its current policy and enact some combination of race-neutral policies,” he said.

Daye said the brief did not say race-neutrality would have a positive impact on diversity, but rather that a “narrowly tailored consideration of race” was the best method for ensuring diversity.

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In a statement released Monday, UNC said it stands by the conclusions drawn in the brief about the role of race in the admissions policies.

Farmer said the Fisher case affirmed the legality of UNC’s admissions policies. If it’s a matter of legality, Farmer said, UNC is on solid ground.

“The fact of the matter is, this is America. Anyone can sue anyone for any reason at any time.”

university@dailytarheel.com