From Discrimination to Affirmative Action.

Perspectives on the Bakke Supreme Court decision are considered. It is claimed that some of the distortions in the public perception of the Bakke case are the responsibility of the media coverage. Although the Court said that race may be a factor in the admissions process, many people, with the effect of headlines of "Bakke Wins," think otherwise. A concern is whether corporate and educational officials will use the ambiguities of the Bakke decision to weaken or even abandon their affirmative action commitments. It is suggested that affirmative action programs have come about only because of insistent pressures of black people and their allies, and only because sufficient pressure was brought to enact laws and compliance mechanisms mandating black participation in American institutional life. It is proposed that the merit system was invoked to keep blacks out, on the basis of test scores and grade averages, but that the system could find room for C students who play football or are born into the family of a wealthy alumnus. It is further proposed that even a merit system based solely on test scores is inadequate as a selection mechanism, because tests have not been devised that can accurately predict future success. The challenge for individuals and institutions to overcome the pervasive discrimination of the past, and to ensure black educational opportunity and the moral integrity of higher education institutions is noted. (SW)