A new study conducted by the Center for Equal Opportunity (CEO) claims Miami University and The Ohio State University discriminate based on race and ethnicity in the admissions process.
Released Monday, Feb. 7, the study claims Miami preferences African-American, Hispanic and Asian students over white students.
CEO Chairman Linda Chavez said Miami and Ohio State lower academic standards to admit students from diverse racial backgrounds.
“The study shows that many, many students are rejected in favor of students with lower test scores and grades, and the reason is that they have the wrong skin color or their ancestors came from the wrong countries,” she said.
The study found Miami admits African-American students 10-to-1 over white students compared to 8-to-1 at Ohio State.
The study found at Miami median SAT scores differ between back and white students by between 110 to 166 points in what it calls the “black-white gap.”
Gaps in ACT scores between black and white students at Miami were estimated at four points.
Chavez said in addition to accepting students with lower test scores, Miami accepts students with lower high school grades to amplify its racial diversity.
Claire Wagner, director of news and public information at Miami, said while Miami is dedicated to promoting diversity, both racial and otherwise, the university evaluates each student individually.
“(The study) is skewed because Miami has a very holistic and comprehensive review process,” Wagner said. “We use a set of 25 criteria that can be found on the admissions website, and of course racial and socioeconomic diversity falls into that.”
According to Wagner, the criteria include life experience, geographic diversity, GPA and test scores among others factors.
While Wagner could not give a ratio for the amount of African-American students admitted over white students at Miami, she said the CEO study fails to account for factors that could diminish a student’s grades, test scores or other standard qualifications.
She said Miami’s holistic approach to the admissions process goes beyond grades and testing.
“Qualified is a relative term,” she said. “If someone worked 30 hours a week during high school, for instance, we will take that into account.”
The CEO study found African-Americans are less likely to graduate at Miami.
“You aren’t doing someone a favor if you admit him to a school and then he doesn’t graduate,” Chavez said.
Wagner disagrees. She said African-American students at Miami are graduating on par or more frequently than the national average.
“(African-American students at Miami) are not only graduating at a higher rate than all public universities in Ohio, they graduate at a higher rate than average majority students in the country.”
Wagner said of Miami’s 1,800 multicultural students, 735 are African-American.
Within the context of the university as a whole, African-American students make up approximately 4.3 percent of the student population. The university population of Latino students is even lower, at 2.4 percent, Wagner said.
Miami junior Ryanaustin Dennis is an African-American student. He said he encourages students to read the CEO report and make an informed judgment.
“It’s a good thing, in fact, that this knowledge is going out there and I want people to read the report themselves and figure out what they believe in,” Dennis said.
Dennis said cutting off diversity does not always mean cutting intellectual integrity.
“You have to look at a person’s life, extracurricular work, community work,” he said. “If they are a leader and are self-driven, they can do well at college. They may not have had the means to study for the SAT as some others do.”
Despite the CEO report, Wagner said the university will continue to work to enhance all types of diversity at Miami.
“Miami values diversity overall,” she said. “It enhances the learning environment, it helps break down stereotypes and it allows for a richer discussion in class.”
Stephen Bell is a campus editor for The Miami Student. He is a contributor to the Student Free Press Association.
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