What Should a Campus Look Like?

The overriding theme of the latest installment of The New York Times's Education Life supplement is accessibility. The articles look at policies that break down racial barriers; online courses that break down geographic and price barriers; and ways to break down physical barriers for disabled students.

Affirmative action continues to make headlines as the University of Texas, Austin, defends itself in a lawsuit brought by a white student who said she was denied entrance while less qualified African-American students were accepted. As Ethan Bronner reports, this student said that the policy also hurt Asian-Americans.

Asian-Americans, the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States, are sometimes considered a “model minority,” because of their relative success in school and employment. Some say that affirmative action leaves them with the short end of the stick; others say the policy gives campuses a healthy mix.

Ethan spoke to Rod Bugarin, a fo rmer admissions officer at Wesleyan, Brown and Columbia, who is of Filipino heritage.

“The bar is different for every group. Anyone who works in the industry knows that,” Mr. Bugarin said. He also said that Asians have historically benefited from affirmation action, and that diverse student bodies benefit everyone.

“I fear that if affirmative action is overthrown by the Supreme Court, our elite campuses will look like U.C.L.A. and Berkeley,” Mr. Burgarin said, referring to two schools that are more than half Asian. “That wouldn't be good for Asians or for anyone else.”

Should race play a role in university admissions? Should policies presume that only minorities need a leg up? What if there is an excellent, wealthy minority student and a struggling, poor white student? And is looking like Berkeley really such a bad thing?