By Arden Nguyen
On June 10, the California State Assembly passed Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5 (ACA 5), which could reintroduce affirmative action in the college admissions and hiring processes. It would do so by repealing Proposition 209, which has prohibited preference in regards to race, ethnicity, sex or national origin in admissions and employment since 1996.
ACA 5 received unanimous support from the University of California regents. The decision comes not long after the UCs voted to suspend standardized testing requirements in admissions.
“It makes little sense to exclude any consideration of race in admissions when the aim of the University’s holistic process is to fully understand and evaluate each applicant through multiple dimensions… The diversity of our university and higher education institutions across California, should — and must — represent the rich diversity of our state,” said UC President Janet Napolitano.
UC was the first university system to eliminate affirmative action in 1995, increasing the numbers of white and Asian-American students, while decreasing the numbers of Black, Latino and other minority students over time. This change reflects disproportionate access to educational resources and opportunities across groups.
The UCs have since attempted to address diversity issues through race-neutral tactics, such as guaranteed admission for students within a certain class rank, holistic admissions and reaching out to promising students in underserved communities. These methods have resulted in a slight increase in minority students.
ACA 5 received an overwhelming 60-14 vote but has yet to be ratified by the State Senate with at least a two-thirds vote by June 25. If successful, it will secure a spot on the statewide ballot in November.
Proponents of the amendment say that Proposition 209 has decreased diversity in the student population and faculty of the UCs, in addition to promoting the wage gap. They are hopeful that ACA 5 will address race head on, remedy the lack of diversity and ensure equity for all.
UC regent Lark Park said, “We need to stop pretending that everyone has access to equal opportunity because they don’t.”
However, it is opposed by some groups, like the Silicon Valley Chinese Association Foundation, who worry that hard work will be overlooked in favor of race. An online petition against ACA 5 claiming, among other things, that it is unconstitutional, has already amassed over 120,000 names.
It is not yet clear how affirmative action will affect the admissions process, including whether it will lower academic standards, but it will not establish a race quota. A 1978 Supreme Court case, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, banned racial quotas but allowed race to be used as a determining factor in admissions.
For many FVHS students, 74% of which are minority, the UCs are a primary choice for college .
Tyler Sonderholzer contributed to this article.
