Contrary to the expectations of critics, in the years following California's Proposition 209 -- which outlawed the use of race as a factor in university admissions -- the numbers of blacks and Hispanics in the UC system remained the same. Fewer blacks and Hispanics attended the most competitive campuses like UCLA and UC Berkeley, but more attended UC Riverside or UC Irvine.

One more point. Does attendance at an elite school determine one's success? Economist Robert J. Samuelson writes, "Going to Harvard or Duke won't automatically produce a better job and higher pay. Graduates of these schools generally do well. But they do well because they're talented. Had they chosen colleges with lesser nameplates, they would (on average) have done just as well."

Researchers at Princeton and at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation examined the earnings of students admitted into elite schools like Yale. They compared the salary histories of those students admitted and attended, against those admitted but who chose to attend a less prestigious school. Samuelson explains: "Suppose that Princeton and Podunk accept you and me; but you go to Princeton and I go to Podunk. On average, we will still make the same." The result held for blacks and whites.

The elite grads initially received more lucrative jobs, but over time, ability won out. Ability means not just scholastic aptitude, but real world qualities that contribute to success: perseverance, responsibility, humor, leadership skills and optimism.

Broadening the admissions eligibility pool allows UC to use subjective criteria such as overcoming "hardship" or "disadvantage." What about a middle class student from a divorced family? Is that student more "disadvantaged" than a kid coming from a lower class, but with a nuclear, intact family?

Answering these questions requires almost divine judgment, something few mortals possess. Ultimately, it comes down to whether taxpayers deserve admissions standards that allow students to apply on as equal footing as possible. Lowering standards makes the process more, not less, unfair.